Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 344 › Conversation 344-007

Nixon & Haldeman on Watergate scandal and John Mitchell

Tuesday, June 20, 1972 · 7:52 PM–7:59 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation344-007 on Tape 344 (tape position 00:45:32–00:49:30)StartTuesday, June 20, 1972 at 7:52 PMEndTuesday, June 20, 1972 at 7:59 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 344-007 ↗

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the aftermath of the Watergate break-in, specifically focusing on John Mitchell's distress and the need to manage the administration's involvement in the election. The participants deliberate on how to navigate the unfolding scandal while expressing concern over the risks associated with providing too much information or overreacting too quickly. Their exchange highlights the early efforts to contain the political fallout and coordinate a strategy regarding the ongoing investigation.

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 33.4 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:45:32 into the tape and ends around 00:49:30.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
45:37So, uh, did I interrupt your dinner?
45:40Uh, you're home?
45:41Oh, good, good.
45:43I, uh, gave Mitchell a call.
45:44He's obviously quite a chagrin.
45:50It's, uh, I won't be able to...
46:06The purpose of bagging finds, you know, until, like, after
46:34I didn't know how to do it.
46:35In other words, just making sure that I was involved in this election.
46:36That's what I was doing.
46:37You know,
47:01They're all tied in at the same time.
47:02They're all tied in at the same time.
47:03They're all tied in at the same time.
47:04They're all tied in at the same time.
47:29I have one other thought that I'm finding.
47:35I wonder if, uh, if we go on, because tomorrow, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know,
47:57I think there is, if you go too far one day, there's less, there's less, you know, there's less, you know, there's less, you know, there's less, you know,
48:55uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
49:23Oh, okay.

On June 20, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:52 pm to 7:59 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 344-007 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 344-7

Date: June 20, 1972
Time: 7:52-7:59 pm
Location: Old Executive Office Building

The President talked with H. R. Haldeman.

[See Conversation No. 25-91]
  • 025-089 4:09 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 4:09 pm to 4:16 pm.
  • 344-004 4:14 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:14 pm and 4:35 pm.
  • 344-005 4:14 PM · 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 4:14 pm and 4:35 pm.
  • 344-006 4:35 PM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:35 pm to 5:25 pm.
  • 025-090 7:36 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:36 pm and 7:52 pm.
  • 025-091 7:52 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:52 pm to 7:59 pm.
  • 025-092 7:59 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:59 pm and 8:04 pm.
  • 344-008 7:59 PM · 20 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 7:59 pm and 8:04 pm.

Conversation 344-007, June 20, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/344-007 (accessed September 30, 2026).