{"conversationCode":"023-104","tapeNumber":23,"conversationNumber":104,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-023-104","startDateTime":"1972-05-02T14:43:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-05-02T14:44:00.000Z","startDate":"2-May-1972","startTime":"10:43 AM","endDate":"2-May-1972","endTime":"10:44 AM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\"); Buchanan, Patrick J.;","description":"On May 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. (\"Bob\") Haldeman, and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 10:43 am to 10:44 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 023-104 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":3,"chronRelease":"Third Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"28-Feb-2002","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 23-104\n\nDate: May 2, 1972\nTime: 10:43-10:44 am\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nH. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the President.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 334-18]\n\f[The President conferred with Patrick J. Buchanan before the conversation began.]\n\n[See Conversation No. 334-17]\n\n[End of conferral]\n\n     The President's statement\n          -Timing\n               -Announcement of J. Edgar Hoover's death\n                      -Lead story\n                      -Timing with the President's statement","filename":["023-104.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\")","Buchanan, Patrick J."],"prevCode":"023-103","nextCode":"023-105","transcript":[{"start":0.03,"end":4.38,"text":"statement to be given out to the press and I'll make an order."},{"start":4.42,"end":4.66,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":4.96,"end":5.76,"text":"Mr. Haldeman, sir."},{"start":5.78,"end":6,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":6.7,"end":6.92,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":7.12,"end":18.35,"text":"Oh, strong feeling here is that you're in a much better posture to go out with the death having been announced than to announce it because of the questions on time and the whole thing there."},{"start":18.51,"end":20.57,"text":"Well, then should I even go out at all?"},{"start":20.89,"end":22.66,"text":"Strong, very strong feeling as you should."},{"start":22.68,"end":25.6,"text":"This will be the lead story tonight and it should be you on the television."},{"start":27.35,"end":32.58,"text":"Well, then, the point is that get the death... We'll get it out right now, and then you... No, no, God damn it to hell."},{"start":32.66,"end":33.59,"text":"Don't do it that way."},{"start":33.95,"end":34.05,"text":"Okay."},{"start":34.07,"end":38.72,"text":"I'll be over there, and I want the death announced, and then I will walk out."},{"start":39.66,"end":43.2,"text":"I want it announced so that they don't have 30 minutes to think about it before I get there."},{"start":43.91,"end":44.01,"text":"Okay."},{"start":44.21,"end":44.51,"text":"All right?"},{"start":44.55,"end":45.47,"text":"Can you be ready or not?"},{"start":45.81,"end":46.59,"text":"Yeah, we'll..."},{"start":47.28,"end":49.35,"text":"Let me set it up then for... See what I mean?"},{"start":49.43,"end":50.17,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":50.19,"end":52.52,"text":"Announce it within five minutes after the death is announced."},{"start":52.62,"end":54.16,"text":"I want to be out there making the statement."},{"start":54.18,"end":54.74,"text":"Okay."},{"start":54.76,"end":56.25,"text":"I don't want any delay, whatever."},{"start":56.45,"end":56.91,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":56.93,"end":57.15,"text":"Okay."},{"start":57.33,"end":57.65,"text":"Let me know."},{"start":57.73,"end":58.37,"text":"Call me right back."},{"start":58.41,"end":58.67,"text":"Right."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon, H. R. Haldeman, and Patrick Buchanan coordinated the timing of the President’s public announcement regarding the death of J. Edgar Hoover. Nixon insisted that the announcement of Hoover's death and his own subsequent television statement occur in immediate succession to avoid speculation or media delays. The participants finalized a strategy to ensure Nixon’s remarks served as the definitive lead story of the evening news cycle.","topics":["J. Edgar Hoover","Public relations","Media strategy","White House communications","Death of public officials"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T02:41:13.128Z"},"topicSlugs":["j-edgar-hoover","public-relations","media-strategy","white-house-communications","death-of-public-officials"],"audioDurationSec":60,"audioFiles":[{"file":"023-104.mp3","bytes":1453243,"durationSec":60.49,"bitrate":192202,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:27.522Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/023-104.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/023-104","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/23/conversation-023-104","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}