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Press Secretary Briefings, 2/3/76
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Press Secretary Briefings, 2/3/76
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This file contains materials relating to Daniel Moynihan.
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Ron Nessen Files (Ford Administration)
Ron Nessen's Press Briefing Transcripts
subjects
Washington (D.C.)
White House (Washington, D.C.)
Abortion
Legislation
Local transit
Natural gas
Press interviews
Regulatory reform
Revenue sharing
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1671593
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3
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1976-02-03
month
2
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1976
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day
3
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1976-02-03
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2
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1976
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Digitized from Box 16 of the Ron Nessen Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
This Copy For
NEWS CONFERENCE
#429
AT THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH RON NESSEN
AT 12:25 P.M. EST
FEBRUARY 3, 1976
TUESDAY
MR. NESSEN: Just looking through the schedule
today, Rog Morton is being sworn in today.
Q Is there coverage of that, Ron?
MR. NESSEN: No, there isn't. It is a private
ceremony.
Q
Why?
MR. NESSEN: Because it is.
Q
At whose request?
MR. NESSEN: It was just a decision to have it
as a private ceremony.
Q
Has any of his salary been sent back to the
Treasury yet?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Former Congressman Chuck Chamberlain is going to
drop in for a few minutes this afternoon to talk to the
President. He is a former Republican Member of the House
from Michigan. He wanted to come in. He is currently
practicing law in Washington and wanted to come in and
express his support for the President and offer his help.
Q
Will the President ask him to take any
role in the campaign?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Q
Federal appointment?
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MR. NESSEN: No. It is just a visit from a
friend.
Q
Ron, the private swearing-in, is that
covered possibly by audio tape or for Archive purposes?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Q
Will the President make a statement?
MR. NESSEN: No, it is just a private thing for
Rog and his family.
Q
He is Cabinet level?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Is this the first time in the Ford Adminis-
tration when a Cabinet member has been sworn in privately?
MR. NESSEN: I don't think SO.
Q
Who else?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know. I have not done any
research.
Q
Who is swearing him in, Ron?
MR. NESSEN: Let's find out who is administering
the oath. I assume John Ratchford.
Q
Who is John Ratchford?
MR. NESSEN: He is a notary here in the building.
Q Notary?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
He is Executive Clerk, isn't he?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
The President will meet with Michael Moskow, who
is, as you know, the head of the Council on Wage and Price
Stability, and he will review briefly for the President
recent activities of the Council and outline its future
plans.
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At 3:00 the President is having a meeting on the
situation he is quite concerned with, and it has to do with
renewal of the general revenue sharing legislation, which
you know he strongly supports, as do the Governors. Congress
has dragged its feet on this, and there is a real danger
that general revenue sharing will expire and that the
States will lose that money, which is a little over $6
billion a year.
So, the President is going to have a meeting
this afternoon to discuss the situation and see what can
be done to persuade Congress to move on with this and
assure the States of this money.
The participants will include the Vice President
and Secretary Simon, a number of people from the White
House staff, including Jack Marsh, Jim Cannon, Max Frieders-
dorf, Jim Lynn, Ed Schmults of the Legal Counsel's Office,
some members of the Domestic Council, some members of the
Vice President's staff, and some staff people from the
Treasury Department.
If you would like to take pictures at the beginning
of that, I don't see any problem with that, and we can
bring out somebody afterward, probably the Vice President.
Q
We will trade you that one for Rog Morton.
(Laughter)
MR. NESSEN: We will probably bring the Vice
President down after the revenue sharing meeting, if you
would like to talk to him.
Q
How soon does this have to be passed by
Congress?
MR. NESSEN: The expiration date is December 31
of this year.
Q
Only 11 months to go.
MR. NESSEN: The problem with the 11 months to go,
if I may mention it, is that the States are in the process
of preparing their budgets for fiscal years and calendar
years that run into 1977, and they have absolutely no
assurance that they are going to get the $6 billion.
So, it is not a question of passing this extension
next December 30 and having it make any sense or be of
any help to the States. It is something that they need
to either plan to continue to get or to realize that
Congress has cut them off. That is why there is an urgency
to have it done soon.
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Q
Aren't the House hearings about to start,
Ron? The House Government perations hearings?
MR. NESSEN: The first week of February, that is
correct. I am sorry. That has been postponed until mid-
February and no specific date has been set for it. That
is the House Government Operations Subcommittee on Revenue
Sharing, headed by L. H. Fountain.
Q
About what time will this be?
MR. NESSEN: The meeting begins at 3:00, and I
should say you ought to stand by around 3:45 to 4:00.
On the Rog Morton swearing-in, Bob Linder is
Chief Clerk of the White House, and he frequently does
swearing-ins.
Q
Is it possible you could tell us whose
decision this was? Was this your decision to keep it
private, Ron?
MR. NESSEN: I don't think I have any further
announcements.
Q
Have you any further remarks on the private
agreement between Sadat and the United States on the PLO?
MR. NESSEN: I haven't seen that story.
Q
It was on CBS Radio this morning, and Sadat
was castigating Syria for the events in Lebanon, and in
that same speech Sadat said he and the United States had a
private agreement, the details of which he would not
disclose, on what future dealings with the PLO should be.
MR. NESSEN: I will have to look into that one,
Walt. I have not heard of it.
Q
Would you, please? It was on CBS Radio this
morning.
MR. NESSEN: I will.
Q
Can you tell us the White House decision
to cancel the White House fellows program for this year?
MR. NESSEN: It is not the White House fellows
program, Carl, it is the summer intern program. This is
an election year, and while most White House people are
exempt from the Hatch Act, the interns are not exempt from
the Hatch Act, and since some of the people they might be
working for might devote some of their time to politics,
which would involve the interns in politics in the broadest
sense, it was felt that to avoid any conflict or potential
conflict probably it would be discontinued for this
summer of an election year.
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Q
How many are there, Ron?
MR. NESSEN: I don't have all the details on
the intern program. I can give you the names, roughly --
Q
Roughly?
MR. NESSEN: -- of a couple of dozen.
Q
Has that ever been done in the past?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know one way or the other,
Fran.
Q
I would like to ask you something in the
framework of football. It is not for me to tell you that
the President is deeply involved in football, and recently
a two-time All-American died, Paul Robeson, and I am
wondering whether the President sent any letter of condol-
ence to the family or any display or anything?
MR. NESSEN: I will check. I don't know.
Q
Do you have a successor for Moynihan yet?
MR. NESSEN: No, we don't have a successor to
Moynihan yet.
Q
Has the President chosen someone?
MR. NESSEN: Not that I am aware of, Jim.
Q
You are aware Moynihan said they did have
someone in mind?
MR. NESSEN: He said he thought that he had someone
in mind, yes.
Q
Is that correct?
MR. NESSEN: If he does, he hasn't mentioned it
to me.
Q
What is the exact role of Pearl Baily at
the United Nations?
MR. NESSEN: I will have to get you her exact
title. My understanding is over the years there have
been outstanding citizens given advisory posts with the
U.N. delegation, and that is the role that she now plays.
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Q
There was some rumblings from New York that
she was acting as Ambassador. Is that true?
MR. NESSEN: That is not true.
Q
Because she is pro-Arab and Moynihan is pro-
Israel, there must be some conflict.
MR. NESSEN: That is your characterization.
Q
That is not mine.
MR. NESSEN: She is not acting Ambassador or
under consideration to be Ambassador.
Q
Can you announce a press conference this
weekend of the President?
MR. NESSEN: No, I don't see one this weekend.
Q
Ron, can you tell us today the President's
position on abortion?
MR. NESSEN: I have talked to him about it.
Q
Has he talked to anybody else about it?
(Laughter)
MR. NESSEN: I seemed to have lost my notes on it.
Q
Oh, no, Ron.
MR. NESSEN: As I understand his position, number
one, he has taken an oath of office which requires him to
uphold the laws ase interpreted by the courts, and he will.
He does not believe in abortion on demand. He
does not personally agree with -- I think would probably
be the better way to say it -- the Supreme Court
decision on this matter.
At the same time, he does not support a
Constitutional amendment to prohibit abortion. He doesn't
think that that is the proper remedy in this area.
He does think that there are instances where
abortion should be permitted, and specifically he is
thinking of the victims of rape or cases where the mother
is ill.
Q
Is that the extent of the cases?
MR. NESSEN: Those are the two I have heard him
mention most often.
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Q
Did he mention incest, Ron?
MR. NESSEN: I think that would be included,
Les.
He really feels that if there is to be any
further action in this area, it ought to be the individual
States which decide for themselves what should be the
situation governing abortion within their own State, each
individual State should decide.
If there is to be any action or legislation, it
ought to be in the area of giving the States this authority.
Q
Have you finished with that?
MR. NESSEN: I think that covers his views.
Q
He would support a Constitutional amendment
then that would not knock down the Supreme Court decision
entirely but would refer the matter back to the States?
It wouldn't bar abortion but the amendment would knock down
the situation insofar as allowing the States to decide?
Q
Don't the States already have the right to
decide?
MR. NESSEN: If there were to be a Constitutional
amendment -- and as I understand it, because I am not a
lawyer -- my understanding is in order to give the States,
each State, the authority to determine its own abortion
regulations, that would require a Constitutional amendment
and he would support such an amendment.
Q
He would. Does he?
MR. NESSEN: There is no such amendment that I
know of.
Q
Yes, there are such amendments that have
been introduced.
MR. NESSEN: In his role as President, he doesn't
have a role in the Constitutional amendment process but,
as a matter of personal view, if there is to be anything
done, that is what he would personally favor.
Q
Ron, what about the amendment he introduced
several years ago when he was still a Congressman? His
feelings haven't changed?
MR. NESSEN: Was that amendment leaving it to the
States?
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- 8 -
#429-2/3
Q
Yes.
MR. NESSEN: He doesn't feel he plays any part
in it, but that is the approach he favors.
Q How does the President feel about abortion
in a case where there is medical evidence the child would
be deformed, perhaps in the event of a Tay-Sachs pregnancy?
MR. NESSEN: Adam, I didn't get into with him
each and every possible reason for an abortion being con-
sidered. He did cite three instances which in his view
might justify an abortion, or two. I think I can speak
for him and say that the one Les raised would be another.
I didn't go and say, "What about this and what about that?"
Q
Did he say this to Mr. Cronkite in the
interview?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Q
What does he think about abortion as an issue
in a Presidential campaign?
MR. NESSEN: I don't understand the question.
Does he think it will be one?
Q Does he think it should be one?
Q
It is clearly one. Does he think it is
appropriate in a Presidential campaign, and I guess the
secondary part of the question is, does he think abortion
is getting too much attention, too little attention or about
the right amount of attention?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know one way or the other.
I don't know how you answer the question. The President,
I don't think, needs to approve or disapprove of issues
or nonissues in the campaign. This is his view that I
have been requested a number of times to give. Beyond
that, I don't see what I can say, Tom, along those lines.
Q You said if there is action taken the
President would favor the amendment that you discussed.
MR. NESSEN: In the sense that, personally, that
is the direction, but he has no role to play.
Q
I understand, but does he think there should
be action? You say if there is action. Would he prefer
that there not be action, do you know?
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MR. NESSEN: Again, I don't think that is his
decision to make. As President, he will uphold the law.
He has some personal feelings about it which I have given
you.
Q
Would he lobby for Congress to pass that
amendment or would he just stay out of it?
MR. NESSEN: As President, he stays out of it.
Q
Ron, if he does have a reasonably well-
defined view on circumstances when abortion should be
permitted, why does he want the States to set those regu-
lations rather than the Government?
MR. NESSEN: He believes it is a matter that can
best be handled by the representatives of the people in
each State who are familiar with the views and standards
of their own people.
Q
Ron, isn't that just about what we have now?
In other words, does he favor no change in the situation?
MR. NESSEN: I told you he personally does not
agree with the Supreme Court decision, although he will
uphold it.
Q
Ron, has the President, in talking about
this with you, considered one of the arguments against the
so-called local option amendment, which is that this
benefits the wealthy, enables people of upper- or middle-
income levels to go to States where abortions are more
liberal but deprives the poor in States which have more
restrictive laws an equal chance?
MR. NESSEN: I feel sure that in considering his
position he is aware of all the arguments on both sides.
Q
You referred to a mother's illness, Ron.
Does he mean physical or mental or both?
MR. NESSEN: I didn't get into that much detail
with him, Les.
Q
Ron, under the Supreme Court ruling, as I
recall it, States still have the right to set their own
laws as long as they are not more restrictive than the
quite precise restrictions in the Supreme Court ruling.
So, that means States do have really the rights right now
to set their own laws. In urging that States have more
rights --
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MR. NESSEN: Let me stop you there. He is not
urging anything, because he has no role in the process
now. He is simply stating his personal views.
Q
All right, he would like to see if there is
going to be any action at all, that the States get the
right to make their own rules on abortion.
MR. NESSEN: I want to make sure you understand,
when you sit down and write, you don't say the President
today urged a Constitutional amendment. It is his personal
view, if there is any action, this is the one he favors.
Q
If there is any action, the one he favors,
it seems to me, would be giving the States the right to
make more restrictive rulings than the Supreme Court. That
is basically what you are saying because they already have
the right to make rulings no more restrictive than the
Supreme Court.
So, he is saying the States should be able to
restrict it more than the Supreme Court says, right?
MR. NESSEN: Would you repeat the question? I
don't think I can go into that great legal labyrinth
because I don't understand what you said.
Q
You are saying the States should have rights
they don't have now. He is saying if anything is going
to be done, the States should have a right they don't have
now. The only right they don't have now is to pass laws
that differ substantially from the Supreme Court decision.
Therefore, he is saying -- correct -- that the
States, if any change is made, they should have the right
to restrict abortions more than the Supreme Court said?
MR. NESSEN: I will check with him because it
is a matter of some delicacy, and I want to be certain I
know his thoughts on it.
Q
Do he and Mrs. Ford have diverging views
on this subject?
MR. NESSEN: I will let you make that judgment,
Fran.
Q
Since the President, you said, does not
agree with the Supreme Court decision, isn't it fair to
say he would like to see the action he prefers taken, even
though he has no role in the decision?
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MR. NESSEN: No. I don't think you should take
this beyond what I have told you because I think it is
clear to you it was carefully thought out and carefully
worded, and so it precisely reflects his views.
Q
He has a court decision he doesn't agree
with, and he doesn't want anything done about it?
MR. NESSEN: Personally, he does not have a role
at this stage.
Q
Isn't it more precise to say he chooses not
to have a role?
MR. NESSEN: There is no role.
Q
Could not the President propose, just as he
proposes legislation, could he not propose a Constitutional
amendment?
MR. NESSEN: Presidents do not, I understand,
propose Constitutional amendments. They originate with
Congress, which is in the Constitution, I think.
Q
There is no Presidential leadership need
here?
MR. NESSEN: I think we are going into the area
of 'What if" and I think I have given you his view, which
I have been asked for over the days.
Q
In the interest of precision, are we going
to get the President's exact words on this matter or do we
have to depend on your interpretation of the President's
words?
MR. NESSEN: You will have to depend on my
interpretation, Carl, which I carefully checked with him
to make sure it was accurate.
Q
When will we get his exact words as given
to Mr. Cronkite in the interview?
MR. NESSEN: I suppose at 7:00, or whenever the
program is on.
Q
Instead of a release at the same time,
couldn't we get an exact quote of what he said to Cronkite?
MR. NESSEN: There were no plans to release a
transcript.
Q
When was the interview with Cronkite?
MR. NESSEN: This morning.
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Q
This one subject only, I am talking about.
MR. NESSEN: There is no plan to put out a
transcript
Q
Ron, we really need it. This is very
confusing. There are a lot of women who think that this
is going to be a very big issue in the campaign.
Q
Why isn't there going to be a transcript
with Cronkite? There has been with New Hampshire editors
and almost everybody else that has been in there.
MR. NESSEN: I think probably from now on we
won't, Tom.
Q
Why not?
MR. NESSEN: Because these private interviews
ought to -- you know, the news conferences and big general
things we will put out transcripts, but not for the private
interviews.
Q
There is no privacy for the President of
the United States.
Q
This is a matter, Ron, that is of general
interest, and I don't think it should be confined to a
private interview.
MR. NESSEN: I think everybody in this room --
probably half the people in this room -- have had private
interviews with the President, and the other half will
soon.
Q
I don't think any of us have gotten the
President's statement on a major issue such as this in an
interview.
MR. NESSEN: It wasn't planned that way.
Q
We asked two and a half weeks ago and we have
repeatedly asked why is it this whole room full of people,
who are obviously concerned about this, who asked you about
this for almost three weeks, and then Cronkite comes in
and gets an exclusive on it. Why is that?
Q
Because he is Cronkite.
MR. NESSEN: Thank you, Walt.
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Q
Ron, you also said the President was
preparing his views to be made public.
MR. NESSEN: I don't think I said that. I said
he was reviewing the issue, making sure he had it worded
precisely so it reflected his views and so forth.
Q
Couldn't we have it worded precisely?
MR. NESSEN: I have given you his views, which
I consider to be very precise.
Q
How do we know but what Cronkite went
in there and talked about something very private, a very
special interest? I don't say he did, but he certainly
had the benefit of a friendship with the President,
especially since he has been doing it in the past.
MR. NESSEN: Let's move on.
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Q
Let's move back to the transcript thing. I
don't think we should leave it where it is,
You mean, from now on when there is a private
interview given by the President, there will be no transcript;
each individual or news group or whatever will be able to go
in there and come away with it and we won't be able to see
what the exchanges were between them?
MR. NESSEN: That is correct.
Q
Did you make that decision unilaterally, or
did you make it on your own, or after conferences with the
President, or did you talk with representatives of this group
about it?
MR. NESSEN: I think probably our method of
operation, Tom, is something we should not deal with.
Q
Why not? We all have a stake in it.
Q
You told us before the Cronkite interview
that the President was making up his mind on the issue of
abortion.
MR. NESSEN: No, I didn't. I am sorry, Howard,
I said he was reviewing his views and wanted them to be worded
precisely and so forth, which is what he has done over the
past few days.
Q
We would like his words precisely, too.
MR. NESSEN: I have given you I think quite
precisely his views on abortion.
Q
It seems to me -- and I may be the only one that
feels that -- but it seems to me your method of operation
here is very much within the province of our interest in
this room and a subject that is appropriate for a news
briefing, because it has to do with the flow of information,
Ron, and I would like to know whether you made this decision
unilaterally or made it in conjunction with the President,
or whether you consulted with anyone, say, from the White
House Correspondents Association?
MR. NESSEN: No, I did not make the decision
alone, Tom, and I understand CBS is putting out transcripts.
Q
But that doesn't satisfy what would be a
continuing problem, it seems to me -- transcripts of inter-
views with the President for release at the time that they
are so set?
MR. NESSEN: We have not put out transcripts of
all the private interviews.
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Q
You say CBS is putting out a transcript. Is
that of every word of the interview or only the portion
of the interview that plays on the air?
MR. NESSEN: I have no idea, Tom. You will have
to check with them.
Q
That is what we are trying to get at here.
We can all listen on the air and see what he says on the air.
Q
CBS isn't going to give all of us a transcript.
MR. NESSEN: I understand they will.
Q
As soon as we finish this briefing, can we
have from the reporter a transcript of all you have said
here today on abortion?
MR. NESSEN: Certainly. It is put out every day.
Q
Not wait for the whole transcript but have
that page alone right quick because it is very confusing.
MR. NESSEN: I don't agree it is confusing but if
it will help, we will get the --
Q
It is. You yourself said, "I will have to go
back and ask. I am not sure about that." And in your own
terms that is not clear.
MR. NESSEN: On one matter that is true, but we
will have that page or pages of the transcript available
first if you would like.
Q
Is it correct the President's views are the
same as those reiterated by the Press Secretary terHorst
early in this Administration?
MR. NESSEN: I have not read back over Jerry's
briefing. These are the President's views on abortion.
Q
Ron, since the President personally believes
this is an issue that ought to be handled by the States
rather than the national Government, is it also true, then,
that personally, although he has no role in the process, he
believes it should not be an issue in a national campaign?
MR. NESSEN: I told Tom I have no way to answer
that question. I don't think the President --
Q
He is not going to try to make it an issue?
MR. NESSEN: No.
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Q
Was a stenographer in there when Cronkite
was there today?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Taking a transcript?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Aren't we entitled to that under Freedom of
Information?
MR. NESSEN: I have no idea, Tom. I will have to
check with the lawyers.
Q
It is my guess that we are. It would have to
be available here somewhere and I would suspect that it would
be.
MR. NESSEN: I will have to check with the lawyers
on that.
Q
Ron, what has been your rationale up to now
for putting out transcripts?
MR. NESSEN: We have not. We have kept a bonded
copy for the files.
Q
I think the New Hampshire editors the week
before last put that out in the Post.
Q
Can you think of one you haven't put out a
transcript on?
MR. NESSEN: I can think of a lot we haven't put
out a transcript on.
Q
Excuse me, Ron --
MR. NESSEN: I think Bob will get us back on the
track in a moment.
Q
The difference is today you are announcing
a change in policy.
MR. NESSEN: No, we aren't.
Q
You say we won't put out a transcript of
private interviews any more. The fact is, you have in many
or most instances in the past and I don't think you have
answered the question as to why you have decided to make
this change.
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MR. NESSEN: Well, I just think that the people --
and as I say, half the people here have had interviews and
the other half will. They are interviews with one newspaper,
one television station or radio station. It is their
interview and what they get out of it they will print or
broadcast and then we will go on to the next one.
Q
We have been waiting for days, Ron, for his
views on abortion.
MR. NESSEN: I have just given them to you, Howard.
Q
Do you think the public interest is served
by having many papers having to report to the country an
imprecise paraphrase by the Press Secretary in place of the
President's actual words?
MR. NESSEN: I don't agree with you that it is
imprecise or that it is a paraphrase, Carl. These are the
President's views and everything I say here reflects the
President's views and this very accurately reflects the
President's views.
Q
Then everything you say can be quoted to the
President?
MR. NESSEN: Look, let's not get into the philosophy
of the Press Secretary. You know everything I say here
represents the President's views and it is used that way
every day and this can be, too.
Q
It is not the President's words.
Q
It is not clear why you will not give us the
President's actual words which are easily available and which
are the best statement of his position.
MR. NESSEN: Get us back on the track, Bob.
(Laughter)
Q
Did Cronkite go into the possibility of
Tay-Sachs or thalidomide?
MR. NESSEN: No, he did not.
Q
What are you trying to hide by not releasing
the transcript?
MR. NESSEN: Tom, what I have been asked for,
over however many days it is, is the President's views on
abortion, which I have given you, the President's views on
abortion, with great accuracy and precision.
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Q
Going to the policy change, though, Ron,
that Brokaw is hitting at, it was a CBS interview, it was
fully transcribed and was released, and this is the first
time this type of interview has been given and you have had
a policy change insofar as the flow of information is
concerned, and it raises the question of what are you
attempting to hide by changing your policy?
MR. NESSEN: Nothing.
Q
Let me ask you this: Was this part of the
condition of the interview?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Q
Was there discussion of it with Cronkite
before you began the interview?
MR. NESSEN: No, nor with anybody else in CBS. I
doubt CBS knows anything about the transcript policy of
the White House.
Q
Did the President say anything about a policy
that you would rather not have it out and Cronkite agreed
to it?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Q
Does the President know his precise words
are being withheld from the press? (Laughter)
Q
Ron, when you say you are precise, does the
rape he is talking about -- does that mean statutory or
forceable?
MR. NESSEN: John.
Q
Are you saying you don't know, Ron? This is
very important. It has been debated in many State
legislatures. You say it is a precise statement of how the
President feels.
Now, does he favor statutory rape? (Laughter)
This is important, Ron, because there are laws
in almost every State. Does he or doesn't he, if you know
the precise statement? We are trying to learn, Ron. Can
you tell us? (Laughter)
MR. NESSEN: John.
Q
Paul asked, was the public interest being
served in this particular case. My question goes to the
broader question about these transcripts.
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Do you feel the public interest is being served
by restricting the flow of information? That is really what
you are doing. Not all newspapers and all magazines will
carry verbatims as, say, the New York Times does and other
periodicals -- they carry word-for-word the interview. Not
everyone is going to do that. That means some information
will not reach the public. Therefore, you made a conscious
decision to do this. It does not appear to us to be in the
public's interest. Can you tell us how it is in the public's
interest or did you take that into consideration?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, we did.
Q
Can you explain it?
MR. NESSEN: John, I don't know why we are having
all of this today. You know the President has had 55 or so
private interviews. We have not put out 55 transcripts. We
have at some times and not at other times, and from now on we
won't.
Q
Have any of those private talks with reporters
where you didn't put out a transcript -- have any inaccuracies
showed up?
MR. NESSEN: Not that I know of.
Q
Since it is an open White House, why don't
you go the other way?
MR. NESSEN: Come on, Tom.
Q
It is not a matter of frivolity to me and
shouldn't be dismissed by you as lightly as it is. It seems
to me this is a very important policy decision you have
made unilaterally without conversation with anyone
representing this side of it.
MR. NESSEN: Taking it seriously, as I do, I
don't think you know who discussed what in the White House and
how decisoins are made. I told you quite firmly it was not
a decision I made alone and it wasn't, but it is a decision.
Q
Was it a decision that was forced on you or
did you --
Q
Is this paid for from campaign financing money?
MR. NESSEN: No, Fran. The transcripts are not
paid for with campaign money.
Q
Was this a forced or statutory decision?
(Laughter)
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Q
They are paid for with Government money or
taxpayers' money?
MR. NESSEN: They are.
Q
Are you saying this was the President's
decision?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Q
Whose decision was it?
MR. NESSEN: It was a White House decision.
Q
You said we didn't know how the decision
was reached. Could you enlighten us?
MR. NESSEN: What decision?
Q
Not to release the transcript.
MR. NESSEN: No, it was a White House decision,
Jim.
Q
Reached by whom?
MR. NESSEN: By various people in the White House.
Q
But the President is not aware of it?
MR. NESSEN: Come on, guys.
Q
Is he aware of it?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know whether he is aware of
it and what difference would it make if he were?
Q
It makes a lot of difference as to whether
we are continuing to have an open Presidency.
MR. NESSEN: I don't think the open Presidency
hangs on the distribution of transcripts. (Laughter)
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Q
It hangs on a lot of things.
MR. NESSEN: It certainly does.
Q
Can you confirm the Cronkite interview
did get into the subject of abortion?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Ron, do you favor this new policy? Did
you advise for it or against it?
MR. NESSEN: I don't think I will tell what my
advice was.
Q
Go ahead and tell us. Were you overruled
by some counsel back there or something?
MR. NESSEN: Lee?
Q Has the President asked Mr. Buchen or
anyone else in the White House to look into possible
questionable practices by the Commissioner of the Internal
Revenue Service?
MR. NESSEN: No. My understanding is that Mr.
Alexander works for Bill Simon and that Bill Simon is
keeping himself aware of how Mr. Alexander is performing
his job.
Q Ron, in the interview last Friday with the
radio and television editors, the subject of busing came
up. I don't recall the President answering this, but
maybe you can enlighten us. Does he favor or does he not
favor a Constitutional amendment prohibiting cross-district
busing?
MR. NESSEN: John, I don't know. I will have
to check on that.
Q
Ron, if a person turns on their television set
to a different station and doesn't happen to hear Mr.
Cronkite, how are they going to know the President's views
if it isn't given out by the other TV stations correctly
and by the press, the writing press correctly?
MR. NESSEN: I just gave them to you, Naomi.
Q
You gave them to me, but I am talking about
J. Q. Public, who would be looking at a.different program
instead of Cronkite at that time?
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MR. NESSEN: J. Q. reads all your papers, I
think, and will see his views reported.
Q But they won't have an exact transcript.
Q Ron, with all due respect, I think the
country deserves the President's words on this and not
yours. Why is it so difficult to pick out that part of
the transcript and just give us the President's words on
abortion?
MR. NESSEN: I will get a Xerox made of this.
Q Are those the President's words or yours?
MR. NESSEN: This is an unofficial transcript
taken down hurriedly by a typist. It is not proofread
or anything else, and there is a fair number of typos
in there.
Q
I don't want to cut off anybody, but I was
wondering, can you give us any more details on the
Moynihan thing? When the President learned of it, did he
ever make an attempt over the weekend to ask Moynihan to
stay on again?
MR. NESSEN: No, Bob, I think just to give you
a little bit of a scenario, Pat was in here last week,
as you know, and at that time did not say anything about
leaving. On Saturday a courier brought the letter from
Pat, which you saw yesterday, dated Saturday. Dick Cheney
was called during the trip and ---
Q They brought it here to the White House and
the President was out at Dearborn?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, so the contents in the letter
were phoned to Cheney and Cheney notified the President
during the flight from Dearborn to Williamsburg and, from
the wording of the letter, it was clear that Pat had made
up his mind and so there was no effort made to dissuade
him.
Q Were we not told that the first time the
President saw the letter -- and technically that might
be right -- was not until yesterday?
MR. NESSEN: I think that is right.
Q But he did know the contents on Saturday?
MR. NESSEN: That is right.
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Q
Were we not misled, some of us, by being
told that he did not see the letter until yesterday and
not being told that he knew of the contents?
MR. NESSEN: I think I told most people who
asked yesterday, or all the people who asked yesterday, that
the President was notified on Saturday that Pat was
resigning.
Q
Ron, what was the reason, though, for waiting
until yesterday to announce it?
MR. NESSEN: In order to draft a letter of
acceptance.
Q
Ron, can you tell us what the President's
reaction was when he was informed by Cheney?
MR. NESSEN: He asked why and Cheney explained
to him the tenure problem at Harvard.
Q
Ron, just one last question, from me at
any rate, on the Cronkite thing. That was done -- and I
am sure you knew and the President did --- as one in a
series of political interviews of the candidates and
their views on issues.
MR. NESSEN: Right.
Q
Did the President view this as a
political appearance by him?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know that the issue has
ever come up. He was aware that it was one in a series
in which candidates were asked their views on issues. He
was also told that, since his views were already known on
the issues, that he would be asked additional questions
that the other candidates weren't, asking for why he had
reached certain decisions and what his reaction to certain
criticism of his stands were and so forth, so his inter-
view was planned by CBS to go beyond what the other candidates
had done.
Q
Ron, are we to presume the President answered
Mr. Cronkite's inquiries on this subject but has refused
to answer yours on our behalf? I am a little worried
here.
MR. NESSEN: Jim?
Q
On the Moynihan matter, if my recollection
of his letter is correct, there was a reference in the
letter to a division of his heart, or some phrase to that
effect. He was clearly torn as to whether to give up
his tenure and remain in Government or to go back to
Harvard.
If that was in the letter, why did the President
not feel it was appropriate to try to dissuade him?
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MR. NESSEN: In the conversation with Dick, who
had talked to Pat on the phone, the message was relayed to
the President that Pat had made up his mind to go back to
Harvard.
Q
Did Dick call him in New York after he got
word of the letter?
MR. NESSEN: I understand Dick talked to Pat on
Saturday.
Q
Ron, does the President feel that Moynihan
was something less than candid with him for not telling
him last week, when he was in here, about what he was
planning?
MR. NESSEN: No, because I don't know when Pat
made up his mind. You will have to ask Pat when he made
up his mind.
Q
The question of tenure is a longstanding
thing, It isn't something that just came along.
MR. NESSEN: As I said yesterday, Pat was in
negotiations with Harvard for quite some time to see if
he could get an extension of the deadline to see if he
could maintain his tenure. How those discussions went and
when he found out he had to make up his mind, I don't know.
You will have to ask Pat that.
Q
Ron, is Mrs. Black being considered as a
replacement for Moynihan?
MR. NESSEN: I don't think I want to get into who
is and who isn't.
Q
Ron, would Cheney call Ambassador Moynihan
after getting that letter without talking to the President?
Did he talk to the President and then call Moynihan?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know what the timing of the
call. I know there was a call.
Q
Was he trying to talk him out of resigning?
MR. NESSEN: No, he was not.
Q
Does the President want someone who is as
outspoken as Moynihan was?
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MR. NESSEN: As I told you many times, Phil,
Pat was doing precisely what the President wanted him to
do, and I would expect his replacement would follow the
same policy, and whatever personal differences of style
there may be in the new Ambassador, he certainly will
follow the same approach.
Q
Ron, has the President decided whether to
appear on any one of the candidate's forums that the
League of Women Voters is going to sponsor?
MR. NESSEN: The proposal is in here and it is
being considered and there has not been a decision yet.
Q
Has the President asked for the resignation
of Civil Service Commission Chairman Bob Hampton?
MR. NESSEN: I am not aware of it if he has.
Q
Will you check?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
What was the purpose of the Cheney call to
Moynihan?
MR. NESSEN: Just to talk to Pat and see what
his plans were and to explore further the points he made
in his letter and so forth.
Q
But it was not a call to try to persuade
him to stay on the job?
MR. NESSEN: It is not my understanding that it
was.
Q
Have you got an answer to yesterday's
question about how the President feels about Metro grant
funds?
MR. NESSEN: Yes. I surprised you, didn't I?
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Q
No.
MR. NESSEN: He does want to see the Metro completed
and you see that in his budget proposal, the one of last week.
He proposed a 16 percent increase in mass transit funds over
the current fiscal year and part of that money comes from the
accelerated use of interstate highway funds for mass transit
projects, including principally the use of highway funds
for Metro.
You have to look into the budget to get more
details, but it is specifically targeted so that segments
of Metro will be opening on time or even earlier than
originally planned.
Secondly, as far as the Administration position
goes, Secretary Coleman, I think some of you know, has been
working with D. C., Maryland and Virginia officials on the
issue and Secretary Coleman has said that he thinks there
is sufficient money in the budget and interstate highway
money to take care of the Metro situation, and the President
feels that Secretary Coleman is on top of the issue and is
handling it in the right manner.
Q
Does he agree with the tactics by the
Virginia Governor, Mr. Godwin, of holding Metro money
hostage for construction of I-66?
MR. NESSEN: I am not that familiar with the Metro
I-66 matter.
Q
Along the same line, has the President spoken
to Secretary Coleman about the Concord decision?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Q
Ron, they are going to be voting in the House
in mid-afternoon on natural gas deregulation. Since the
President has been so interested in this particular matter,
I am wondering, are you going to have a reaction here after
the vote?
MR. NESSEN: Today's vote, of course, is a procedural
vote. The vote is on a rule to take up, I guess, the
Krueger amendment, if I am not mistaken. I mean, I can
tell you ahead of time that the President would be certainly
pleased for the House to vote to take up the Krueger
amendment.
I don't know if all of you were here for Frank
Zarb's and Congressman Brown's briefing last night but it
is quite detailed as to why the Administration and the
President feel that a bill to increase the supply of natural
gas is needed and the Senate has already passed it, of
course, and he is hopeful the House will take the first
step today in the procedural vote and then go on to pass
a bill that would increase the supply of natural gas.
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Q
Could I go back to Metro a minute? When-
you say the President wants to see Metro completed, by that
do you mean he wants to see it completed in its original
concept of all the artery legs going out to Dulles, Virginia
and the Maryland suburbs? Is that what you mean?
MR. NESSEN: Let me put you in touch with our Metro
expert, all right?
Q May I ask who that is?
MR. NESSEN: Margaret, who should people call on
Metro? Or you, can you do it?
MISS EARL: I will talk to you later on it.
Q How about answering that one question now?
MR. NESSEN: I will have to check.
Q
Ron, you said the President had not talked
with Coleman about the Concord decision. Is the President
aware of Coleman's decision on Concord?
MR. NESSEN: No, he is not.
Q
Will he be informed before Coleman makes it
public?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, shortly before.
THE PRESS: Thank you, Ron.
END (AT 1:15 P.M. EST)
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