{"conversationCode":"005-127","tapeNumber":5,"conversationNumber":127,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-005-127","startDateTime":"1971-06-18T01:29:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-06-18T01:35:00.000Z","startDate":"17-Jun-1971","startTime":"9:29 PM","endDate":"17-Jun-1971","endTime":"9:35 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\");","description":"On June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. (\"Bob\") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:29 pm to 9:35 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 005-127 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":1,"chronRelease":"First Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"5-Oct-1999","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 5-127\n\nDate: June 17, 1971\nTime: 9:29 pm - 9:35 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.\n\n     Pentagon Papers\n          -Night's news\n          -President's call to Ronald L. Ziegler\n          -Administration's response\n          -John D. Ehrlichman\n          -Lyndon B. Johnson's public statement\n          -President's conversations with Henry A. Kissinger and Charles W. Colson\n          -Administration's response\n          -President's forthcoming public statement\n          -Form of delivery\n                -Revenue sharing\n                -Welfare\n                -New York Times\n          -Egil (\"Bud\") Krogh, Jr., and the President's June 17, 1971 statement on drug abuse\n                control\n          -Length and content\n\n     President's schedule\n\n**********************************************************************\n\nBEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1\n[Personal Returnable]\n[Duration: 27s ]\n\nEND WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1\n\n**********************************************************************\n\n     President's possible statement on Pentagon Papers","filename":["005-127.mp3"],"tapeStart":"03:48:03","tapeEnd":"03:53:55","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\")"],"prevCode":"005-126","nextCode":"005-128","transcript":[{"start":1.16,"end":1.9,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":1.92,"end":3.21,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":3.23,"end":6.57,"text":"Well, I was wondering how the news came out tonight on TV."},{"start":6.71,"end":7.53,"text":"Do you know?"},{"start":8.01,"end":10.38,"text":"No, I don't have one."},{"start":10.39,"end":12.56,"text":"I didn't see any of them."},{"start":12.58,"end":13.64,"text":"If I can get it and give you a call."},{"start":13.66,"end":13.98,"text":"No, no."},{"start":14.06,"end":14.8,"text":"I called Sigler."},{"start":14.86,"end":15.32,"text":"He's out."},{"start":15.38,"end":15.9,"text":"That's all right."},{"start":16.16,"end":16.86,"text":"I'll get it in the morning."},{"start":18.11,"end":22.19,"text":"But we'll check it out then."},{"start":25.74,"end":27.22,"text":"I still don't have John's stuff yet."},{"start":27.26,"end":28.5,"text":"Apparently, they're still working on it."},{"start":29.46,"end":30.44,"text":"I'll look at it in the morning."},{"start":31.74,"end":35.14,"text":"Let's see what he suggests."},{"start":37.27,"end":40.03,"text":"Hi there."},{"start":40.07,"end":42.38,"text":"Did you get a report back on Johnson?"},{"start":42.4,"end":47.12,"text":"Yeah, I talked to Colson and also to Henry and so forth."},{"start":48.08,"end":51.77,"text":"They're going to talk about it at the staff meeting in the morning, give me a recommendation after the staff meeting."},{"start":53.55,"end":61.54,"text":"Perhaps it may be that John is waiting for that before he gives me the recommendations as to what to say"},{"start":62.44,"end":66.84,"text":"I'm not going to say too much."},{"start":68.32,"end":74.23,"text":"It's a tough question as to know how much to say anyway, you know what I mean?"},{"start":74.27,"end":78.31,"text":"It's one of those things where you can jump in and hit the thing."},{"start":82.92,"end":84.6,"text":"Did he raise the thought with you of reading it?"},{"start":86.06,"end":87.16,"text":"Not yet, no."},{"start":87.4,"end":90.06,"text":"Because I was discussing it later this evening that"},{"start":90.35,"end":93.43,"text":"Well, the thing is, if he wants anything done, Bob, I've got to see it."},{"start":93.49,"end":94.25,"text":"That's the problem."},{"start":94.27,"end":97.31,"text":"It's now 9.30 and 9.35 is not here yet."},{"start":97.33,"end":100.33,"text":"But do you want to read a statement to him on television?"},{"start":100.64,"end":108.24,"text":"Well, it's a question of whether on television or not, but to read it rather than just... Well, I won't read it."},{"start":108.28,"end":109.26,"text":"I'll just issue it then."},{"start":109.54,"end":111.2,"text":"I'd prefer to issue it rather than read it."},{"start":112.01,"end":112.99,"text":"I think that's much better."},{"start":113.47,"end":116.85,"text":"I mean, reading it is not a good idea."},{"start":117.07,"end":118.41,"text":"I mean, I don't think that's..."},{"start":118.83,"end":120.91,"text":"particularly effective to read something on that."},{"start":121.05,"end":122.03,"text":"It's just not good at all."},{"start":122.83,"end":125.76,"text":"I mean, if he wants to issue, if we want to issue a statement, that's fine."},{"start":125.78,"end":128.32,"text":"But let me put it this way."},{"start":128.76,"end":136.81,"text":"If I read something before a group like that, then it elevates it to the standpoint of a presidential statement and all that sort of thing."},{"start":136.87,"end":142.58,"text":"I'd just rather just low-key it than just issue the goddamn thing, let them run it, and then I'll just talk about the domestic things."},{"start":142.91,"end":143.89,"text":"But that's my view."},{"start":143.91,"end":148,"text":"No, I don't want to sit up there and talk about revenue sharing and welfare and the rest of it."},{"start":148.02,"end":155.53,"text":"I want to read you a statement about the New York Times problem, you know, about this whole issue that has arisen."},{"start":156.47,"end":169.69,"text":"We get into this, we're falling into that too often, I think, because it's the easiest thing just to read something, you know, and it just takes too much away from getting it across to the people."},{"start":169.75,"end":171.31,"text":"Well, for example, I'm sure that"},{"start":171.8,"end":174.83,"text":"Bud and the rest would have rather that I had read that thing on drugs today."},{"start":175.07,"end":175.83,"text":"No, I don't think so."},{"start":175.91,"end":176.99,"text":"But that isn't the way to do it."},{"start":177.23,"end":180.91,"text":"I mean, I made the point better by talking for a couple of minutes."},{"start":181.15,"end":181.62,"text":"Oh, yeah."},{"start":181.74,"end":183.34,"text":"No, I don't think anybody... Do you think so?"},{"start":183.36,"end":183.96,"text":"Absolutely."},{"start":184.24,"end":185.64,"text":"I don't think anybody had any question on that."},{"start":186.28,"end":191.57,"text":"The argument for reading this, I think, was because it involves a legal case."},{"start":191.67,"end":194.79,"text":"Because it involves a legal case, then the thing to do is to issue it and not read it."},{"start":195.43,"end":196.11,"text":"You know what I mean?"},{"start":196.13,"end":198.64,"text":"I just don't like to sit up there and read something."},{"start":199.14,"end":200.56,"text":"What the hell good does it do to read it?"},{"start":201.25,"end":206.01,"text":"That is, if it's a statement, we'll just issue a presidential statement on it."},{"start":206.03,"end":209.02,"text":"That is, I'm not sure anything should be done anyway."},{"start":209.92,"end":210.42,"text":"What's he got?"},{"start":210.44,"end":211.28,"text":"Is it just too long?"},{"start":211.34,"end":212,"text":"Is that the problem?"},{"start":212.1,"end":212.68,"text":"I'm not sure."},{"start":213.62,"end":214.1,"text":"Could be."},{"start":215.26,"end":215.79,"text":"It was."},{"start":216.01,"end":218.03,"text":"That was the problem earlier."},{"start":218.53,"end":219.65,"text":"To try to boil it down."},{"start":220.01,"end":222.05,"text":"I know you said they had four pages."},{"start":222.07,"end":222.91,"text":"That would be ten minutes."},{"start":222.96,"end":223.86,"text":"Well, that's too long."},{"start":223.88,"end":225.52,"text":"Make the points and still..."},{"start":226.61,"end":227.37,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":227.39,"end":232.3,"text":"But I'm afraid, Bob, it's too legalistic from the way I've heard about it so far."},{"start":232.36,"end":235.64,"text":"It's, you know, getting into all the legalisms."},{"start":235.68,"end":237.64,"text":"And that isn't going to sell anybody."},{"start":237.66,"end":239.82,"text":"I don't think anybody gives one damn about the legalism."},{"start":239.84,"end":240.73,"text":"That's absolutely right."},{"start":240.75,"end":242.45,"text":"That isn't, Bob, the point for me to make."},{"start":242.69,"end":243.11,"text":"Right."},{"start":243.13,"end":247.07,"text":"If I'm going to do anything, I've just got to go and make the point, look, this is not any of our doing."},{"start":247.53,"end":252.84,"text":"This is the, we, but I have to protect, I have to do this because it involves the"},{"start":253.43,"end":257.11,"text":"the ability to conduct the presidency and to conduct foreign policy."},{"start":257.31,"end":262.18,"text":"I really don't think it lends itself to reading because of that reason."},{"start":262.24,"end":268.37,"text":"If we get into all the legalisms, well, the law has been passed and the law has been violated and all that sort of thing."},{"start":268.53,"end":271.67,"text":"That's what they're trying to get away with."},{"start":271.69,"end":272.94,"text":"Actually, there wasn't much of that in it."},{"start":273.62,"end":280.45,"text":"There were some long words and it made more of a case than they... Yeah."},{"start":280.47,"end":281.69,"text":"Well, I'll take a look at it in the morning."},{"start":281.97,"end":282.59,"text":"Fine."},{"start":309.38,"end":311.39,"text":"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess."},{"start":312.39,"end":315.53,"text":"So that takes care of that one."},{"start":315.83,"end":316.07,"text":"Good."},{"start":316.55,"end":319.66,"text":"And that's, everything's fine."},{"start":320.68,"end":326.77,"text":"Well, I'll take a look at it, but when you're in your staff meeting, I just don't, I mean, I'll either do one thing or the other."},{"start":326.83,"end":331.15,"text":"I'll either issue a statement or I'm going to ad lib something very brief."},{"start":331.5,"end":333.6,"text":"That's my opinion at the present time."},{"start":333.64,"end":337.16,"text":"If it's so long that it has to be read, then we'll issue it."},{"start":337.45,"end":338.59,"text":"But I'm not going to stand there."},{"start":338.61,"end":342.98,"text":"I see nothing to be gained by reading to a bunch of editors a statement on this."},{"start":343.56,"end":345.14,"text":"That just doesn't sound right to me."},{"start":345.17,"end":345.89,"text":"It doesn't feel right."},{"start":347.53,"end":349.96,"text":"Because then I'm getting too much into the legalisms."},{"start":350.58,"end":350.92,"text":"Okay."},{"start":351.02,"end":351.76,"text":"Okay, good."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the administration’s strategy for responding to the unauthorized publication of the Pentagon Papers. Nixon expresses reluctance to issue a formal televised statement, fearing that a prepared, legalistic speech would be ineffective and draw excessive attention to the issue. He decides to review a draft from John Ehrlichman the following morning, ultimately favoring either a simple written statement or a brief, unscripted address to avoid appearing overly focused on technical legalisms.","topics":["Pentagon Papers","Public relations","Executive communication","John D. Ehrlichman","Media strategy"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-05T22:01:40.642Z"},"topicSlugs":["pentagon-papers","public-relations","executive-communication","john-d-ehrlichman","media-strategy"],"audioDurationSec":353,"audioFiles":[{"file":"005-127.mp3","bytes":3752301,"durationSec":352.78,"bitrate":85092,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:21.078Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/005-127.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/005-127","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/5/conversation-005-127","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}