Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 331 › Conversation 331-009

Nixon & Haldeman on Congressional strategy and Filibuster

Monday, April 17, 1972 · 3:48 PM–3:55 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation331-009 on Tape 331 (tape position 00:35:41–00:40:36)StartMonday, April 17, 1972 at 3:48 PMEndMonday, April 17, 1972 at 3:55 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 331-009 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417186347 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discuss legislative strategy, specifically focusing on managing a filibuster and addressing the role of the committee chairman regarding subpoenas. The conversation explores the political optics of delaying tactics in Congress while briefly touching upon Vietnam policy. The two agree to defer deeper discussion of these sensitive topics until a later, more private meeting.

Audio

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NARA Description

On April 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:48 pm to 3:55 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 331-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 331-9
Date: April 17, 1972
Time: 3:48 pm - 3:55 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

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

     [See Conversation No. 23-8]

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 54% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Hello.
All right.
Hello.
Yeah.
Yeah.
of how the, whatever's going on with the opposition, pressing for peace and trying to explore that.
Well, that leech has been talking for a long time.
Good, that's very good.
He agreed to open it because
All right.
Yeah, that's what I wondered.
They do know that?
Question.
Many people should do that.
Yeah.
I see.
I know about it.
So what the hell.
The main thing is how it's all about tomorrow and part of our future.
You mean Tunney and, uh, uh, they think of Tunney for Jack, to, uh, Tunney and Kennedy, to limiting them to, uh, terrible with them.
Yeah.
I would very agree to go on with this.
You never can count on it.
Yeah, but it's better not to count on it.
Good battle.
Good battle.
But I really think that the best thing is to have one hell of a filibuster in the heart of our people tomorrow.
They'll have a vote to their own.
I think the whole day on a group of other witnesses, they got the windshield.
Was that before Wayson?
And then I had Wayson on my side.
On what grounds?
Can Mitchell talk to the chairman and get something?
And on what ground will Mitchell visit up the chairman in the deal?
You can tell him.
Yeah.
I think if he doesn't have a subpoena, he just goes wrong.
Yeah, that's fine.
I think I'll pay a third of my money on this.
That's fine.
That's fine.
Now, if that is pretty much wrapped up with that, I had a couple of ideas with regard to the Vietnam thing that I'd like to discuss.
But let's leave the others for you.
I don't want to interfere with either one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But you come on over, and I'll talk to you later.
It's better, frankly, that he keep writing her.
He's working with Vietnam anyway.
Thank you.

Also recorded on April 17, 1972

  • 023-007 2:43 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 2:43 pm to 2:50 pm.
  • 331-006 2:43 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:43 pm to 2:50 pm.
  • 331-007 2:50 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:50 pm and 3:48 pm.
  • 331-008 2:50 PM · 31 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 2:50 pm and 3:48 pm.
  • 023-008 3:48 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 3:48 pm to 3:59 pm.
  • 331-010 3:55 PM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Manolo Sanchez, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:55 pm to 4:48 pm.
  • 023-009 4:56 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:56 pm and 4:59 pm.
  • 710-001 4:56 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:56 pm and 4:59 pm.

All 49 conversations from April 17, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 331-009, April 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417186347). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/331-009 (accessed November 15, 2026).