Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 120 › Conversation 120-003
Nixon, Agnew & Cabinet officers
Thursday, May 10, 1973 · 7:58 AM–9:17 PM ET · Cabinet Room · 1 hr 36 min
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
Listen to the full tape segment
part A, 1:47:29
120a.mp3
120b.mp3
120c.mp3
120d.mp3
NARA Description
On May 10, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, and Cabinet officers, including William P. Rogers, George P. Shultz, Elliot L. Richardson, Rogers C. B. Morton, Earl L. Butz, Frederick B. Dent, Peter J. Brennan, Caspar W. ("Cap) Weinberger, James T. Lynn, Claude S. Brinegar, Roy L. Ash, Anne L. Armstrong, John A. Scali, John B. Connally, George H. W. Bush, Dr. James R. Schlesinger, William E. Colby, Herbert Stein, General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Peter M. Flanigan, William E. Timmons, Ronald L. Ziegler, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., and the White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 7:58 am and 9:17 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 120-003 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 120-3
Date: May 10, 1973
Time: Unknown between 7:58 am and 9:17 pm
Location: Cabinet Room
Vice President Spiro T. Agnew met with William P. Rogers, George P. Shultz, Elliot L.
Richardson, Rogers C. B. Morton, Earl L. Butz, Frederick B. Dent, Peter J. Brennan, Caspar W.
(“Cap ) Weinberger, James T. Lynn, Claude S. Brinegar, Roy L. Ash, Anne L. Armstrong, John
A. Scali, John B. Connally, George H. W. Bush, Dr. James R. Schlesinger, William E. Colby,
Herbert Stein, General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Peter M. Flanigan, William E. Timmons, Ronald
L. Ziegler, and Kenneth R. Cole, Jr.; the White House photographer was present at the beginning
of the meeting
[General conversation/Unintelligible]
The President entered at 9:09 am
Watergate
-Personnel changes
-Cabinet briefing
-The President’s previous briefing with Congressional leaders
-Richardson
-Role in Watergate investigation
-Special prosecutor
-Richardson’s view
-Qualifications
-Authority
-Attorney General’s authority
-Role in current Watergate investigation
-Richardson’s directives
-Staff
-Indictments and immunity
-Timing
-Confirmation of Richardson
-Senator’s statement
-Samuel J. Ervin, Jr.’s statement
-Legislative investigation compared with judicial process
-Fair trial prospects
-Questions for Richardson
-Hearing delay
-Ervin Committee
-Beginning of hearings
-Prejudicial publicityShow the rest of the log (243 more lines)
-Effect on Special Prosecutor
-Possible injunction on hearings
-Reasons
-Effects of hearings on judicial process
-Effect of witnesses’ immunity on prosecution
-Possible testimony
-Rights of accused
-Special Prosecutor
-Selection process
-Richardson
-President’s speech on May 9, 1972
-Impact on presidency
-President’s election mandate
Cabinet
-Richardson
-Schlesinger
-Background
-President’s conversation with Edward W. Brooke concerning base closings
Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-Schlesinger’s view
-Colby
-Background
-Vietnam
-Confirmation hearings
-Statements
Haig
-Henry A. Kissinger’s staff
-Role on White House staff
Connally
-Role on White House staff
-Availability
Procedures
-Subcabinet appointments
-Haig
-Ash
-Qualifications
-Candidates for positions
-Ash’s comments
-Status
-Departures of H. R. (“Bob ) Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman
-Effect on White House operation
-Cabinet relations with White House
-President’s conversations with Haig, Ash, and Shultz
-Changes
-Responsibilities
-Congressional relations
-Program development and implementation
-White House staff and Cabinet
-Comparative responsibilities and roles
-Additional White House staff
-Congressional relations
-Congressional votes
-Cabinet responsibilities
-Congress
-Roles compared to previous administrations
-Policy development
-Position of Counselor to the President
Role
-Chain of command
-Cabinet
-Cabinet and White House responsibilities
Vice President
-Role
-President during Eisenhower’s administration
-Cabinet
-Attendance
-Domestic Council
Congressional relations
-Cabinet relationship with White House
-Richardson’s confirmation hearing
-Future
-Cabinet members’ efforts
-Partisanship
-Republicans
-Democrats
-Cooperation
-Congress’s desire for respect
-Rogers’ testimony on Cambodia
-President’s schedule
-Agnew’s schedule
-Cabinet members’ schedule
-Meetings with congressmen
-Richardson’s meeting with Samuel L. Devine
-Meeting of Devine’s group
-William P. Clements, Jr.
-Legislation
-Timmon’s efforts
-Meeting with congressmen
-Possible improvements
-Conflicting statements from administration
-Coordination
-Cole, Ash, and Cabinet
-Bush and Morton
-Meetings with congressmen
-Morton’s meetings with congressmen
-Congressional support for President
-Cabinet relations with committees
-Conflicting statements from administration
-Importance of coordination
-Office of Management and Budget [OMB]
-Example
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 3m 37s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
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Congressional relations
-Connally’s view
-Cabinet officers
-Committees
-Members
-Executive departments
-Ziegler’s announcements
-White House relations with Cabinet
-Congress
Press
-Relations with administration
-Relations with Cabinet
-Scali’s view
-Impact
-Improvement of relations
-Cabinet meetings
-Leaks
-Statements to press
-Concerns of common people
Bureaucracy
-Constituent-oriented momentum
-Cabinet members
Congressional relations
-1972 election mandate
-Government spending
-Possible pitfalls in second term
-Model cities program
-Great Society programs
-Budget
-Administration’s goals
-Relations with Congress
-Spending
-Spirit of cooperation compared with weakness
-Connally’s view
-Watergate
-American people
-Effects
-Budget
-Aims of administration
Bureaucracy
-Support for President in 1972 election
-Morale
-Need for cooperation
-Contacts
-Loyalty
-Feelings concerning administration’s attitude
-Award programs
Administration’s attitude
-Press coverage of administration
-Effect on morale
-Watergate
-New York Times, Washington Post
-Administration’s reaction
-Administration’s comments
-Effect on public and Congress
-Administration’s mandate
-Program development and implementation
-Administration’s efforts
-Role of Cabinet members
Watergate
-Administration’s investigation
-Staff changes
-Ervin Committee
-Effect on individuals’ rights
-Harry S Truman and Eisenhower’s conflict with Senate committees
-Administration’s program
Administration’s attitude
-Programs
-Rogers’ forthcoming trip to Latin America
-Forthcoming Soviet summit
[A transcript of the following portion of the conversation was prepared under court order from
February through March, 1988, for Special Access [SA] 89, US v. Kenneth Moses Loud Hawk, et
al. The National Archives and Records Administration produced this transcript. The National
Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]
[End of transcript]
-Energy and inflation
-Campaign finance legislation
Foreign policy
-President’s Role
-World Peace
-US role
-US strength vis-a-vis the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Middle East
-Vietnam War, Cambodia
-President’s policies
-Capitalists and communists
-President’s role
-Vietnam War
-China summit
-Russian summit
-Forthcoming European summit
-Vietnam
-Middle East
Watergate
-Daniel Ellsberg break-in
-President’s doctor
-Historical perspective
-Administration’s investigation
-Administration’s election mandate
-Response to possible press questions
Appreciation to Cabinet, staff
[General conversation/Unintelligible]
The President left at 10:47 am
Recording ends at an unknown time before 9:17 pm, while the conversation is in progressTranscript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation.
Also recorded on May 10, 1973
- 915-001 7:59 AM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:59 am to 8:29 am.
- 915-002 8:29 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:29 am and 8:35 am.
- 915-003 8:29 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:29 am and 8:35 am.
- 915-004 8:35 AM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Hugh Scott, Robert P. Griffin, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, William E. Timmons, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:35 am to 9:09 am.
- 915-022 9:09 AM · 13 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:09 am and 10:47 am.
- 915-023 9:09 AM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:09 am and 10:47 am.
- 915-005 10:47 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:47 am and 10:57 am.
- 915-006 10:47 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:47 am and 10:57 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 120-003, May 10, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/120-003 (accessed November 2, 2026).