{"conversationCode":"040-054","tapeNumber":40,"conversationNumber":54,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-040-054","startDateTime":"1973-06-13T03:38:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-06-13T03:41:00.000Z","startDate":"12-Jun-1973","startTime":"11:38 PM","endDate":"12-Jun-1973","endTime":"11:41 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;","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.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.5","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part V","chronReleaseDate":"21-Aug-2013","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 40-54\n\nDate: June 12, 1973\nTime: 11:38 pm - 11:41 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with Alexander M. Haig.\n\n     President’s previous telephone call to Anatoliy F. Dobrynin\n           -Leonid I. Brezhnev visit\n                 -President’s security assurances\n                 -San Clemente\n                       -Accommodations\n                             -Andrei A. Gromyko, Dobrynin\n                             -Security\n                       -Agenda\n                             -Brezhnev\n\f                                             -50-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                             -Henry A. Kissinger\n                       -Effect\n                             -Press coverage\n                       -Transportation\n                             -Air Force One\n                             -Houston\n                             -John Birch Society\n                       -Security\n                             -Crowd\n\n     Energy position\n          -William Scranton\n                -Interest\n                -Telephone call from Haig\n                -Telephone call from President\n                -National Security Council [NSC] seat\n                -Scranton’s reaction\n                      -Job prospects","filename":["040-054.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haig, Alexander M., Jr."],"prevCode":"040-053","nextCode":"040-055","transcript":[{"start":0.82,"end":1.36,"text":"Hello."},{"start":1.39,"end":2.53,"text":"The general on the line, sir."},{"start":2.55,"end":2.97,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":3.67,"end":3.85,"text":"Hello?"},{"start":4.51,"end":7.03,"text":"Well, I want you to know I just called to bring it on there."},{"start":7.05,"end":7.75,"text":"Oh, did you get him?"},{"start":8,"end":8.2,"text":"All right."},{"start":8.21,"end":9.16,"text":"Which I thought was good."},{"start":9.18,"end":9.58,"text":"Fine."},{"start":9.6,"end":16.71,"text":"And I spoke to him quite candidly and said that, look, there's no security problem."},{"start":16.73,"end":18.09,"text":"He said, well, he wasn't worried about that."},{"start":18.15,"end":18.89,"text":"I said, that's fine."},{"start":18.93,"end":19.19,"text":"I know."},{"start":19.23,"end":21,"text":"But I want to assure you there's none."},{"start":21.6,"end":29.13,"text":"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"},{"start":29.48,"end":31.48,"text":"him and Gromyko if they wanted to stay."},{"start":31.52,"end":32.5,"text":"And he said, well, just me."},{"start":33.2,"end":35.81,"text":"So it's all worked out, and they're delighted."},{"start":36.35,"end":42.66,"text":"And he says, Brecksnuff wants us to have some quiet talks with me alone with just him and Henry."},{"start":43.28,"end":43.8,"text":"Great."},{"start":43.82,"end":44.94,"text":"Oh, that's funny."},{"start":45.64,"end":50.99,"text":"And so it's all worked out, and he's happy as a clam."},{"start":51.01,"end":54.36,"text":"He says, believe me, this guy's looking forward to this visit."},{"start":54.94,"end":55.92,"text":"I think so."},{"start":55.94,"end":56.4,"text":"I really do."},{"start":56.42,"end":56.92,"text":"That's right."},{"start":57.07,"end":58.19,"text":"No, this is going to be..."},{"start":58.21,"end":59.15,"text":"This is going to smash the press."},{"start":59.39,"end":59.87,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":60.35,"end":60.77,"text":"It is."},{"start":61.76,"end":62.82,"text":"Well, that's wonderful."},{"start":62.94,"end":66.39,"text":"I'm really delighted that we're going out there because I think it..."},{"start":66.41,"end":68.69,"text":"He and I were riding the same plane."},{"start":68.77,"end":70.09,"text":"He doesn't want to go to Houston."},{"start":70.45,"end":70.71,"text":"Good."},{"start":71.54,"end":73.08,"text":"And that's good because we were..."},{"start":73.1,"end":76.25,"text":"But you see, in Houston, you could run into birchers."},{"start":76.47,"end":77.51,"text":"In California..."},{"start":77.49,"end":79.05,"text":"It's a controlled audience."},{"start":79.71,"end":81.45,"text":"And by God, there will be nothing there."},{"start":81.53,"end":83.28,"text":"I'll shoot every son of a bitch in the place."},{"start":85.14,"end":87.94,"text":"Screen them all."},{"start":89.08,"end":89.92,"text":"But I want a crowd."},{"start":90.11,"end":91.71,"text":"But I want them to be decent."},{"start":93.61,"end":95.83,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":96.49,"end":100.39,"text":"I think that's shaped up just a few things are working out."},{"start":100.41,"end":104.7,"text":"You might be surprised, but boy, if you can get Scranton, that'll be the greatest thing."},{"start":105.28,"end":110.78,"text":"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."},{"start":111.24,"end":112.73,"text":"The way I put it, it's very hard."},{"start":112.77,"end":113.83,"text":"The president needs you."},{"start":114.37,"end":116.13,"text":"This is a command performance, Bill."},{"start":116.27,"end":117.67,"text":"You're the only man that can do it."},{"start":117.83,"end":119.19,"text":"He's your first choice."},{"start":119.83,"end":121.31,"text":"You know, all that sort of thing."},{"start":121.83,"end":125.18,"text":"And that we want you not only to come down for this,"},{"start":125.6,"end":130.07,"text":"But you'll sit in the National Security Council and things of this sort so far."},{"start":130.09,"end":130.57,"text":"Great."},{"start":130.59,"end":131.17,"text":"He'll love that."},{"start":131.29,"end":131.85,"text":"Oh, he'll love it."},{"start":132.44,"end":134.5,"text":"Yeah, well, I know he's been fishing."},{"start":134.58,"end":135.74,"text":"He wants a job."},{"start":135.76,"end":136.45,"text":"Good."},{"start":136.47,"end":136.73,"text":"Great."},{"start":136.95,"end":137.19,"text":"All right."},{"start":137.41,"end":137.97,"text":"Good."},{"start":137.99,"end":138.19,"text":"All right."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"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.","topics":["Leonid Brezhnev","San Clemente","Security Protocols","William Scranton","National Security Council","US-Soviet Relations"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T06:01:06.043Z"},"topicSlugs":["leonid-brezhnev","san-clemente","security-protocols","william-scranton","national-security-council","us-soviet-relations"],"audioDurationSec":145,"audioFiles":[{"file":"040-054.mp3","bytes":4644864,"durationSec":145.07,"bitrate":256150,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.071Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:43.129Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/040-054.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/040-054","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/40/conversation-040-054","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}