Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 39 › Conversation 039-075

Nixon phone call with Haig on Watergate and John W. Dean III

Monday, June 4, 1973 · 1:58 PM–2:00 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation039-075 on Tape 39StartMonday, June 4, 1973 at 1:58 PMEndMonday, June 4, 1973 at 2:00 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 039-075 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the progress of J. Fred Buzhardt's examination of John Dean's files, specifically looking for evidence related to the Watergate scandal. Haig reports that Buzhardt has found nothing incriminating in the files, leading the President to speculate that Dean may have removed materials or that the collection is unexpectedly clean. The President reaffirms his commitment to personally reviewing the White House tapes to continue the investigation despite the significant time investment required.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Oh, yes, sir.
I wondered if you got anything from Bazaar yet.
He's on the last box right now, and he's gotten absolutely nothing.
I'll be damned.
He said there's just nothing there.
Maybe the guy took it all out.
It's not a normal thing.
Not normal to take it out if he, uh... Well, he'd be more likely to have reproduced what he needed.
And keep it intact, because you could challenge its authenticity.
Especially if it's a memcon or something.
In other words, if it's not in this file, we'll just say that it's not there.
I see.
But he hasn't found anything yet?
Nope.
He's found absolutely nothing.
He's as clean as a whistle.
And mostly Dean was in a position of answering questions.
You know, there are records of his answering a lot of questions.
Answering questions?
What do you mean?
On Watergate.
You know, on Watergate.
I see.
Interesting.
I think we're...
It's good to do this exercise, though.
Yes, sir.
It's going to take eight hours of my day, but I'm going to do it.
Well, it's worth it, sir.
Sure.
Okay.
Good, sir.

NARA Description

On June 4, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 1:58 pm to 2:00 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 039-075 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 39-75

Date: June 4, 1973
Time: 1:58 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

[See also Conversation No. 442-26]

       Watergate
             -John W. Dean, III
                    -Files
                           -J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.’s examination
                           -Content
             -White House tapes
                    -President’s review
                                             -57-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Also recorded on June 4, 1973

  • 039-074 1:55 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 1:58 pm.
  • 442-024 1:55 PM · 12 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 1:55 pm and 1:58 pm.
  • 442-026 1:58 PM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:58 pm to 2:00 pm.
  • 039-076 2:00 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 2:27 pm.
  • 442-027 2:00 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 2:00 pm and 2:27 pm.
  • 442-028 2:00 PM · 18 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 2:00 pm and 2:27 pm.
  • 442-029 2:00 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 2:27 pm.
  • 442-071 2:00 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 2:27 pm.

All 103 conversations from June 4, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 039-075, June 4, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/039-075 (accessed October 1, 2026).