Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 334 › Conversation 334-014

Nixon & Haldeman on J. Edgar Hoover and FBI

Tuesday, May 2, 1972 · 10:00 AM–10:25 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation334-014 on Tape 334 (tape position 01:46:55–01:49:28)StartTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 10:00 AMEndTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 10:25 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 334-014 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discuss the urgent need to select a successor following the death of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. They weigh the political implications and potential confirmation hurdles of appointing an acting director versus a permanent successor immediately. The conversation focuses on avoiding a contentious Senate confirmation process during an election year, ultimately weighing the benefits of appointing a capable interim leader to maintain stability at the Bureau.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 32% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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To be considered by the people who are going to work on this today, and of course, is that what we should, I think, do, I say that because it is, I doubt it is, but it is, you know, close to slaving and attacking, and not mainly when you're suggesting that you're going to do a combination design.
What is the election?
The fact that this is, as you understand, is how it is.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the White people who are president.
It's not the
He's able to do that.
I mean, he can still go over physically.
I mean, that's the whole point.
See, you put in a call that may be an advantage.
If he's mentally all right, you could just call it down there to the office and he's in charge and he has an element of good aid.
But the point being that everybody knows that he can't serve beyond that.
But he gets, after his long years of service in the Bureau, he gets the honor of being a director and acting for a while.
Now, if you start to read over the can of worms, you start to look for the same idea.
We start making an appointment right now to submit it to the Senate.
The President has this here.
It would be one hell of a mess.
I just think it's very impure.
And, of course, it's an actual default vote.
There's no reason to make any point on the ground.
That was the one thing he made.
His life is in the court.
He submits his resignation to the next president, whoever he is.
So it's not meant for us to have trouble.
All right, come on.

NARA Description

On May 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:00 am and 10:25 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 334-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 334-14

Date: May 2, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:00 am and 10:25 am
Location: Executive Office Building

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

     J. Edgar Hoover
           -Successor
                -Acting Director
                      -Clyde A. Tolson
                -Confirmation
                -Election
                -Selection
                      -Compared to Cabinet appointments
                      -Criteria
                -Confirmation
                      -Problems
                      -Delays
                -Acting Director

                      -Capable aide
                      -Limited term
                  -Compared with Supreme Court vacancy
                  -Appointment
                      -Problems

Also recorded on May 2, 1972

  • 334-010 9:28 AM · 31 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:28 am to 10:00 am.
  • 334-011 10:00 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:00 am and 10:25 am.
  • 334-012 10:00 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:00 am and 10:25 am.
  • 334-013 10:00 AM · 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 10:00 am and 10:25 am.
  • 334-015 10:25 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:25 am to 10:35 am.
  • 023-103 10:35 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Patrick J. Buchanan, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 10:35 am to 10:37 am.
  • 334-016 10:35 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:35 am to 10:37 am.
  • 334-017 10:37 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:37 am and 10:43 am.

All 67 conversations from May 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 334-014, May 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/334-014 (accessed October 9, 2026).