Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-106

Nixon phone call with Finch on Watergate and H.R. Haldeman

Tuesday, May 1, 1973 · 6:44 PM–6:47 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Finch, Robert H.Conversation045-106 on Tape 45StartTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 6:44 PMEndTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 6:47 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-106 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Robert Finch discussed public reaction to the recent resignations of H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, as well as the President’s recent televised address regarding the Watergate scandal. Nixon expressed frustration with Senator Charles Percy’s public call for a special prosecutor and emphasized that his administration was committed to a transparent investigation. Additionally, the two discussed personnel management, with Nixon specifically requesting that Herbert Klein delay his departure to avoid the appearance that his exit was linked to the ongoing scandal.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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You ring the operator.
I was out of the room.
Yes, sir.
I have Mr. Finch returning.
Thank you.
All right.
I'll hang on.
You are.
Hello.
Hello.
I hear you're between speeches, Robert.
Yes, sir.
I hope your morale's all right.
Yes, sir.
It couldn't be better.
I think given those terrible circumstances, you didn't prove we would have to be done, and I don't know how difficult it was.
It's hard to take men that are so selfless and so dedicated and
to have to say, all right, fellows, when you know they're innocent, you have to leave, but we had to do it, Bob.
I understand.
And that was a hard Sunday, and then they had to get up for a speech.
It was harder, too.
Did it come over all right in television?
Were you out there?
Yeah, it's an excellent picture.
What kind of effect did it have?
What have you found today as you've talked around people?
They just were desperate to hear.
They wanted reassurance, and that's what it gave them.
And obviously, you'd
And the reaction you'd say was positive then?
Sure.
Well, he is a special prosecutor, of course.
And that Percy, he cooked his goose with me when he came out and said, well, we've got to have one.
He didn't trust Elliot.
My God.
That son of a bitch.
I think you're going to find the morale among your people.
I'd always just say we just have confidence in the integrity of the president.
This is one of those rare presidents who has the guts to investigate.
I mean, to...
investigation of his own team.
That's true.
And the balanced hand.
I mean, he did not, he didn't try to foreclose the grand jury, and that's what I did today in both my press conferences.
People expect that's the presidential judgment.
Right.
And in the end, they're going to realize that this whole goddamn Watergate thing was all about a crappy little thing that everybody shouldn't have gotten that excited about.
That's right.
It'll pass.
It'll pass.
And it's going to be hard, but it'll pass.
It does give us a chance to underscore that it's gone on with the Goldwater campaign and other circumstances.
That's right.
Well, keep your old morale up, boy.
If there's anything at all I can do...
I know you've called three or four times, and I've deeply appreciated it, Bob.
Well, you know, I stand ready if there's any small thing.
That's right.
I had a good talk with Herb Klein just now and told him the same thing.
I'm going to keep...
I don't want him to leave for a month now.
I mean, he's got this beautiful job, but I don't want him to leave mainly because it looked like he was leaving because of this.
I think that's why.
Yeah, so I heard I had a good talk.
Okay.
Thank you very much.

NARA Description

On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Robert H. Finch talked on the telephone from 6:44 pm to 6:47 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-106 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-106

Date: May 1, 1973
Time: 6:44 pm - 6:47 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Robert H. Finch.
                                             -70-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                           Conversation No. 45-106 (cont’d)

[See also Conversation No. 433-44]

     Finch’s speeches
          -Morale

     Watergate
          -Resignations of John D. Ehrlichman and H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                -President’s speech
                      -Reaction
                -Special Prosecutor
                      -Elliot L. Richardson
                      -Charles H. Percy’s statement
                -President’s actions
                      -Grand Jury
                -Watergate case
                      -Comparison with Barry M. Goldwater’s campaign

     Personnel management
          -Herbert G. Klein
                -Departure

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 433-044 6:45 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Robert H. Finch met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:45 pm to 6:47 pm.
  • 045-107 6:47 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:47 pm and 6:49 pm.
  • 433-045 6:47 PM · 9 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 6:47 pm and 6:49 pm.
  • 045-108 6:49 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:49 pm and 6:51 pm.
  • 433-046 6:49 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:49 pm to 6:51 pm.
  • 045-109 6:51 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:51 pm and 6:53 pm.
  • 433-047 6:51 PM · 9 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 6:51 pm and 6:53 pm.
  • 045-110 6:53 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and David Packard talked on the telephone from 6:53 pm to 6:55 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-106, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-106 (accessed October 5, 2026).