President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman met to discuss administrative scheduling and the escalating political and legal crises surrounding the Watergate scandal. The two examined strategies for managing grand jury proceedings, including the potential use of executive privilege and the risks posed by ongoing investigations into the payment of legal fees for defendants. Throughout the discussion, they sought to frame controversial intelligence activities—such as tracking Democratic campaign schedules—as legitimate political efforts while evaluating how to contain the liability of staff members like Charles Colson.
On March 21, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:05 pm to 3:45 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 421-008 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 421-8
Date: March 21, 1973
Time: 3:05 pm-3:45 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
John N. Mitchell
-Meeting with President
-Trip to Washington
Haldeman’s meeting with John D. Ehrlichman and John W. Dean, III
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 3:05 pm.
Request for pencil
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 3:45 pm.
Col. Robert J. Flynn
-Illness
-Prisoner of war [POW] dinner announcement
-Importance
-Mitchell
-Briefing for POWs
-Reaction to Haldeman's call
-Briefing by President
-5-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 421-8 (cont’d)
-Briefing by President on foreign policy
-Henry A. Kissinger, William P. Rogers
-Vietnam
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Soviet Union
-President's schedule
President’s schedule
-William R. Tolbert, Jr.
-Suleiman Franjieh
-Lebanon
-Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
-Kakeui Tanaka
-Dinner
-California
-[Shah of Iran] Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
-[Emperor of Japan] Hirohito’s visit
-Europe [?]
-Thailand
-Organization of American States [OAS] reception
-Latin America
-President’s attention
-Stephen B. Bull
Haldeman’s schedule
-Trip to Florida
-Dinner
-Rogers [?]
-Cabinet
Watergate
-Haldeman’s forthcoming meeting
-Ehrlichman and Dean
-Dean’s workload
-E. Howard Hunt, Jr., G. Gordon Liddy
-Money
-Watergate burglars
-James W. McCord, Jr.
-Frederick C. LaRue
-6-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 421-8 (cont’d)
-Aid for Haldeman
-Pressure on Mitchell
-Herbert W. Kalmbach
-Mitchell
[Unintelligible]
-Money for defendants
-Dean
-Cubans
[Unintelligible]
-Administration’s strategy
-Money
-Channeling to defendants
-LaRue
-Charles W. Colson
-Hunt
-Ehrlichman
-Ideas on strategy
-Sense of concern about Watergate
-Egil (“Bud”) Krogh, Jr.
-Knowledge of Cubans
-William C. Sullivan
-White House staff
-Testimony before grand jury
-Guidelines
-Legal advice
-Criminal charges
-An attorney
-Jeb Stuart Magruder
-Liddy
-Testimony
-Hunt
-Ehrlichman and Krogh
-Discussions of Watergate
-Colson
-Hunt
-7-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 421-8 (cont’d)
-Involvement in Watergate
-Colson
-Campaign practices
-Liddy
-Source of orders
-Testimony
-Knowledge
-Colson
-Dean’s statement to President
-Call to Magruder
-Pressure for information
-Intelligence operations
-Haldeman pressure on Magruder
-Legitimate activities
-Open recording of Democratic public statements
-Purpose
-Legitimacy
-Schedule information on opponents
-Sources
-News reports
-Grand jury
Haldeman talked with an unknown person at an unknown time between 3:05 pm and 3:45 pm.
[Conversation No. 421-8A]
Request for call to unknown person
[End of telephone conversation]
Watergate
-Henry E. Petersen
-Grand jury
-Questions
-Subpoenas
-Files
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
-Sullivan
-Strategy for administration
-8-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 421-8 (cont’d)
-Handling grand jury
[Unintelligible]
-Statements for Senate committee
-Use of executive privilege
-Question of potential guilt
-Sherman Adams
-Problem of grand jury
-Alger Hiss case
-Court decisions
-Press
-New York Times, Washington Post
-Hostility to President
-Grand jury
-Limitations
-Contrast with Senate committee
-Special prosecutor
-Appointment
-Tom C. Clark
-Grand jury
-Handling
Next meeting with Haldeman
-Time
Haldeman left at 3:45 pm.This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.