Description
Ken Khachigian worked for Herbert G. Klein and then Charles W. Colson. His responsibilities mainly concerned public relations
and writing speeches or other documents. He spent much of his time working on the 1972 re-election campaign, and the files
reflect this.
Background
Kenneth L. Khachigian joined the Nixon administration as Staff Assistant to Herbert Klein, Director of Communications, in
August 1970. He described his work, done primarily for Klein and Jeb Stuart Magruder, as "generating ideas as how best to
communicate President Nixon's goals and policies." He became involved in the 1970 congressional midterm elections, writing
speeches and preparing political analyses. In the early months of 1971, his assignment was to generate support for specific
administration proposals. Although in the spring of 1971 he was transferred with most of Klein's staff to Charles Colson,
his duties remained unchanged.
In May 1971, Patrick J. Buchanan asked Khachigian to help him work on the 1972 Presidential campaign. In a memorandum of May
27, 1971, Buchanan described to H. R. Haldeman the duties which he proposed to delegate to Khachigian: "... to keep tabs on
candidates, to keep the 'relevant' research on hand, to write materials needed to get into hands [sic] of various speakers,
to communicate with party leaders and the like in states where opposition candidates appear." These were Khachigian's main
responsibilities through election day. By late spring of 1972, he was regarded as the White House's major research source
on the McGovern campaign and as a minor expert on State Presidential primary laws. In the early stages of the campaign, he
coordinated his work with the Republican National Committee and the Committee for the Re-election of the President, but as
White House participation in the campaign intensified this coordination ended. All during this period Khachigian assumed the
duties of "an ad hoc unofficial writer." Besides his more official responsibilities, he wrote for anyone who needed a speech,
article, or position statement. "... What I was considered," he explained in his interview, "was a broad generalist on the
White House staff who could write...."
Sometime in early 1973, Khachigian transferred to the President's speechwriting staff, working under David Gergen and with
the title Deputy Special Assistant to the President. At first his subject areas of expertise were agriculture, natural resources
and the environment, and political and legal matters. Beginning in June 1973, however, Khachigian took on the tasks of researcher
and writer on issues and problems evolving from the Watergate break-in. Khachigian left the White House Staff in the fall
of 1974.
Restrictions
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that may be subject to copyright restrictions. Researchers should contact the copyright holder for information.