{"conversationCode":"253-034","tapeNumber":253,"conversationNumber":34,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-253-034","startDateTime":"1971-05-26T22:50:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-05-26T22:58:00.000Z","startDate":"26-May-1971","startTime":"6:50 PM","endDate":"26-May-1971","endTime":"6:58 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator;","description":"On May 26, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:50 pm and 6:58 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 253-034 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":1,"chronRelease":"First Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"5-Oct-1999","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 253-34\n\nDate: May 26, 1971\nTime: Unknown between 6:50 pm and 6:58 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with the White House operator\n\n[This is the original beginning of Conversation No. 253-034, which has been\n                                                                       Conv.merged\n                                                                             No. 253-45\n                                                                                   with (cont.)\nConversation No. 253-033.]\n\n[See Conversation No. 3-144]","filename":["253-034.mp3"],"tapeStart":"02:59:11","tapeEnd":"02:59:17","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","White House operator"],"prevCode":"253-033","nextCode":"253-035","transcript":[{"start":7.55,"end":31.72,"text":"You're probably way ahead of me, but may I tell you that in terms of the VR situation, in this particular time, since these people are apprehended, the security information we seek is unlimited, okay?"},{"start":31.74,"end":31.8,"text":"Yes."},{"start":32.85,"end":39.17,"text":"And you tell the attorney general that that's what I suggested to the lawyer, and you do it, okay?"},{"start":40.21,"end":41.09,"text":"Don't you agree with this?"},{"start":42.35,"end":52.36,"text":"By and by, let's get these bastards."},{"start":52.42,"end":61.78,"text":"And we'll follow that up with the, on their recommendation, the meeting of, say, 100 cops, police, and sheriffs from around the country."},{"start":64.9,"end":65.26,"text":"Oh, good."},{"start":65.28,"end":65.42,"text":"Good."},{"start":66.08,"end":66.53,"text":"Oh, you have."},{"start":66.55,"end":66.98,"text":"That's great."},{"start":67.89,"end":68.89,"text":"That's the way it works."},{"start":68.97,"end":77.05,"text":"And then we'll get at this, and I'll come by the academy and give them a little pop."},{"start":77.09,"end":77.29,"text":"Okay."},{"start":77.33,"end":78.11,"text":"Let's get these guys."},{"start":78.15,"end":78.57,"text":"By God."},{"start":79.01,"end":85.11,"text":"You know, it just sickens me to see people shooting policemen in the back."},{"start":85.15,"end":85.77,"text":"Doesn't it, you?"},{"start":85.83,"end":91.15,"text":"I mean, of course it does you, but it does me as just an ordinary citizen."},{"start":96.81,"end":97.29,"text":"Say this."},{"start":97.57,"end":97.91,"text":"Say this."},{"start":99.97,"end":100.45,"text":"That's right."},{"start":100.87,"end":107.03,"text":"The New York Times will probably write an editorial pointing out that the guy that shot him was raised in a bad neighborhood."},{"start":108.47,"end":109.03,"text":"That's right."},{"start":111.16,"end":111.78,"text":"That's right."},{"start":112.64,"end":113.2,"text":"That's right."},{"start":115.12,"end":119,"text":"But that isn't the reason these people are bad people."},{"start":119.66,"end":119.8,"text":"Right?"},{"start":119.82,"end":120.42,"text":"Okay, Edgar."},{"start":120.84,"end":121.56,"text":"Thank you very much."},{"start":124.24,"end":124.3,"text":"Hey!"}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover discussed the need for an aggressive legal and investigative strategy regarding individuals apprehended for violent acts against police officers. Expressing frustration over lawlessness, the President directed the Attorney General to prioritize the collection of unlimited security information and confirmed plans for a meeting with law enforcement leaders. Nixon also signaled his intention to address a police academy as part of a broader effort to emphasize a tough stance on crime, explicitly rejecting sociological justifications for criminal behavior.","topics":["Law and Order","J. Edgar Hoover","Police brutality","Criminal justice policy","Internal security"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T11:55:59.622Z"},"topicSlugs":["law-and-order","j-edgar-hoover","police-brutality","criminal-justice-policy","internal-security"],"audioDurationSec":125,"audioFiles":[{"file":"253-034.mp3","bytes":5010994,"durationSec":125.15,"bitrate":320326,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:36.696Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:43:11.632Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/253-034.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/253-034","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/253/conversation-253-034","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}