Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 23 › Conversation 023-109

Nixon phone call with Johnson on J. Edgar Hoover and FBI

Tuesday, May 2, 1972 · 11:16 AM–11:17 AM ET · White House Telephone · 56 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Johnson, Lyndon B.Conversation023-109 on Tape 23StartTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 11:16 AMEndTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 11:17 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 023-109 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiated this brief call to inform Lyndon B. Johnson of the death of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Nixon expressed his commitment to maintaining Hoover’s position despite intense political pressure to remove him, noting that he had protected the Director to avoid a divisive confirmation fight in the Senate. Johnson lamented the loss, affirming his long-standing professional and personal regard for Hoover.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
President Johnson, sir.
Hello.
Hello.
I was trying to reach you.
I just announced the death of J. Edgar Hoover.
And I just heard you.
Right.
And I know how much you thought of him, and I tried to reach you before, but you were out someplace.
I'm very grateful, and I'm very sorry he's gone, and we'll be a big loss to our country.
Well, one thing about it, you know, they were after him, and a lot of people were trying to get me to fire him, and I told him early this year, I said, look, this is no time to change directors because we'd have a hell of a fight in the Senate, and, you know, a political fight, and so at least he outlived his detractors.
I hope.
I hope so, too.
He was a good man.
I'm sorry to see him gone.
He's my neighbor for a long time.
I know that.
Thank you so much.
Bye.
Okay.

NARA Description

On May 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson talked on the telephone from 11:16 am to 11:17 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 023-109 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 23-109
Date: May 2, 1972
Time: 11:16-11:17 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Lyndon B. Johnson.

[See also Conversation No. 717-8]

     J. Edgar Hoover
           -Death
                -The President's announcement
                 -The President's previous call
           -Past pressure on the President for Hoover's removal
                 -The President's refusal
           -Johnson's opinion

Also recorded on May 2, 1972

  • 023-108 11:04 AM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:04 am.
  • 717-005 11:04 AM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:04 am.
  • 717-006 11:04 AM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:04 am and 11:10 am.
  • 717-007 11:10 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:10 am to 11:11 am.
  • 717-008 11:16 AM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:16 am to 11:17 am.
  • 023-110 11:17 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:17 am and 11:27 am.
  • 717-009 11:17 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:17 am and 11:19 am.
  • 717-010 11:19 AM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, unknown person(s), and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:19 am to 11:40 am.

All 67 conversations from May 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 023-109, May 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/023-109 (accessed October 10, 2026).