Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 4 › Conversation 004-021

Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on May Day demonstrations and Law enforcement

Thursday, June 3, 1971 · 3:06 PM–3:07 PM ET · White House Telephone · 30 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation004-021 on Tape 4 (tape position 01:12:06–01:12:40)StartThursday, June 3, 1971 at 3:06 PMEndThursday, June 3, 1971 at 3:07 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 004-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman spoke briefly to coordinate before a scheduled meeting while Ehrlichman was at the office of Maurice Stans. The two men discussed the heavy law enforcement presence regarding recent May Day demonstrations, expressing satisfaction that the security measures had successfully frustrated the Washington press corps. No further policy decisions were made, as the conversation served primarily as a brief situational update.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Mr. Ehrlichman, sir.
Hello?
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
Do you have anything you wanted to go over before 3.30?
No.
All right.
No, I'm over in Maurice Dan's office.
Fine.
And I don't have anything today.
All right.
Well, they got the... We certainly got a lot of law enforcement out there.
Sure did.
Can't be much conception today.
Really drove the press up the wall there.
It's a goddamn mad... That's what I hear.
...biting their nails.
Yeah.
That's nice.
Yeah, twitching their tail.
Okay.
Right.

NARA Description

On June 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 3:06 pm to 3:07 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 004-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 4-21

Date: June 3, 1971
Time: 3:06 pm - 3:07 pm
Location: White House Telephone

John D. Ehrlichman talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 509-15]

     Ehrlichman's location
           -Maurice H. Stans

     May Day demonstrators, press conference
         -Washington press corps' reaction

Also recorded on June 3, 1971

  • 509-010 1:57 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:57 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 004-020 2:47 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 2:47 pm to 2:49 pm.
  • 509-014 2:47 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:47 pm to 3:06 pm.
  • 509-015 3:06 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:06 pm to 3:07 pm.
  • 509-016 3:07 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 509-017 3:07 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 509-018 3:17 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:17 pm to 3:27 pm.
  • 509-019 3:27 PM · 1 hr 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Robert J. Dole, John N. Mitchell, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:27 pm to 4:49 pm.

All 24 conversations from June 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 004-021, June 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/004-021 (accessed October 12, 2026).