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November 27, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Monday, November 27, 1972, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Sunday, November 26, 1972

Next Date: Tuesday, November 28, 1972

Schedule and Public Documents

  • The Daily Diary files represent a consolidated record of the President's activities. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    The President's day began at Camp David, Maryland

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  • The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents.

    No Federal Register published on this date

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  • Selective document listing

    President's Office Files

    The President's Office Files consists of materials drawn together by the Special Files Unit from several administrative subdivisions within the White House Office. It is the handwriting and sensitive papers sent to the Staff Secretary that now comprise much of the President's Office Files. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

  • The H. R. Haldeman Diaries consists of seven handwritten diaries, 36 dictated diaries recorded as sound recordings, and two handwritten audio cassette tape subject logs. The diaries and logs reflect H. R. Haldeman’s candid personal record and reflections on events, issues, and people encountered during his service in the Nixon White House. As administrative assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, Haldeman attended and participated in public events and private meetings covering the entire scope of issues in which the Nixon White House engaged in during the years 1969-1973. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF)
      Monday, November 27.

      Back at Camp David. Talked with Mitchell first thing this morning about Dole. He says that, lean on reports that Dole is bitter because he got no credit at the Shoreham election night celebration, and that he resents Mitchell because of the campaign structure he set up. He's sure, though, that he will do what the President wants, but what he wants to do is stay on a year as Chairman. All the RNC people want a full-time professional Chairman of the Bliss type and there's very little support for Dole staying on. Anne Armstrong will resign January 19, at the meeting, but effective February 1, so that she can carry through the Inaugural. This presents problems on the appointment of the Executive Committee and the Reform Committee, if Dole should decide to do the same thing but he should probably be given the chance to do that. We need a format though to get the right people appointed. Mitchell doubts that Dole will take anything from Mitchell, but he'll call him anyway, although he was obviously somewhat reluctant to do it.

      Had a meeting with Kleindienst today, Ehrlichman and I met with him first and told him he should go in June, and that he was going to have to take Myles Ambrose as Deputy Attorney General. He very much disappreciated both of those, he wants to stay until September and is totally opposed to Ambrose as Deputy. In the meeting with the President, the President referred to the need for changes within the Departments, all of them. For example, State, Defense, Agriculture, and so on, and then raised the Pat Gray thing. Kleindienst said there's no problem with Gray's health, that he can stay on. Kleindienst recommended that he stay on in the FBI, the President says we know who leaked over there, and it was at the top levels, so they all have to go at that level, not just the one who leaked. Kleindienst says Gray has a lot of things he wants to do in the Bureau, on personnel and reorganization plans. That the reasons to keep him are that you need a broad-gauge person in that job, not just a cop. Says Wilson is the finest policeman in the United States, with great intelligence, courage, understanding, restraint, and so forth, but what you need is a lawyer, a philosopher, a student, who knows communism, political forces, dissent. He must be a disciplinarian, tough and fair, and fundamentally loyal to the President. The President said the problem with Gray is he's too close to the President and he's a political man. Also he said we have a critically important position in the National Security area, the OEP, the most valuable political post we have, with the most power, and that he's keeping this open for Gray. Kleindienst said there'd be no difference on the confirmation hearing between Gray and someone else --that there would be an ideological debate with the left-wing regardless of who's put up. That Wilson would be loyal and discreet, have plenty of courage but would not have the depth, although he's a very fine man. We should try for someone that Teddy Kennedy wouldn't kick out in '76. Also, Hoover was a great propagandist, Wilson is not. He has no political references at all. He must be able to present his case. Wilson could not do this well. He has no basis for it. The President's main concerns are: can't be any politics in it, in the position of the President versus the Chief of the FBI. Kleindienst argues that the Watergate part would be good to come out in the hearings, because it would show that there was a thorough investigation and that it would be good to have that come out.

      Turning to Peterson on the Criminal Division, Kleindienst says he's indispensable. That Will Wilson was a disaster. Kleindienst thinks that when Kleindienst leaves Peterson will also leave the government, because he wants to go into the practice of law, but he's an ideal guy in carrying out policy-- totally loyal to the President, best bureaucrat we've got, and Kleindienst's closest advisor. There's some discussion about discretion in the Department regarding policy on antitrust, civil rights and so on. Kleindienst made the point of all the speeches he's made, and all the things that’s he’s gotten --all the speeches regarding what the President's gotten done, said that they’ve done a good job in enforcement, and that this avoided some bad issues in the campaign. There was a McClarren problem in antitrust --a strong personality that created problems, but he did succeed in defusing the issue. President referred to the difference between four years ago, when we came in. We don't have to be defensive now, we can move hard, as we're doing in State and Defense. The key appointments are the deputies for Administration, and the key is to get people who don't represent the Bureau to the President, but vice versa. Kleindienst goes back to the Pierre days --the restaffing of Justice. Then he made all the top policy changes that we could at that time, says he's carried out all the policy decisions possible, except in the civil rights enforcement. And that the South has no problems with that, for example Eastland. He says that we hired more lawyers in the four years we've been here than any previous eight years, and that there's still a big group left over from Eisenhower, because Kennedy didn't add many. And that he's brought in a lot from non-Ivy league schools. We don't have the problem there as we do in the rest of the bureaucracy. President said that as a general rule, anyone here in 1969 has to prove that he should stay, because Kennedy cleaned out in '60. Kleindienst said that was not true in Justice though and that Justice is most difficult, because some changes have already taken place. President referred to the call from Connally about keeping Hartzog on at Lady Bird's recommendation. He said all Cabinet officers have this problem. We have to make an effort to get control of it. Referred to Kennedy, where the President appointed all the spots, not the Cabinet officers. And said we must see that people across the government -- without exception -- are put in by the President to shake up the Department.

      Question came up: in reference to Goldwater if Dean Burch running for the Senate for Goldwater's seat? Kleindienst says that he'll lose the Arizona primary for Senate, that he should stay in government and would do a good job. And Kleindienst ran through the whole financial hardship bit, his problem of being in government and the kids in college and so on. Said he wants to stay in DC and practice in a big firm for five years, make a lot of money, then go to Arizona and retire. The President went into his whole pitch on big firms, made a pitch that he --that Kleindienst should open his own firm instead, that we need some people on our side. Told the Dreyfus story of how Rogers made $8 million after the President recommended him to Dreyfus. At that point I left the meeting, which by then had been going an hour and fifteen minutes and still hadn't gotten to the point, but I had to go to see Kissinger.

      I first took a call from John Dean, who wanted to report on his meeting with Chapin. Said it went fairly well, that he'd deflected it basically from me, told him that he was a lightning rod, that it would be rougher for Chapin and for the President if he's on board when it all hits. He should leave in order to defuse the issue --should he go out now with his head up, and untarnished. This apparently came as a shock to Dwight. Dick Moore then talked with him, said to get out now for his own career's sake. He's having lunch with Moore to discuss that. Dwight said he was interested in the media business, the networks. He was not interested in the Universal opportunity. Dean thinks that Dwight has the hope that I'll say no, he should stay, but Dean told him his recommendation was to go. John also said regarding Strachan, he gave him a list of the open posts, and the one he wants is General Consul to USIA, which we are going to go ahead and offer him. And he said on the cash, the only way to handle that is to turn it back to the Committee, which is where it belongs anyway.

      Had a meeting with Kissinger, and explained the whole reorganization setup, and tried to reassure him on the State Department and related problems. He's convinced that the Rogers staying on is a ploy of some kind by the President, either to hold the post for Connally until he's ready to take it, or to force Henry out, or to just leave Rogers in and go ahead coasting the way we are. I don't believe I was very successful in changing his view on this, but I tried. He went through a number of his other concerns, such as Richardson's systems analysis approach to Defense, and so on. But all of these were really irrelevant at this point. He and I then met with the President. They reviewed the Vietnam negotiating situation, made the point that there must be a total freeze on all comment on Vietnam from any source. President made it very clear to him that the thing has to be settled one way or the other this time, that we have to handle South Vietnam on an all-out basis this week, either they go along or else we go ahead without them. This, of course, is hard for Henry to swallow, because he wants to work out the negotiation, but the President was very firm on it and didn't let him up.

      Also got into a few personnel things, suggested Graham Martin as Director General of the Foreign Service, and pushed Sisco for the Far East. Then the President had Ehrlichman and me in for a while, on a lot of miscellaneous personnel items. Wants to get Stans' Ambassador list. Talked about Calloway for Commerce; Calley for the United Nations again, which I also raised with Henry and Henry was horrified but bought it because he'd rather have him there than out in a Department somewhere. Sisco for the Far East post. We got into the whole question of Peterson's deal, he's still bargaining for a Washington based post as Ambassador-at-large. President says we can't bargain with him. It's okay if he leaves the Cabinet now, but Kissinger and Shultz have got to sit down with him and work it out. President had some reluctance to put Lynn in as the top counselor role, thinks we should have one of the counselors be from the outside, but after discussion, he backed down and agreed we could go ahead with Lynn at HUD, so he's going to see him tomorrow. Some discussion of blacks, felt that the best woman black we have is Jewell LaFontante from Chicago, and that we should put her in Justice at the Office of Legal Council and build her for the black seat on the Court. Also decided to go for Sneed, at Duke, for Deputy Attorney General, and if we can't get him, to try for Peter Fay. Told Ehrlichman to pursue both of these.

      Had the meeting with the Administration blacks and thanked them for the campaign, told them not to be discouraged; wanted to be sure to get Mexicans in. Wanted to offer Harry Dent something. Then he called me a little later, to be sure I'd leaned hard on Kissinger on the press contacts thing. The President had just called him and he thought someone was in the room with Henry at the time, he could tell from the way Henry was talking that he was doing it for the record. I did hit Henry hard on the Italian lady interview. He really crawled on it on the basis that he was totally mortified and had done a terrible thing, knew it and it had bothered him more than anybody, so forth. He went on and on on this. It obviously does bother him, but he'll obviously go right ahead having interviews anyway. And I don't think there's any way to stop that.

      End of November 27.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

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  • The President's Daily Brief is the primary vehicle for summarizing the day-to-day sensitive intelligence and analysis, as well as late-breaking reports, for the White House on current and future national security issues. Read "The President's Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford" to learn more.

  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Visit the State Department website for more information.

    Vol. IV, Foreign Assistance, International Development, Trade Policies, 1969-1972

    Commodities and Strategic Materials, 1969-1972

    • 445. Action Memorandum From Phil Odeen of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, November 27, 1972

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Subject Files, Box 396, Stockpile (1973). Confidential. Concurred in by Hormats, Jorden, and Holdridge. Attached to a January 19, 1973, typed note by J. Bushnell, that reads: “Note. State has been requested to provide considered opinion on timing of initiation tin sales and issue of sale to potential Japanese stockpile. State is divided between Economic Bureau which wants to negotiate long-term sale agreements with International Tin Council and ARA which wishes to continue the Presidential ban on any tin sales, even to a Japanese stockpile. The issue awaits new arrivals on 7th floor for resolution. Meanwhile the President has reviewed the entire stockpile issue and actions affecting tin as well as other commodities are proceeding separately in a manner which makes these letters OBE. We have consulted informally at the staff level with the authors of the incoming letters who agree that they not be answered and the tin sale issue be treated as part of the larger picture.”

    Vol. XXVIII, Southern Africa

    Regional Issues

    Vol. E-1, Documents on Global Issues, 1969-1972

    U.S.-Cuba Hijacking Agreement, 1969-February 1973

    • 137. Memorandum from Secretary Rogers to President Nixon, Washington, November 27, 1972

      Rogers informed the President of details of the first Swiss-Cuban meeting on the proposed Cuban Hijacking Agreement.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, President’s Evening Reading: Lot 74 D 164. Confidential.

  • The Kissinger telephone conversation transcripts consist of approximately 20,000 pages of transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations during his tenure as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973-1974) during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Visit the finding aid for more information.

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Context (External Sources)