Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-018

Nixon phone call with Haig on Watergate and FBI files

Friday, May 11, 1973 · 3:40 PM–3:41 PM ET · White House Telephone · 44 sec

ParticipantsHaig, Alexander M., Jr.; Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation046-018 on Tape 46StartFriday, May 11, 1973 at 3:40 PMEndFriday, May 11, 1973 at 3:41 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 046-018 ↗

AI Summary

Alexander M. Haig, Jr. informs President Nixon that he has located a large volume of sensitive FBI files related to Watergate, estimated at three feet of material, stored in a vault. Haig expresses the need to personally screen these documents to ensure security and prevent unauthorized access. The two agree to meet briefly at the White House before the President departs for Camp David to discuss the matter further.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hey, sir.
Yeah.
Hello?
Hey, sir.
Yeah.
We finally located this stuff.
It was over in the big vault across the street.
Right.
Now, it's going to take about as much as two to three hours.
To find the one document?
Yes, because they're all together, and it's about a foot and a half.
Well, it's even more than that.
It's about three feet of material.
Right.
And we just have to go screen through it.
And I ought to do that personally.
I'm afraid of anybody else doing it.
Right.
Come over a minute before I go to camp.
All right.
I'll run over a couple things.
All right.
All right.

NARA Description

On May 11, 1973, Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 3:40 pm to 3:41 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 46-18

Date: May 11, 1973
Time: 3:40 pm - 3:41 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked with the President.
                                             -9-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

[See also Conversation No. 434-33]

     Watergate
          -Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] files
               -Volume
               -Haig’s screening

     President’s schedule

Also recorded on May 11, 1973

  • 434-031 3:22 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:22 pm and 3:35 pm.
  • 434-032 3:22 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), Earl L. Butz, Dana G. Mead, William W. Erwin, David A. Hamil, Stephen B. Bull, Thomas Hart, and White House photographer met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:22 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 434-033 3:40 PM · 44 sec — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:40 pm to 3:41 pm.
  • 046-019 3:41 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:41 pm.
  • 434-034 3:42 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:42 pm.
  • 434-035 3:42 PM · 41 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 3:42 pm and 3:45 pm.
  • 434-036 3:42 PM · 29 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 3:42 pm and 3:45 pm.
  • 434-037 3:45 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:45 pm to 4:04 pm.

All 78 conversations from May 11, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 046-018, May 11, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-018 (accessed October 1, 2026).