Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 6 › Conversation 006-138

Nixon phone call with Haig on SALT and Gerard C. Smith

Saturday, July 3, 1971 · 6:55 PM–6:56 PM ET · White House Telephone · 24 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation006-138 on Tape 6 (tape position 02:47:43–02:48:07)StartSaturday, July 3, 1971 at 6:55 PMEndSaturday, July 3, 1971 at 6:56 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 006-138 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted Alexander M. Haig, Jr. to confirm the status of specific instructions regarding the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT). Haig verified that the directives had been dispatched and confirmed he personally discussed the matter with lead negotiator Gerard C. Smith. The President expressed satisfaction upon receiving confirmation that the communication had been successfully relayed.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Al Haig, sir.
Yeah.
Hello?
Yes, Mr. President.
Al, I was wondering about that SALT thing.
Did we get that instruction out to him?
Yes, sir.
Okay, fine.
It's gone out, and I've talked to Jerry Smith about it today.
Fine, fine.
I knew that we had already had it in, I mean, I knew what we were going to say, but I just wanted to be sure it went out.
Yes, sir.
Okay, good.
Fine, Mr. President.

NARA Description

On July 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:55 pm to 6:56 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-138 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 6-138

Date: July 3, 1971
Time: 6:55 pm - 6:56 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig. Jr.

     Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT] instructions to unknown man
           -Haig's conversation with Gerard C. Smith

Also recorded on July 3, 1971

  • 006-130 4:22 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:22 pm and 4:37 pm.
  • 006-131 4:37 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 4:37 pm to 4:38 pm.
  • 006-132 4:38 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:38 pm and 6:04 pm.
  • 006-133 6:04 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:04 pm to 6:05 pm.
  • 006-134 6:05 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:05 pm and 6:16 pm.
  • 006-135 6:16 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John K. Andrews, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:16 pm to 6:17 pm.
  • 006-136 6:17 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:17 pm and 6:55 pm.
  • 006-137 6:17 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:17 pm and 6:55 pm.

All 45 conversations from July 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 006-138, July 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-138 (accessed September 19, 2026).