Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 585 › Conversation 585-010

Nixon & Haig on White House Press Corps and Media Relations

Tuesday, October 5, 1971 · 5:15 PM–5:19 PM ET · Oval Office · 17 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation585-010 on Tape 585 (tape position 02:07:57–02:09:27)StartTuesday, October 5, 1971 at 5:15 PMEndTuesday, October 5, 1971 at 5:19 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 585-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. briefly discussed the activities and awareness of the White House press corps. Haig confirmed to the President that the press was actively tracking his ongoing actions. The brief exchange served to acknowledge current media scrutiny and maintain situational awareness regarding public perception.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

The press, I hear them.
They know what you're doing.
All right.

NARA Description

On October 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 585-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 585-10

Date: October 5, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Press

Haig left at an unknown time before 5:19 pm.

Also recorded on October 5, 1971

  • 585-009 5:12 PM · 19 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:12 pm and 5:15 pm.
  • 585-011 5:15 PM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm.
  • 585-012 5:15 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm.
  • 585-013 5:15 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:19 pm.
  • 010-046 5:18 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:18 pm to 5:19 pm.
  • 585-014 5:18 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:18 pm to 5:19 pm.
  • 585-015 5:19 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John B. Connally, White House operator, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Richard H. Poff met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:19 pm to 5:39 pm.
  • 010-047 5:20 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:20 pm to 5:21 pm.

All 36 conversations from October 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 585-010, October 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/585-010 (accessed September 28, 2026).