Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-063
Nixon phone call with Haig on Watergate and National Security
Tuesday, May 15, 1973 · 3:44 PM–3:51 PM ET · White House Telephone · 7 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss ongoing Watergate pressures, focusing on the management of sensitive documents, potential witnesses, and the search for a new Special Prosecutor. They review the strategy for Lt. Gen. Vernon Walters’s testimony, emphasizing the assertion of national security privilege to withhold classified intelligence documents. Additionally, Nixon justifies the use of wiretaps to address leaks within the National Security Council and strategizes with Haig on how to maintain administrative operations while navigating these unfolding scandals.
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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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Hello, Al.
Yes, Mr. President.
I want you to know that I asked Steve to put John Connolly off to the mark as I want to get over and do a little work on that damn thing tonight.
You know, I haven't had a time to take a breath of air today.
Right, fine, sir.
And so that way it gives you more time.
I've talked to George Schultz on the phone and other things and so forth, so I'm taking care of things here.
And I got him tomorrow at 3, George Schultz, and I got to do the radio broadcast, too, and I got to do a little work on that this afternoon, too.
Right, sir.
So there it is.
Fine, sir.
Well, we'll keep him constructive.
Fine.
Fine.
Fine.
On the other thing, you—I do agree that it would be—well, I had thought that Bazzard had was going to see Coulson last night, but I guess— Well, I don't know what happened.
He apparently contacted his lawyer, and it was something that didn't work right.
I see.
I've told him to get with that as the first priority.
That's what it appears to me is that John Ehrlichman apparently feels that Colson may have put Dean in motion.
Is that what he thinks?
Well, I think that's his feeling, because he's drawing a blank on this thing in his own mind, and he knows that he's—that's a devastating piece of testimony from his perspective.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now, with regard to the piece of paper, though, we have no doubts we've got to stand firm on that, don't we?
No question.
No question whatsoever.
There isn't even a—and the way, uh, the way, uh, the way, uh, uh, Walters handled it was simply to say, yes, that he had made a memcom, but it had some national security stuff and was classified, and therefore he would testify, but would not turn over the paper, testify freely, and, uh, that when he went to, uh,
to the council here because he was concerned about that it held foreign intelligence.
Right.
That the council said, you know, if this was me, would you go over and make yourself available immediately?
Right.
Right.
So the initiative was taken from here.
That's right.
And he just says that and then let them squeal up at the piece of paper and say, look, there's not a thing that I'm withholding at all except intelligence matters.
It wouldn't mind involving intelligence.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And which he is.
He is justifying freely.
That's right.
He said that Helms...
He always had very limited— I don't think he remembered anything.
No, that's right.
He turned it all into Walters and Mosul State.
That's right.
So he really should not have any contribution.
Right, right, right.
Have you been able to get any more thought to the idea of the independent prosecutor?
You've got so many other things up in the area at that time today.
Yeah, well, I've talked with Bazzard on it.
It's a mixed bag, and we have to be very careful because of Elliot.
We don't want any disaffections here.
No, no, no.
We don't want Elliot quitting.
No, no.
That's the point.
And Elliot, if we can win in a reasonable time, we've got to go forward.
Apparently, three of the four on his list have already turned it down.
Right.
Yes.
So that's another problem.
We have to be sure we have a viable man.
And the FBI background on one of them, the only survivor, is not completed yet.
Oh, boy.
Well, this is the problem, isn't it?
I mean, this whole area.
And let me say that we're just going to have it for a while, Al.
And I had a long talk with Sigler because he was, you know, it worked him over pretty good today.
And I said, look, but he's great.
He's in good shape.
He's great.
And...
between you and me and him, why we can hold fort.
That's right, and we're going to.
And actually, what I meant is that the whole thing here is it's just going to take a little time.
But they're going to be on and off and this and that and the other thing.
In the meantime, we'll keep doing our business.
We're going to run this country and run it right.
That's right.
I had this clown Hurston here.
Oh, yeah, how did it go?
Well, I said, God damn it, you're right.
And we were tapped.
And to have done otherwise would have been irresponsible.
We did it based on the access that these men had, the information that was leaking, and in some instances, the bad security files that they came to the NSC with.
And I said, you're damn right we did it.
And he said, why the hell hadn't somebody said this?
We did?
Yeah.
And he said, that's absolutely right.
We couldn't have done it otherwise.
I don't trust the son of a bitch.
He put a bad twist on it, but damn it, I think I've put the thing to rest.
The main thing is, I'll answer rather than in Henry's cute way, you answered it directly, which is to say, you have goddamn rights we did it, and we're going to do it better than we have to.
Yet he said, was it of any value?
I said, it was invaluable.
I said, of course it was of value.
That's right.
It did result in personnel exercise, and I'm not going to get into any names or places.
I'm not going to tell you it was invaluable.
It was invaluable.
That's right.
That's right.
That's right.
Of course, it resulted in change.
Why the hell do they take people leave?
Of course, we always let them leave gracefully.
You know damn well that fellow, two of those fellows left because of this sort of thing.
Exactly right.
One of them was scared to death.
He's called here and said, for God's sake, don't give him my name.
He knows he was caught.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He said, you'll hear nothing from me about it.
That's right.
That's right.
Well, that's the point, that we want to protect people here as much as we can.
You know, I saw the end of this guy.
I said, you know, if people are driven to the wall and somebody were to make a decision to make this stuff available, I said it would be pretty tough going for a lot of people.
I said that would be a tragedy.
You told him that?
Yeah.
I won't notice the hell of it.
Sure.
particularly when the Ellsberg thing comes up.
That'll shake him up a little, maybe.
That's right.
All right, Al.
All right, sir.
I'll be here.
I felt that today was a day that I could give Connolly more time to meet with the rest of you and so forth, and then I'll be freshening.
We're ready to take a look at it clearly in the morning at 10 o'clock.
Fine, sir.
Very good.
Fine.
Fine.
Thank you.
NARA Description
On May 15, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 3:44 pm to 3:51 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-063 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 46-63
Date: May 15, 1973
Time: 3:44 pm - 3:51 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
[See also Conversation No. 435-31]
President’s schedule
-President’s conversation with Stephen B. Bull
-Meeting with John B. Connally
-Haile Selassie State dinner
-President’s conversation with George P. Shultz
-Radio broadcast on campaign reform
Watergate
-J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.’s forthcoming meeting with Charles W. Colson
-John D. Ehrlichman’s views
-John W. Dean, III’s contacts with Colson
-Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters’s testimony
-Contacts with White House counsel
-National security
-Richard M. Helms
-Special Prosecutor
-Elliot L. Richardson
-List of candidates
-President’s conversation with Ronald L. Ziegler
-Haig’s meeting with William R. Hearst, Jr.
-37-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
-Wiretaps
-Haig’s knowledge
-Reasons
-Leaks
-National security
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Results
-Personnel actions
-Departure
-Telephone call to Haig
*****************************************************************
[Previous Deed of Gift Privacy (D) rereviewed on 05/14/2019. Segment cleared for release.]
[Privacy]
[046-063-w003]
[Duration: 3s]
Watergate
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.’s meeting with William Randolph Hearst, Jr.
-Wiretaps
-Results
-Personnel actions
-Telephone call to Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Daniel I. Davidson
*****************************************************************
Watergate
-Daniel Ellsberg
President’s schedule
-ConnallyAlso recorded on May 15, 1973
- 046-058 2:45 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:45 pm and 3:36 pm.
- 046-059 3:36 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 3:36 pm to 3:37 pm.
- 046-060 3:37 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:37 pm and 3:38 pm.
- 046-061 3:38 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 3:38 pm to 3:42 pm.
- 046-062 3:42 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:42 pm and 3:44 pm.
- 046-064 3:51 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:51 pm and 4:19 pm.
- 046-065 4:19 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 4:19 pm to 4:20 pm.
- 046-066 5:01 PM · 8 min — Ronald L. Ziegler and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:01 pm to 5:08 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 046-063, May 15, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-063 (accessed October 1, 2026).