Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 40 › Conversation 040-054

Nixon phone call with Haig on Leonid Brezhnev and San Clemente

Tuesday, June 12, 1973 · 11:38 PM–11:41 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation040-054 on Tape 40StartTuesday, June 12, 1973 at 11:38 PMEndTuesday, June 12, 1973 at 11:41 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 040-054 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the final logistics for Leonid Brezhnev’s upcoming visit, emphasizing security arrangements at San Clemente and the preference for a controlled environment over a potential trip to Houston. Nixon notes that he has secured a commitment for private, high-level meetings between himself, Brezhnev, and Henry Kissinger. Additionally, they coordinate a recruitment strategy to bring William Scranton into the administration, with the President tasking Haig with offering Scranton a seat on the National Security Council to secure his acceptance.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Hello.

The general on the line, sir.

Thank you.

Hello?

Well, I want you to know I just called to bring it on there.

Oh, did you get him?

All right.

Which I thought was good.

Fine.

And I spoke to him quite candidly and said that, look, there's no security problem.

He said, well, he wasn't worried about that.

I said, that's fine.

I know.

But I want to assure you there's none.

And then I also told him that I was going to open up my daughter's room and the guest room so that we could have

him and Gromyko if they wanted to stay.

And he said, well, just me.

So it's all worked out, and they're delighted.

And he says, Brecksnuff wants us to have some quiet talks with me alone with just him and Henry.

Great.

Oh, that's funny.

And so it's all worked out, and he's happy as a clam.

He says, believe me, this guy's looking forward to this visit.

I think so.

I really do.

That's right.

No, this is going to be...

This is going to smash the press.

Yes, sir.

It is.

Well, that's wonderful.

I'm really delighted that we're going out there because I think it...

He and I were riding the same plane.

He doesn't want to go to Houston.

Good.

And that's good because we were...

But you see, in Houston, you could run into birchers.

In California...

It's a controlled audience.

And by God, there will be nothing there.

I'll shoot every son of a bitch in the place.

Screen them all.

But I want a crowd.

But I want them to be decent.

Yeah.

I think that's shaped up just a few things are working out.

You might be surprised, but boy, if you can get Scranton, that'll be the greatest thing.

And let me know in the morning if he's interested, and I'll call him and tell him, Bill, you've got to do this job.

The way I put it, it's very hard.

The president needs you.

This is a command performance, Bill.

You're the only man that can do it.

He's your first choice.

You know, all that sort of thing.

And that we want you not only to come down for this,

But you'll sit in the National Security Council and things of this sort so far.

Great.

He'll love that.

Oh, he'll love it.

Yeah, well, I know he's been fishing.

He wants a job.

Good.

Great.

All right.

Good.

All right.

NARA Description

On June 12, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 11:38 pm to 11:41 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 040-054 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 40-54

Date: June 12, 1973
Time: 11:38 pm - 11:41 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig.

     President’s previous telephone call to Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
           -Leonid I. Brezhnev visit
                 -President’s security assurances
                 -San Clemente
                       -Accommodations
                             -Andrei A. Gromyko, Dobrynin
                             -Security
                       -Agenda
                             -Brezhnev
                                             -50-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                             -Henry A. Kissinger
                       -Effect
                             -Press coverage
                       -Transportation
                             -Air Force One
                             -Houston
                             -John Birch Society
                       -Security
                             -Crowd

     Energy position
          -William Scranton
                -Interest
                -Telephone call from Haig
                -Telephone call from President
                -National Security Council [NSC] seat
                -Scranton’s reaction
                      -Job prospects

Also recorded on June 13, 1973

040-050 11:16 PM · 2 min — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 11:16 pm to 11:17 pm.
040-051 11:17 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:17 pm and 11:26 pm.
040-052 11:26 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin talked on the telephone from 11:26 pm to 11:37 pm.
040-053 11:37 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:37 pm and 11:38 pm.
040-055 11:41 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:41 pm and 11:51 pm.
040-056 11:51 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft talked on the telephone from 11:51 pm to 11:54 pm.
040-057 11:54 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone on an unknown date, sometime between 11:54 pm on June 12, 1973 and 12:02 am on June 13, 1973.
040-058 12:02 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 12:02 am to 12:07 am.

All 95 conversations from June 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 040-054, June 13, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/040-054 (accessed October 9, 2026).