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Conversation 039-035

TapeTape 39StartTuesday, May 29, 1973 at 9:23 PMEndTuesday, May 29, 1973 at 9:25 PMParticipantsWhite House operator;  Nixon, Richard M. (President);  Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss ongoing personnel changes within the administration, specifically regarding the planned departure of Secretary of State William P. Rogers and the recruitment of Melvin R. Laird for a senior White House role. Haig confirms that Rogers prefers to delay the announcement of his exit to avoid complications related to the Watergate scandal. Meanwhile, the two coordinate a strategy to persuade Laird to accept a position as a domestic policy advisor, scheduling a meeting at Camp David to finalize the offer with support from Bryce Harlow.

Personnel managementWatergateWilliam P. RogersMelvin R. LairdWhite House staffDomestic policy
AudioNARA Description

On May 29, 1973, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 9:23 pm to 9:25 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 039-035 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 39-35

Date: May 29, 1973
Time: 9:23 pm - 9:25 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

       Incoming telephone call

Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked with the President.

       Personnel management
              -State Department
                      -Haig’s conversations with William P. Rogers and Henry A. Kissinger
                             -Rogers’s departure
                                    -Timing of announcement
                                             -30-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                     (rev. February-2011)

                                                              Conversation No. 39-35 (cont’d)

                                            -Watergate
                                            -Henry A. Kissinger’s appointment
              -White House staff
                     -Haig’s conversation with Melvin R. Laird
                            -Appointment
                            -Meeting at Camp David
                            -Trip to Iceland
                                    -Invitation
                            -“Domestic czar”
                                    -Bryce N. Harlow’s appointment
                            -National Security Council [NSC]
                            -President’s support
                            -Cabinet compared with staff
                     -Melvin R. Laird
                            -Forthcoming meeting with President
                                    -Camp David
                            -Persuasion
                                    -Possible conversations with William J. Baroody, Jr. and
                                     Harlow
                                    -Harlow’s possible presence at Camp David
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Hello.
General Haig, sir.
Yes.
Hello.
Yes, sir.
Hi, Al.
Sir, I talked to both men.
In the case of Bill, I told him to handle it exactly as we discussed.
And he seemed very satisfied.
Right.
And he did say, well, let's, on the timing of the announcement, he said that
Let's just wait a little bit about that so we do it at the right time in the context of the— Watergate.
Yeah, exactly.
Well, that's all right.
Well, I said yes or fine.
It'll be end of July or by the first of August, and then we'll count on the other Labor Day.
And he didn't ask about Henry, and that's just fine.
And I said, I don't think we should discuss this.
It's just between the two of us.
That's right.
And there will be no discussion here about it with anyone.
Good, good.
Then I talked to Mel.
Right.
And he said he was just shocked at this, that he really hadn't thought about it or thought about coming back in so soon.
He'd like to think about it, and we'd come up to Camp David Saturday morning.
I think he's— You don't think he'd go to Iceland, though?
No, I asked him that.
He said if he did that, it would cause a hell of a stir.
Right, right, okay.
But I have a feeling— He probably enjoyed being asked, though.
I have a feeling he'll come.
I may be wrong, but I have that feeling.
Did you mention that to him in terms of counselor for the domestic czar and the inside group?
Yes.
And I said Bryce was coming and he would be a floating commissar, but that he would have—that email would have total responsibility for the whole domestic side.
And that the NSC was available, too, if he wanted to participate in that as a member.
He said, well, he said, you know, quite frankly, he said, I just didn't know what the hell was going on for the last year and a half.
He said, I said, well, I just want you to know that I've talked to the president about this, and he feels he'd be very enthusiastic about your coming, and he needs you.
And that I don't think we can afford to have any postmortems.
I said, it's one thing to be a member of a cabinet,
And another thing to be a member of the inner council of the White House, right?
And a member of the cabinet.
Right, exactly.
Right.
So he was quite enthusiastic about it.
Okay, good.
So I think we have a very good possibility of this one coming up.
Well, we'll get him up there Saturday morning and put it right to him strong.
Yes, sir.
So in the meantime, I'll get Baruti to work on him, because also another one you might call Bryce.
I'll call Bryce, too.
Bryce is very close to him and say, look, this is the only thing, and see if he'll work on it.
If Bryce could come up Saturday morning, too, that would be a good idea, you know.
Good.
Okay.
We'll all work him over.
All right.
Fine.
Okay.
All right, sir.
Thank you.
Good.
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