Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 561 › Conversation 561-003

Nixon & Kissinger on H.R. Haldeman and White House administration

Wednesday, August 11, 1971 · 9:08 AM–9:10 AM ET · Oval Office · 28 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation561-003 on Tape 561 (tape position 00:07:50–00:10:28)StartWednesday, August 11, 1971 at 9:08 AMEndWednesday, August 11, 1971 at 9:10 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 561-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss coordinating a meeting involving H.R. Haldeman to clarify specific administrative or strategic objectives. The President emphasizes his desire to establish clear expectations and ensure that all parties are aligned regarding the intended focus of the discussion. This brief interaction serves as a preparatory step to streamline communication and firm up the agenda for the subsequent meeting.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.1 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Henry, can you, uh, I thought about this situation regarding Bob, and I'd have you in with him, and I want to talk, so I make a damn straight as to what this is about.
Are you free now?
What are you doing?
Talk to somebody?

NARA Description

On August 11, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:08 am and 9:10 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 561-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 561-3

Date: August 11, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:08 am and 9:10 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

     Kissinger's schedule

Also recorded on August 11, 1971

  • 561-001 8:53 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:53 am and 9:08 am.
  • 007-086 9:08 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:08 am.
  • 561-002 9:08 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:08 am.
  • 561-004 9:10 AM · 2 hr 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), Ronald L. Ziegler, and Harmon Killebrew met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:10 am to 11:40 am.
  • 007-087 11:10 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Harmon Killebrew talked on the telephone from 11:10 am to 11:15 am.
  • 007-164 11:15 AM · 6 sec — the White House operator and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:15 am and 12:57 pm.
  • 561-005 11:40 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:40 am and 11:53 am.
  • 561-006 11:40 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:40 am and 11:53 am.

All 30 conversations from August 11, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 561-003, August 11, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/561-003 (accessed October 9, 2026).