"YOUR VERY FORTHRIGHT APPROVAL OF MY DECISION TO CLEAR THE ENEMY'S SANCTUARIES ALONG THE CAMBODIA-VIETNAM BORDER MEANS A GREAT DEAL TO ME": IMPORTANT JUNE 4, 1970 TYPED LETTER ON WHITE HOUSE LETTERHEAD TO PUBLISHER JAMES COPLEY, SIGNED BY PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON

NIXON, Richard. Typed letter signed. Washington: White House, June 4, 1970. Original ivory letterhead leaf (6-3/4 inches by 9 inches).

June 4, 1970 typed letter signed by Richard Nixon as president, on official White House letterhead to his longtime patron, California publisher James Copley, dated soon after Nixon's newly announced policy to send troops into Cambodia sparked widespread protest, with Nixon thanking Copley, in part, for his "forthright approval" of the Cambodia decision—"In these trouble times particularly, your support is deeply heartening."

This June 4, 1970 typed letter on White House letterhead signed by President Nixon, to powerful newspaper publisher James Copley, comes at a time when Nixon was under siege for sending U.S. troops into Cambodia. Following a dramatic televised address on April 30, when Nixon announced that decision, the nation erupted in protest. On May 4 four students were killed at Kent State University and two students at Jackson State College were killed on May 14, only days after the May 9 March on Washington. In Nixon's letter he thanks Copley for his "very forthright approval of my decision to clear the enemy's sanctuaries along the Cambodia-Vietnam border… In these troubled times particularly, your support is deeply heartening." Nixon had a longtime "patron in Copley… Nixon also benefited repeatedly from the expertise of Herbert Klein, a senior Copley editor" who was Nixon's director of communications during his presidency (Summers, Arrogance of Power). At Copley's death in 1973, Nixon praised him as "close friend and adviser… a noble American whose distinguished career in journalism and public affairs placed him in the direct line of descent from this country's great printer-patriots of the past—from Zenger to Pulitzer."

The text of Nixon's letter reads: "June 4, 1970 Dear Jim: It has been especially gratifying to see the many editorials on Cambodia in the Union and the Tribune. Your very forthright approval of my decision to clear the enemy's sanctuaries along the Cambodia-Vietnam border means a great deal to me, and more importantly, to each of America's fighting men. In these troubled times particularly, your support is deeply heartening. Pat joins me in sending warmest regards to Helen and you. Sincerely [signed] RN [typescript] Mr. James S. Copley, Publisher, San Diego Union and Tribune, 940 Third Avenue, San Diego, California 92112" (underlining in original). White House letterhead stationary with embossed presidential seal.

Only faint foldline, text and signature clear and dark. An important presidential letter in fine condition.