Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-002

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Jack Anderson and News leaks

Thursday, October 5, 1972 · 12:29 PM–1:35 PM ET · White House Telephone · 52 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); White House operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); White House operatorConversation031-002 on Tape 31StartThursday, October 5, 1972 at 12:29 PMEndThursday, October 5, 1972 at 1:35 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, H. R. Haldeman, and Charles W. Colson discussed a damaging news story regarding the President's personal properties written by columnist Jack Anderson. The participants attempted to identify the source of the leaked information, specifically speculating whether it originated from the General Services Administration (GSA) or Secret Service agents. While no definitive source was confirmed, the discussion reflects the administration's heightened sensitivity to press leaks and internal security vulnerabilities during the 1972 election cycle.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

No, no, Jack Anderson.
Anderson got it out of a GSA thing somewhere.
No.
No.
GSA put it out there.
No.
Yeah, I forget.
There was a logical source.
Okay, forget it.
Thanks.

NARA Description

On October 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:29 pm and 1:35 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-2

Date: October 5, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:29 pm and 1:35 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 364-4A]

        Request for a call to Ronald L. Ziegler

Haldeman conferred with the President and Charles W. Colson at an unknown time between
12:29 pm and 1:35 pm.

        News story on the President’s properties
           -Jack N. Anderson
                -Possible sources
                    -Secret Service agents
                    -General Services Administration [GSA]

[End of conferral]

        Ziegler's location
            -Sans Souci restaurant

Also recorded on October 5, 1972

  • 792-002 12:14 PM · 14 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:14 pm and 3:03 pm.
  • 364-001 12:20 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:20 pm to 12:25 pm.
  • 364-002 12:25 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:25 pm and 12:26 pm.
  • 364-003 12:25 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:25 pm and 12:26 pm.
  • 364-004 12:26 PM · 57 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, unknown person(s), and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:26 pm to 1:36 pm.
  • 364-005 1:36 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:36 pm and 2:05 pm.
  • 364-006 1:36 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:36 pm and 2:05 pm.
  • 364-007 1:36 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:36 pm and 2:05 pm.

All 36 conversations from October 5, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-002, October 5, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-002 (accessed October 12, 2026).