Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 438 › Conversation 438-007

Nixon & Haig on John W. Dean III and Watergate scandal

Thursday, May 17, 1973 · 1:47 PM–3:05 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation438-007 on Tape 438StartThursday, May 17, 1973 at 1:47 PMEndThursday, May 17, 1973 at 3:05 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 438-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss concerns regarding an unsolicited letter sent to Haig by an unidentified doctor in New York, specifically questioning the potential motivations and implications of such correspondence. The President expresses deep suspicion toward John W. Dean III, suggesting that Dean may be capable of manipulative or damaging behavior. Nixon emphasizes the need for absolute discretion and precision in how the administration handles these external communications to mitigate further political risk.

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.3 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

One thing I was wondering about is why this doctor in New York would write to you about reading the letter, because there'd be questions about why.
The only guy that I think would possibly be studying the subject
You see, I have to be impeccable because he may have said, well, he may have done something.
He may have, you know what I mean?
Nobody, Bob didn't, I'm sure.
But this son of a bitch is capable of doing things that we don't like about him.
Right, right.
The letter was written to you in a very precise way, huh?
All right, good.
Okay, bye.
Bye-bye.

NARA Description

On May 17, 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 1:47 pm and 3:05 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 438-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 438-7

Date: May 17, 1973
Time: Unknown between 1:47 pm and 3:05 pm
Location: Old Executive Office Building

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

       Letter to Haig
               -Unknown doctor
               -New York
               -Impressions
               -Newspapers
               -John W. Dean, III
                      -Possible activities
                      -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
               -Wording of letter
                                                        -4-

                       NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Also recorded on May 17, 1973

  • 046-093 1:33 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:33 pm and 1:46 pm.
  • 046-094 1:46 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:46 pm to 1:47 pm.
  • 438-006 1:46 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:46 pm to 1:47 pm.
  • 046-095 1:47 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:05 pm.
  • 438-008 1:47 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:05 pm.
  • 438-009 1:47 PM · 29 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 1:47 pm and 3:05 pm.
  • 438-010 1:47 PM · 11 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 1:47 pm and 3:05 pm.
  • 438-011 1:47 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 1:47 pm and 3:05 pm.

All 70 conversations from May 17, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 438-007, May 17, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/438-007 (accessed October 12, 2026).