Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 520 › Conversation 520-002

Nixon & Haldeman on Willy Brandt and Arthur K. Watson

Tuesday, June 15, 1971 · 9:48 AM–9:56 AM ET · Oval Office ·1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation520-002 onTape 520 (tape position 00:04:35–00:06:18)StartTuesday, June 15, 1971 at 9:48 AMEndTuesday, June 15, 1971 at 9:56 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 520-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman met to coordinate the President's upcoming schedule and prioritize preparation time for an important meeting with West German Chancellor Willy Brandt. They evaluated the necessity of a meeting with Arthur K. Watson and discussed timing adjustments for an event involving the Association of Real Estate Boards. Ultimately, the two agreed to postpone the Watson meeting to ensure Nixon had sufficient time to review briefing materials for his diplomatic engagements.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Bob, you've added something here with regard to Watson, and I've got to do some preparation on the brand thing.
Was that something?
Meeting with Watson, I don't bother.
You look tomorrow then or something, but not now.
You see, I've got this association with real estate boards, and I've got to read this brand material and see if we can throw it on the clock.
Is it necessary?
I mean,
How's that?
Why don't you just bring him out for one of those?
In with the chips.
But, you know, I mean, uh, I just haven't been in for a bit.
At that time, at least.
I don't like seeing him off.
It's just because he's asking for a break.
That's that.
I see we've got to close the line.
We've got 3.30.
3.30 is fine with us.
I should get back here.
And then come on and I'll see you guys in five minutes here.

NARA Description

On June 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:48 am and 9:56 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 520-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 520-2

Date: June 15, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:48 am and 9:56 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

     President’s schedule
          -Meeting with Arthur K. Watson
          -Preparation for meeting with Willy Brandt
          -Meeting with Association of Real Estate Boards
          -Watson meeting
                      -Timing

Also recorded on June 15, 1971

  • 061-004 7:55 AM — President Richard M. Nixon and Republican Congressional leaders, including Hugh Scott, Norris Cotton, Peter H. Dominick, Milton R. Young, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, John B. Anderson, Berber B. Conable, Jr., Richard H. Poff, Robert C. ("Bob") Wilson, John J. Rhodes, Robert T. Stafford, H. Allen Smith, Frank T. Bow, Robert J. Dole, Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., Henry A. Kissinger, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, Clark MacGregor, Herbert G. Klein, William E. Timmons, Harry S. Dent, Kenneth E. BeLieu, Richard K. Cook, Patrick J. Buchanan, and Ronald L. Ziegler, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 7:55 am and 11:59 pm.
  • 520-001 7:56 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:56 am to 7:59 am.
  • 520-011 7:59 AM · 40 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:59 am and 9:48 am.
  • 520-012 9:48 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:48 am and 9:56 am.
  • 520-003 9:56 AM — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, William N. Brown, H. Jackson Pontius, Fred C. Tucker, Jr., Donald I. Hovde, John C. Williamson, George W. Romney, John D. Ehrlichman, Henry C. Cashen, II, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:56 am to 10:37 am.
  • 520-004 10:39 AM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:39 am to 10:59 am.
  • 520-005 10:59 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:59 am and 11:02 am.
  • 520-006 11:02 AM · 1 hr 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Willy Brandt, Stephen B. Bull, Manolo Sanchez, Henry A. Kissinger, Egon Bahr, Rolf Pauls, Conrad Ahlers, Hermann Kusterer, Wolf-Dietrich Schilling, and Harry Obst met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:02 am to 12:34 pm.

All 52 conversations from June 15, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 520-002, June 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/520-002 (accessed September 18, 2026).