{"conversationCode":"437-018","tapeNumber":437,"conversationNumber":18,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-437-018","startDateTime":"1973-05-18T19:00:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-05-18T19:35:00.000Z","startDate":"18-May-1973","startTime":"3:00 PM","endDate":"18-May-1973","endTime":"3:35 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;","description":"On May 18, 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 3:00 pm and 3:35 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 437-018 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":"5.5","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part V","chronReleaseDate":"21-Aug-2013","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 437-18\n\nDate: May 18, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 3:00 pm and 3:35 pm\nLocation: Old Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with an unknown person [Alexander M. Haig, Jr.?].\n\n       Watergate [?]\n             -White House response\n                     -National security\n                            -Support of US","filename":["437-018.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haig, Alexander M., Jr."],"prevCode":"437-017","nextCode":"437-019","transcript":[{"start":0.54,"end":23.3,"text":"Right."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met to coordinate the White House strategy regarding the escalating Watergate investigation. The discussion focused on framing the administration's response within the context of national security to maintain public and institutional support. This session reflects the urgent efforts of top officials to manage political fallout and define a defensive narrative for the executive branch.","topics":["Watergate","National Security","White House Strategy","Crisis Management"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T20:06:56.315Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","national-security","white-house-strategy","crisis-management"],"audioDurationSec":31,"audioFiles":[{"file":"437-018.mp3","bytes":983040,"durationSec":30.59,"bitrate":257115,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:04.739Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/437-018.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/437-018","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/437/conversation-437-018","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}