prior to the release of the pentagon papers would you please give us a sense
of what you called president johnson's
about opening uh... archival material including classified
to the public
and what steps did he take
to make that happen
well the first thing is
ekg right after i became director the library which is of the year before the
library was open
he made it clear that he wanted open everything as quickly as possible
after the library was open
impute you're was
was uh... very concerned that we get to the visions quickly
of of uh...
of opening all papers the question of
classified material doesn't come into a quite at that time a but uh... it just
one of the one of the look
point made that he wanted everything open as quickly as possible when he
learned
that uh... major role
rule they'll lose that
remarkably fault was that it took about five years to hope for the first
abacha material
he said let's cut that in half uh...
what dub but
his concern over classified material
came about a little bit earlier than that
to be at any rate
because what i was working with him
obon others on the vantage point of his bumblers
uh... he made it very very clear that he wanted everything that could be possibly
uh... opened
they used
in that book
'cause he had the feeling
writer on that uh...
when everything was made available
and it was all a dollop on vietnam
history was going to understand
the reasons for
the critical decisions were made
so that was just really
doesn't know about
the pentagon papers
prior to their release finals start
so far as i told you he did not but he did take some steps during that time on
the other things for instance
the tuesday lunch don't show that are very very uh... uh...
specifically above vietnam in bike
uh... every classified he one of those released
i don't think that anything at all to do with the pentagon papers cuz i don't
think you know about them at that time
are the two best of our knowledge you did not
wants president johnson's reaction to the release of the pentagon papers
i don't have any sense
of how he felt about their release
it did
apob quite uh... aware of my
first of all part of it
and that was what he called me he was at his ranch and i was at my off in my
office in the library
attic called me to talk about his concern
about
the reason
the absence of any papers from the l_b_j_ library in that regard
his point was that so far as as his administration was concerned
of the
uh... papers
that were available from the pentagon only told part of the story
and i have the whole story
meant that we should immediately make available
although the papers relating to vietnam that were in the library
that was the uh...
uh... the substance of
of uh... his
reaction and then a lot on from there
would you please walk us through this task they were taking aren't you
national security advisor at long last out presidential aide tom johnson
and president johnson
to work with richard nixon on opening up call records
as i should president johnson called me
told me that he felt that that uh...
uh... the
troy was incomplete
who'd on books just the papers released from the pentagon
that he wanted the whole story huh
that meant that we should
be able to release the papers on vietnam in the library
he told me that he had ask what washed out to prepare
the trip rationale that he could take to president nixon
that would persuade president nixon to shut down the team to the l_b_j_ library
and uh... declassify all the papers on vietnam that could possibly be
declassified
asked me if i would give what wash all the help that i could
client
high and that means that by the uh... that are coble staff at and i
what the work in
prepared for the information that wall
because i've talked to him obviously about this
and uh...
article was one on firm
probly weaker of did tense of uh...
uh... research into the people material
more polite talked about
walsh could conviction which i shared
was that there is no region
why this could be done should be done
but that the greatest tool president johnson had to push
mhm percept approach to the true was his own passionate feeling that uh... these
papers should be made available
also
president nixon had just a short while
before
indicated his own feeling that he wanted to
uh... abortion more liberal
attitude toward declassification during his administration
so also idea was that the president should
she saw that unexploited
but at the same time
present his own passion feeling about it
to president johnson
i agreed with us
uh... missile
also the letter of aboard to the person
uh... uh...
reflecting that than uh... the expression that is both of our or or our
attitudes
uh... shortly after that
i what uh... one saturday night i was at dinner at the obituary reg
this was uh... a week before president johnson died
uh... he took me aside
told me that he had read the bible
and that he saw the reason behind him
and he agreed with that
and as soon as president nixon had
gone through his second in order which was pending
he was going to go to washington and take the matter up with presidential mix
that was last time i saw
personal choice
one week after that dinner
nixon went through his second in art
two days later
president johnson died
missus johnson and her daughter's took president
junctions
body to watch
tom johnson let alone
only was there
tom johnson talked to president nixon and told me what president johnson had
planned to do
a few days after that i got a call from bob haldeman
and personal pictures office telling me that
president nixon had was quite intrigued with this idea
and when i come to washington and talked to vicco hope a bit about it
i met with mister holder that his office
he told me that that um...
nixon really wanted to follow through on this
but he did not believe that it could be done was just one library it if you felt
that it was going to be done at all and i should be done with all presidential
arbors
of personal below
uh... vietnam papers
solvent called into his office and aid
the state was david your
and uh... explained the whole thing to him and gave to david young
the assignment of
visiting all the presidential libraries
to see how this could be executed
i came back to austin
convinced that it was what president johnson wanted have done was on the road
but i heard nothing about it for a long twelve for a long time
uh... i was getting very very apprehension of interest
then i read in what they are in the washington post
a story
that the
watergate plumbers
have bet annan
office of the paid dave david young
to plan their adventures
and that um...
they were all under
suspicion
some types of investigation
that was really end of the story of uh... pie i heard nothing more about it
ever
the group that the restores a footnote to it but that really was for the story
abt it
the footnote was a joke about a year later maybe longer that
i was at a uh...
conference
at hofstra university at long island
bob haldeman was also there
about quietly
built more than twenty people in that conference
in the course of a
because of the subject matter is appropriate was appropriate for me to
tell the story
as liked hold it
i watch bob haldeman
who'd nodded
as those that i was relating the story
so i do that he agreed with that
but i did not get a chance to talk to him afterward to find out anything about
uh... david you know there are two big anticipating a follow up it'll
so that that that-that's step-by-step a story of our goal
what do you think president johnson we think about
the release of all the papers
for eight years after the first lady
what the hell took so long
daniel ellsberg
didn't release papers about negotiations to end the vietnam war what was your
reaction to that mission
what do you think was president johnson's reaction to that
president johnson did refer to a specifically but then my mind i'm
convinced
that it was the
omission
of that subject that gluten of of those efforts
were in his mind when he said this story was not complete
i think that uh... that he'd clearly felt that uh... that any story that did
not conclude
all of the efforts that have been made to end the war
elicited complete story shop he didn't say that to me but i'm sure that's one
of the region should come
reporters
wanting to get the paper to open