Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 343 › Conversation 343-034

Nixon & Haldeman on Watergate and Obstruction of justice

Friday, June 23, 1972 · 1:16 PM–2:20 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation343-034 on Tape 343 (tape position 02:25:19–02:25:35)StartFriday, June 23, 1972 at 1:16 PMEndFriday, June 23, 1972 at 2:20 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 343-034 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard Nixon met with H.R. Haldeman to coordinate the administration's response to the recent break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex. The discussion focused on leveraging the Central Intelligence Agency to impede the ongoing FBI investigation by claiming the inquiry threatened national security interests. This meeting resulted in a critical directive to obstruct justice, marking a pivotal moment in the administration's effort to conceal its involvement in the scandal.

Audio

part B, 23:26

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 11.6 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the players above hold the full tape, shared with neighbouring conversations. By the archivists' log it runs from 02:25:19 to 02:25:35 into the tape; their log often drifts a minute or two from the audio, so listen for the subjects in the finding aid.

NARA Description

On June 23, 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 1:16 pm and 2:20 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 343-034 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 343-34

Date: June 23, 1972
Time: Unknown between 1:16 and 2:20 pm
Location: Old Executive Office Building

The President talked with H. R. Haldeman.

     Meeting

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

Also recorded on June 23, 1972

  • 025-133 1:16 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 025-134 1:16 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 343-028 1:16 PM · 23 sec — 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 1:16 pm and 2:20 pm.
  • 343-029 1:16 PM · 46 sec — 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 1:16 pm and 2:20 pm.
  • 343-030 1:16 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 2:20 pm.
  • 343-031 1:16 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Dwight L. Chapin met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 2:20 pm.
  • 343-032 1:16 PM · 3 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 1:16 pm and 2:20 pm.
  • 343-033 1:16 PM · 32 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 1:16 pm and 2:20 pm.

All 35 conversations from June 23, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 343-034, June 23, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/343-034 (accessed November 14, 2026).