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Conversation 046-107

TapeTape 46StartThursday, May 17, 1973 at 7:55 PMEndThursday, May 17, 1973 at 7:58 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discussed the negative public perception surrounding the opening days of the Ervin Committee hearings and the ongoing witness testimony. They reviewed the progress of J. Fred Buzhardt’s document preparations, setting a goal to have materials finalized by Sunday. Additionally, Haig provided an update on Elliot Richardson’s confirmation process and they coordinated the agenda for an upcoming Cabinet meeting intended to boost administration morale.

WatergateErvin CommitteeJ. Fred BuzhardtElliot RichardsonCabinet meetingPublic relations
AudioNARA Description

On May 17, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 7:55 pm to 7:58 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-107 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 46-107

Date: May 17, 1973
                                               -65-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                      (rev. January-2011)

Time: 7:55 pm - 7:58 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Watergate
          -Ervin Committee hearings
                 -Witnesses
                      -Robert C. Odle, Jr. and Bruce A. Kehrli
                      -Testimony
          -J. Fred Buzhardt’s activities
                 -Deadline

     Elliot L. Richardson
            -Conversation with Haig at 1:00 pm
            -Confirmation

     Cabinet meeting
          -Agenda
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Hello, Mr. President?
Hi, Al.
Yes, sir.
Anything late to report?
No, nothing of any significance now since he left.
Same stuff, though.
Yes, sir.
We're trying to pull our work together for tomorrow.
We've had not a very happy day on television, of course.
You mean with the... Yeah, with the first day, and we knew it would be a...
with Odle and Curly and so forth.
Is that what you meant?
That's right, the earrings.
That's right.
And that's going to be unhappy for about a week.
Sure.
I mean, for a month.
Sure, that's right.
And then they're going to get tired of it, believe me.
That's right.
It shouldn't depress you too much, though, really.
I mean, you never know what's going to be happy or unhappy, you know, with these people.
They gave them a pretty rough time, huh?
No, I don't think so.
You know, I just think it's just the...
the conveyor belt thing, here it is now, it's on television, and these guys are getting hit.
They all did well.
They all presented their positions well.
And there wasn't anything stopping them.
Did Bazaar Gooding do anything?
Has he got any more affidavits, or is he still just digging away?
No, we got everything in that package being as well on the way.
So I think we're going to be in good shape, at least by Sunday noon.
I talked to him earlier and he said he thought he might be ready Saturday.
I said, well, I hope so.
But that's all right.
But Sunday noon is good.
I mean, if we don't, because if they want to strike earlier, that's fine.
We don't want to strike the moment thereafter.
We could take a day.
That's right.
That's right.
And in fact, we ought to keep making it better and better.
But all right.
Because on this issue.
We want to hit one.
We're in a pretty good position now.
We're in a pretty good position.
Well, it's an issue that I just hope that it turns on because we couldn't be in a better position.
Right.
How about Richardson?
How's he doing?
He's doing all right.
I talked to him at about one o'clock and he seems to be more confident.
Right.
Good.
He's not having any problems.
He hasn't got his man yet, but
I think you'll get through, don't you?
Oh, I'm sure he's going to get through.
Yeah, right.
It'll be hard to figure any basis for nothing.
Yeah, but tomorrow you think you just ought to make it a sort of, you know, ray-ray sort of type of session, everybody report?
Yes, sir.
I think what I'd do is to give them a chance to tell what they're doing that's of importance.
That's right.
All right.
And then a rah-rah at the end of it.
Right.
Okay, boy.
All right, sir.
Bye.
Bye.
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