Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 254 › Conversation 254-021

Nixon & Haldeman on Communications protocol and Administrative coordination

Monday, May 31, 1971 · 6:38 PM–6:42 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation254-021 on Tape 254 (tape position 01:38:40–01:40:04)StartMonday, May 31, 1971 at 6:38 PMEndMonday, May 31, 1971 at 6:42 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 254-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman held a brief meeting to verify the status of an ongoing communication or administrative task. The discussion centered on confirming the readiness of a specific operating system or protocol. The participants concluded the exchange by establishing that the necessary steps were being handled within the appropriate operational area.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Yeah.
Did you call me?
No.
Yes, sir.
Uh, you know, I, I, I mean, it's a call, you know, which I, which we had in the office.
Yeah.
I was waiting for it.
I suggest the system.
That is, he's in the operating area.
Okay.
Okay.

NARA Description

On May 31, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:38 pm to 6:42 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 254-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 254-21

Date: May 31, 1971
Time: 6:38 pm - 6:42 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

[See Conversation No. 3-204]

Also recorded on May 31, 1971

  • 003-203 6:30 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 6:30 pm to 6:38 pm.
  • 254-020 6:30 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:30 pm to 6:38 pm.
  • 003-204 6:38 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 6:38 pm to 6:42 pm.
  • 003-205 6:42 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:42 pm and 6:50 pm.
  • 254-022 6:42 PM · 6 sec — 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 6:42 pm and 6:50 pm.
  • 254-023 6:42 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:42 pm and 6:50 pm.
  • 003-206 6:50 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 6:50 pm to 6:52 pm.
  • 254-024 6:50 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:50 pm to 6:52 pm.

All 50 conversations from May 31, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 254-021, May 31, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/254-021 (accessed October 12, 2026).