Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 334 › Conversation 334-016

Nixon & Haldeman on J. Edgar Hoover and Death of public officials

Tuesday, May 2, 1972 · 10:35 AM–10:37 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation334-016 on Tape 334 (tape position 01:51:42–01:54:02)StartTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 10:35 AMEndTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 10:37 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 334-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discuss the management and timing of the public announcement regarding the death of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Nixon expresses concerns about the optics of the situation, insisting that the announcement be handled in a way that maximizes his own presidential impact. He directs Haldeman to bypass bureaucratic formalities and expedite the process to ensure he can deliver his statement on his own terms.

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 43% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
I know that I... Well, it's...
I don't want to walk out there.
I think it's announcing the death.
It's an octopus.
It's an octopus.
Because I don't think, you see my point is that if I'm to do it, I should get it with my own impact right then.
I don't understand what I mean.
If the death is announced and I'm going out and reading the statement to the press or making the statement to the press about the death of J. Edgar Hooker, so what the hell is that?
You see my point?
After all, we...
Quiet boat, 30 minutes ago, and I've been ready all the time.
I've been waiting for, waiting for everybody to know what's the situation.
The connection to mine is going out the same.
I, I regret it.
I have a, I have a sad feeling for the part of me with the death of the editor for a long time.
The editor who died last night.
I'm going to sleep.
They want to make this announcement, I'll just get rid of the red tape.
BANG!

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 from 10:35 am to 10:37 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 334-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 334-16

Date: May 2, 1972
Time: 10:35 am - 10:37 am
Location: Executive Office Building

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

[See Conversation No. 23-103]

Also recorded on May 2, 1972

  • 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.
  • 334-017 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.
  • 023-104 10:43 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 10:43 am to 10:44 am.
  • 334-018 10:43 AM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:43 am to 10:44 am.
  • 717-001 10:54 AM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:54 am to 10:55 am.
  • 023-105 10:55 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:55 am and 10:57 am.
  • 717-002 10:55 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:55 am and 10:57 am.

All 67 conversations from May 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 334-016, 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/334-016 (accessed October 9, 2026).