Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 597 › Conversation 597-001

Nixon & Haldeman on Personnel vetting and James Mann

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 9:05 AM–9:17 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation597-001 on Tape 597 (tape position 00:03:45–00:06:08)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 9:05 AMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 9:17 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 597-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the vetting of personnel and potential political appointees within the administration. The conversation focuses on identifying specific individuals involved in recent internal conflicts, specifically mentioning legal professionals and figures like James Mann. They aim to assess the loyalty and backgrounds of these individuals to manage ongoing administrative challenges.

  • Personnel vetting
  • H.R. Haldeman
  • James Mann
  • Administration appointments
  • Loyalty

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 00:03:45 – 00:06:08

part A, 3:43

597a.mp3
597b.mp3

NARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:05 am and 9:17 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 597-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 597-1

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:05 am and 9:17 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with an unknown person [H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman ?]

     Frederic V. Malek

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Good malice.

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

  • 011-156 9:05 AM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Frederic V. Malek, Alexander P. Butterfield, and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 9:05 am to 9:19 am.
  • 597-002 9:17 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Frederic V. Malek, and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:17 am to 9:25 am.
  • 011-157 9:19 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 9:19 am to 9:25 am.
  • 011-158 9:25 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:25 am and 10:23 am.
  • 597-003 9:28 AM · 2 hr 41 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Bryce N. Harlow, Ronald L. Ziegler, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:28 am to 12:20 pm.
  • 011-159 10:23 AM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Bryce N. Harlow talked on the telephone from 10:23 am to 10:35 am.
  • 011-160 10:35 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:35 am and 2:23 pm.
  • 011-161 10:35 AM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:35 am and 2:23 pm.

All 81 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 597-001, October 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/597-001 (accessed November 12, 2026).