Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-181

Nixon, Haig & Haldeman on Watergate scandal and Executive privilege

Wednesday, May 9, 1973 · 6:55 PM–7:55 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsHaig, Alexander M., Jr.; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation045-181 on Tape 45StartWednesday, May 9, 1973 at 6:55 PMEndWednesday, May 9, 1973 at 7:55 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-181 ↗

AI Summary

Alexander Haig and H. R. Haldeman coordinate to manage internal conflicts between their respective legal teams regarding the handling of sensitive Watergate-related documents. They discuss a potentially damaging document involving a March 26, 1973, phone call from John Dean, which Haldeman asserts is protected by executive privilege and unrelated to his private conversations with the President. To resolve the friction, they decide to remove Leonard Garment from the process and establish direct communication between J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr., and Haldeman’s legal counsel to ensure a unified strategy.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Hi.
How are you?
Okay.
Good.
Uh, Bob, we had, uh, another... Is that with the president?
Yeah.
Okay.
Uh, another problem here on the, uh, allegedly the, your guy told Garment and, uh, Chappie and Lazard that there was a four-pager.
A what?
A four-page extract or document that he had seen that
had it come out, that he would have been very upset and it would have been extremely damaging.
I don't know what that would be.
Neither.
You'd say it was something of mine or something of John's?
No, something of yours.
Something of yours that you would either have given to him or shown him.
Okay, I know what it is.
You know what it is?
Yep.
Is it the 21st?
the extract of it okay that's good i'll tell you the reason for that no no no no no it's not that oh good god no no about that i know it not that thing no it wasn't it was what it is is it's not the 21st it's the uh it's a phone call from dean
what it is is Dean's, it's a phone call Dean makes to me where he outlines his theory of the case and it's on about the 26th I think.
I see.
When he's up at Camp David.
Right.
And we're down at Key Biscayne.
Right.
And Dean is spelling out to me what he thinks the Watergate case is at that point.
And
Hold on one second, please, Bob.
Bob?
Yeah.
On the 21st thing, the President wanted you to tell me how you viewed that cage.
What do you mean, how I viewed it?
What, you know, how much damage you think's involved.
In the 21st?
Yeah, on the 21st exchange.
Well, I think it's difficult to explain.
He knows that.
Difficult to explain.
Yeah, I think it can be done.
If it comes out, we'll just have to deal with it.
But there's no reason for it to come out.
Right, right.
But that, the lawyers don't even know about.
They don't?
No.
Uh-huh.
The 21st thing they don't.
Yeah.
Nothing he does.
Okay.
See, that isn't...
The only thing they have anything on is... See, anything that's a conversation with the president, they have, from me at least, they have nothing on.
I see.
What they have is the thing on the 26th, which was a conversation I had with Dean.
Okay.
Which was reported to the president, and the notes of which are in the president's file, and which I consider to be covered by executive privilege.
Right.
And better also.
Sure.
Okay, they were using that kind of stuff to try and shake these guys up because I'll tell you that they were very alarmed when they went in there and confronted with, have you told the president about this new policy?
That's what gave rise to all this.
They were trying to shake up
Our lawyers were trying to shake up your lawyers.
I got you.
I got you.
Because our lawyers were very distressed with the idiocy of the approach that your lawyers had come up with, which was this proposal.
It was a two-sentence thing, eliminating all executive privilege.
I got you now.
And our guys figured we got real trouble.
OK. And in order to convince these clowns that they had real trouble, they lobbed a few bombs across their bow.
Bob, we better put Bazzard in touch with your guy
get Garmin out of this thing and have him sit down and talk.
I couldn't agree with you more.
You have to.
That's the solution, and I think you ought to put Bizaard in touch with me, too.
Right, exactly.
As well as my lawyer.
Good.
Okay.
That's the way to get this thing sorted out.
But tell him there's no concern on any conversation I've had with the president.
Nobody has anything on any of that.
Right.
Okay.
Okay.
Fine.
Thank you.
Right.

NARA Description

On May 9, 1973, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:55 pm and 7:55 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-181 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-181

Date: May 9, 1973
Time: Unknown between 6:55 pm and 7:55 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

[See also Conversation No. 434-9F]

     Watergate
          -Haldeman’s notes
               -Haldeman’s lawyer’s statement to Leonard Garment, [Horace] Chapman
                (“Chappie”) Rose, and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.
                    -Document in Haldeman’s possession
                    -March 21, 1973 conversation
                    -Telephone call to Haldeman from John W. Dean, III circa March 26,
                      1973
                          -Dean’s theory of case
                          -Location
                               -Camp David
                               -Key Biscayne

Haig conferred with the President at an unknown time between 6:55 pm and 7:55 pm.
                                               -116-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                               Conversation No. 45-181 (cont’d)

[Begin conferral]

     March 21, 1973 conversation [?]

[End conferral]

     Watergate
          -March 21, 1973 conversation between President, Dean, and Haldeman
               -Problems
               -Lawyers’ knowledge
          -Material Haldeman provided lawyers
               -Dean’s telephone call to Haldeman, March 26, 1973
               -Lawyer’s intent in meeting with Buzhardt
                     -Executive privilege
          -Buzhardt meeting with Haldeman and lawyers
               -Garment
          -Haldeman’s conversations with President

Also recorded on May 9, 1973

  • 434-005 6:17 PM · 37 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 6:17 pm and 6:35 pm.
  • 045-177 6:35 PM · 13 sec — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:35 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 045-178 6:35 PM · 6 min — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:35 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 434-009 6:35 PM · 1 hr 55 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:35 pm to 8:26 pm.
  • 045-179 6:55 PM · 1 min — Alexander M. Haig, Jr., White House operator, and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:55 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 045-180 6:55 PM · 12 sec — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:55 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 045-182 6:55 PM · 14 sec — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:55 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 045-183 6:55 PM · 19 sec — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:55 pm and 7:55 pm.

All 62 conversations from May 9, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-181, May 9, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-181 (accessed October 12, 2026).