Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 440 › Conversation 440-042

Nixon & Haig on Watergate and National Security

Thursday, May 24, 1973 · 1:40 PM–4:34 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation440-042 on Tape 440StartThursday, May 24, 1973 at 1:40 PMEndThursday, May 24, 1973 at 4:34 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 440-042 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discussed managing the White House's public image regarding the Watergate scandal, specifically focusing on the necessity of government secrecy. Nixon emphasized using the protection of sensitive foreign policy initiatives, such as diplomatic breakthroughs with China and Russia, to justify withholding information from the media. The pair also explored strategies to initiate public controversy to deflect criticism from the New York Times and considered potential government roles for Peter G. Peterson.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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and flavors and things.
Yeah.
That's right.
You could tell them that.
That's another possible way.
You might like to learn this.
Yeah.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
And it would be good if we get some controversy started.
The New York Times will squeal and say that it's terrible and so on and so on and can't protect our national secrets.
Why do we have to have secret funds?
But you see, I made a very powerful point there.
I said if they would still be in power, we wouldn't have had China and we wouldn't have had Russia if we had not stopped the leaks.
And that's just the God's truth.
Okay.

NARA Description

On May 24, 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 1:40 pm and 4:34 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 440-042 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 440-42

Date: May 24, 1973
Time: Unknown between 1:40 pm and 4:34 pm
Location: Old Executive Office Building

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

       Television [TV] coverage
              -TV Guide

       Peter G. Peterson
              -Possible role in government
                      -Counsellor
              -Ambassadorial post
                      -Timing
                      -John A. Scali
                                             -27-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                            Conversation No. 440-42 (cont’d)

       Watergate
             -White House response
                    -National security
                           -New York Times
                           -Importance of secrecy for foreign policy

Also recorded on May 24, 1973

  • 039-002 1:34 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:34 pm.
  • 039-004 1:36 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Hugh Scott talked on the telephone from 1:36 pm to 1:38 pm.
  • 440-038 1:36 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Hugh Scott met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:36 pm to 1:38 pm.
  • 039-005 1:39 PM · 2 min — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Leslie C. Arends talked on the telephone from 1:39 pm to 1:40 pm.
  • 440-039 1:39 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Leslie C. Arends met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:39 pm to 1:40 pm.
  • 039-006 1:40 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:40 pm and 4:52 pm.
  • 440-040 1:40 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 1:40 pm and 2:26 pm.
  • 440-041 1:40 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:40 pm and 2:26 pm.

All 40 conversations from May 24, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 440-042, May 24, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/440-042 (accessed October 14, 2026).