Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-140

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Media relations and White House scheduling

Sunday, January 2, 1972 · 12:24 PM–12:28 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation017-140 on Tape 17 (tape position 05:06:18–05:10:50)StartSunday, January 2, 1972 at 12:24 PMEndSunday, January 2, 1972 at 12:28 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-140 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman coordinated media logistics for an upcoming television interview, deciding to restrict press access to a limited number of wire service photographers to avoid large groups of reporters. The two also reviewed the President's upcoming schedule, including meetings with Gerard C. Smith and Attorney General John Mitchell. Additionally, Nixon directed Haldeman to include various cabinet members and advisors in a meeting with Peter G. Peterson to ensure a unified administrative stance and effectively stall on pending policy decisions.

Audio

Download MP3 · 6.2 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
I am Mr. Haldeman, sir.
There you are.
Yes, sir, hello.
The one thing about arrangements tonight, I want to change the deal where Ron, or I guess it'll be Jerry Warren, they have all those photographers heard in afterwards, you know, for picture.
We're not going to have that now.
The way we're going to do it is to have Ali...
with two wires can come in before and take a shot okay and afterwards we'll leave that way they can make their earlier shows and all that sort of thing all right but there's no need to have that you know everybody tramping in afterwards and looking around and so forth and so on and that's to be the case always in the future incidentally i don't on any of these broadcasts and so forth i'm not going to have them come in afterwards
Okay, it's time.
Have them come in five minutes before.
They can shoot their pictures, put it on the wire, and it's that.
Well, that's better for them anyway, of course.
Sure, they make an earlier deadline.
But the only thing that you're knocking out, Bob, which someone has to bring in 30 or 40 reporters to, you know, which all they want to do is to come in and look around.
It's not a photo-op turn.
You just have Ollie and the two wires.
Okay.
They come in and take a shot.
Okay.
All right, fine.
Anything else there today?
No, uh...
I haven't seen you, but Pat's putting together a late news summary for you.
Yeah, I know he is.
If you haven't got it, it'll be on its way over.
Yeah.
And he's on standby there if you want anything.
Yeah.
Okay.
And back up and...
Tomorrow we, let's see, we've got that fellow Smith coming in, haven't we?
Yes, sir.
Yeah.
All right.
And let's see, what else are there?
Anything other, other problems, anything tomorrow that we had?
We've got a couple odds and ends.
Yeah.
And then your luncheon with... Oh, Gryphis, that's right.
Gryphis.
Right, right.
And I tentatively put the Attorney General tomorrow afternoon if you want to touch base with him before you head out.
That's probably a good idea.
I just thought it might be a good idea.
Sure, sure.
Get him out of the way.
And for that matter, maybe because of Peterson's problem...
Better get him in with Schultz.
That'd be a darn good idea.
Henry, but I, as you understand, I've got to have him surrounded so that he doesn't, you see what I mean?
Okay, yeah.
Because we've got to keep him from going off on another road than Connolly and others want to go.
Okay.
But I would say get Peterson and Kissinger and... Is McGregor around?
Yep.
That'd be good.
Let McGregor come in.
Okay.
Gregor and Schultz, so that we can decide not to do anything about that.
In other words, just drag our feet.
OK. We don't know what to do.
OK.
Very good.

NARA Description

On January 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 12:24 pm to 12:28 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-140 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-140

Date: January 2, 1972
Time: 12:24 pm - 12:28 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

[See Conversation No. 311-39]

     President's interview with Dan Rather
           -Photographs
                 -Ronald L. Ziegler, Gerald L. Warren
                 -Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins and 2 wire services
          -Reporters
                 -Number
          -Atkins and 2 wire services

     News Summary
         -Patrick J. Buchanan

**********************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/22/2017.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[017-140-w001]
[Duration: 1m 28s]

     The President’s election announcement
          -H.R. Haldeman talk with John Mitchell
               -Timing
          -Restrictions on timing
               -Letter
               -Dan Rather interview

     Maurice Stans announcement
         -H.R. Haldeman talk with John Mitchell

**********************************************************************

     President's schedule
           -President to meet with Gerard C. Smith, January 3
           -President's luncheon with Jack Dreyfus, January 3
           -President's meeting with John N. Mitchell
           -Peter G. Peterson, George P. Shultz, Henry A. Kissinger, Clark MacGregor, John B
            Connally

Also recorded on January 2, 1972

  • 017-139 12:12 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:12 pm.
  • 311-037 12:12 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 12:12 pm.
  • 311-038 12:12 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:12 pm and 12:24 pm.
  • 311-039 12:24 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:24 pm to 12:28 pm.
  • 017-141 12:28 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:28 pm and 12:39 pm.
  • 311-040 12:28 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:28 pm and 12:39 pm.
  • 017-142 12:39 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 12:39 pm to 12:48 pm.
  • 311-041 12:39 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:39 pm to 12:48 pm.

All 39 conversations from January 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-140, January 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-140 (accessed October 12, 2026).