Nixon White House TapesTape 24 › Conversation 024-109

Nixon, Colson & Haldeman on George C. Wallace and Arthur H. Bremer

Monday, May 15, 1972 · 7:42 PM–7:57 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsWhite House operator;  Colson, Charles W.;  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob");  Nixon, Richard M. (President);  Felt, W. MarkConversation024-109 onTape 24 (tape position 02:07:56–02:14:02)StartMonday, May 15, 1972 at 7:42 PMEndMonday, May 15, 1972 at 7:57 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 024-109 ↗

President Nixon, H. R. Haldeman, Charles Colson, and FBI Associate Director W. Mark Felt discussed the aftermath of the assassination attempt on George C. Wallace. The participants focused on the background of the assailant, Arthur H. Bremer, specifically exploring potential political motivations, his anti-war connections, and rumored ties to Edward M. Kennedy. The group coordinated on the FBI's investigation and the necessity of verifying these rumors to ensure accurate reporting to the President.

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 28.2 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:07:56 into the tape and ends around 02:14:02.

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

On May 15, 1972, the White House operator, Charles W. Colson, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, President Richard M. Nixon, and W. Mark Felt talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:42 pm and 7:57 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 024-109 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 24-109

Date: May 15, 1972
Time: Unknown between 7:42 pm and 7:57 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with Charles W. Colson.

     Call from W. Mark Felt

Colson conferred with the President and H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman at an unknown time.

     Felt's call

     Questions

[End of conferral]

     Felt's call

Felt talked with Colson at an unknown time.

     Colson's location

     Attack on George C. Wallace
          -Latest report
               -Assailants

                     -Number
                     -Release
                -Arthur H. Bremer
                     -Name
                     -Race
                     -Sex
                     -Residence
                           -Source of information
                     -Purchase of gun
                           -Place
                           -Caliber
                     -Current location
                           -Reason
                     -Interrogation
                           -Doctors
                           -Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
                     -Protection

The President and Haldeman conferred at an unknown time.

     Secret Service

[End of conferral]

     Attack on Wallace
          -Investigation
               -FBI direction and control
                      -Legal basis
          -Secret Service agent
               -Surgery
               -Location
               -Condition
          -Bremer
               -Interrogation
                      -Time
                      -Questions
                           -Range

Colson conferred with the President and an unknown person at an unknown time.

     [Unintelligible]

     Edward M. Kennedy

[End of conferral]

     Attack on Wallace
          -Reports
               -Bremer
                     -Political leanings
                           -Kennedy connection
                           -Antiwar connection
                           -Questions
          -Questioning
               -Colson’s view
          -Further reports

Colson conferred with Haldeman at an unknown time.

           -John D. Ehrlichman's Request for a call to Felt

[End of conferral]

           -Ehrlichman's Request for a call to Felt
           -Rumors
                 -Bremer's motives
                 -Political connections
                       -University of Wisconsin
                             -Anti-war connection
                       -Kennedy
           -Questioning
                 -Timing
           -Bremer
                 -Safety
                       -Compared with John F. Kennedy assassination
                 -Questioning
                       -Reports to the President

The President conferred with Haldeman at an unknown time.

           -Surgery

[End of conferral]

           -Rumors
                -Verification
                      -Edward M. Kennedy
                            -Felt’s concern
                -Colson's sources
           -Bremer
                -Questioning
                      -Timing
                      -Colson’s view
           -Further reports
  • 024-107 7:37 PM · 3 min — the White House operator, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 7:37 pm to 7:42 pm.
  • 024-108 7:42 PM · 39 sec — Charles W. Colson, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:42 pm and 7:57 pm.
  • 024-110 7:42 PM · 48 sec — Charles W. Colson, White House operator, and Joan Hall talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:42 pm and 7:57 pm.
  • 024-111 7:42 PM · 25 sec — Charles W. Colson, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Kenneth W. Clawson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:42 pm and 7:57 pm.
  • 339-004 7:42 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), Charles W. Colson, White House operator, Kenneth W. Clawson, Richard G. Kleindienst, John B. Connally, and Idanell ("Nellie") (Brill) Connally met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:42 pm and 8:10 pm.
  • 024-112 7:57 PM · 7 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:57 pm and 7:59 pm.
  • 024-113 7:57 PM · 1 min — Richard G. Kleindienst and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:57 pm and 7:59 pm.
  • 024-114 7:59 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:59 pm and 8:02 pm.

Conversation 024-109, May 15, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/024-109 (accessed September 18, 2026).