Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 436 › Conversation 436-003

Nixon & Haig on Watergate and William Ruckelshaus

Monday, May 14, 1973 · 12:59 PM–1:15 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation436-003 on Tape 436StartMonday, May 14, 1973 at 12:59 PMEndMonday, May 14, 1973 at 1:15 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 436-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the administration's strategy for responding to Watergate-related investigations, specifically focusing on FBI records and the potential political exploitation of past wiretaps from the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations. Nixon instructs Haig to pressure FBI Acting Director William Ruckelshaus to investigate the disposition of previous administrations' records to deflect scrutiny from the White House. The two also address the legal challenges posed by Judge John Sirica's access to John Dean's documents and the potential transfer of these materials to the Ervin Committee and the grand jury.

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 18% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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One thing I do feel after running through this, but I want to do is have him correct me.
He wants to study me of all kinds of other types of mechanics.
Now, we're not going to let them.
I don't mean to concentrate.
Now, we can't let them get away with this idea of his crap hat.
And now, we've done so little of it.
And when they say they're uncertain about it, that's bullshit.
They've got the files over there.
If they burned those files, where are those files?
And why isn't he as eager as to get after those as ours?
What's the crisis matter with him?
All right, now, how do you want to do it?
I don't want to do it by presidential order if I can evolve it.
But God damn it, tell Ruckelshaus that it's his job to look at it.
You know, ooh, somebody gave me a figure for a news conference of 112.
All right, well, yeah, I know, but my...
All right.
The point is, but Kennedy stopped that.
Go back and get it.
I want the FBI files on tabs that could go back and look at all of them.
If they've been destroyed in the past, you know, then it shows we haven't destroyed them.
You get my point?
Now, Ruckelshaus has got to get off his ass and get at something.
And I know this is hard for him, but you know what I mean?
Like that statement of his is so serving of the FBI.
Would you be able to get that one sentence in?
All right.
Okay, well, what about this?
Trying to get our papers convened.
In fact, I don't give much of a shit.
I don't give a fuck.
Oh, oh, I see.
Come.
What is it?
Tell me what I... Oh my God.
Well, he can't put that sort of thing down.
How do we know that?
That's what he said.
That's what Dean has told me.
Well, Sharika's seen the papers now.
And what does he say about it?
Well, all right.
I'm not going to worry about it.
Because basically, I don't know.
So Rico's going to play that game.
He doesn't trust the president getting papers of this sort.
Goddamn, we're not going to burn anything.
You know what I mean.
And my guess is the other 43 pages.
So basically, our present understanding is the judge has read the papers, right?
And
and decided to turn them over to the Senate and to the grand jury.
Let's keep right at it.
It's a matter of principle.
They'll all get out anyway, but it's a matter of principle.
Okay, good.

NARA Description

On May 14, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:59 pm and 1:15 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 436-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 436-3

Date: May 14, 1973
Time: Unknown between 12:59 pm and 1:15 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Watergate
          -William D. Ruckelshaus
          -Wiretaps
                            -Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson
                 administrations
                -Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] records
                -Haig’s forthcoming conversation with Ruckelshaus
                -Robert F. Kennedy
                     -FBI records
                            -Retention and disposal
          -Ruckelshaus’s statment
          -White House statement
          -John W. Dean, III
                -Documents
                     -Judge John J. Sirica’s actions
                     -Disposition
                     -Availability to Ervin Committee, grand jury

Also recorded on May 14, 1973

  • 917-030 12:53 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:53 pm and 12:59 pm.
  • 917-031 12:53 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:53 pm and 12:59 pm.
  • 917-032 12:53 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:53 pm and 12:59 pm.
  • 436-001 12:59 PM · 10 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 12:59 pm and 1:15 pm.
  • 436-002 12:59 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:59 pm and 1:15 pm.
  • 435-021 1:04 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:04 pm and 1:07 pm.
  • 435-022 1:07 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:07 pm to 1:08 pm.
  • 436-004 1:15 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:15 pm to 1:24 pm.

All 102 conversations from May 14, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 436-003, May 14, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/436-003 (accessed October 1, 2026).