Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 656 › Conversation 656-020

Nixon & Haig on Henry Kissinger and Briefing materials

Wednesday, January 26, 1972 · 1:02 PM–1:58 PM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation656-020 on Tape 656 (tape position 03:15:32–03:17:36)StartWednesday, January 26, 1972 at 1:02 PMEndWednesday, January 26, 1972 at 1:58 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 656-020 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discussed the preparation of a briefing book based on Henry Kissinger's recent work to effectively manage anticipated public and political inquiries. The President directed that a concise two-to-three-page list of questions and answers be drafted, specifically identifying William Safire or James Gannon as potential authors to refine the material. This document was intended for strategic distribution to members of Congress and the press to ensure a controlled and consistent administration message.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Could I get his head there?
Yeah.
It would be a good idea to take Henry's breathing thing and to go over it in terms of and get somebody
who's on how the questions come up and so forth.
But what he tries to do is answer various questions there and prepare about two or three pages of questions and answers.
What I meant is that he answers the question about what we offered this and what we did that and so forth and so on.
is probably the one that could do that the best.
to Gannon or Sapphire, one of the two.
Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe Sapphire.
But what I mean is I get it right away and get to how to, you could talk to Paul about who should get the part.
Or maybe some congressmen probably need them.
Senators are on that.
in the press, people that

NARA Description

On January 26, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:02 pm and 1:58 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 656-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 656-20

Date: January 26, 1972
Time: Unknown between 1:02 pm and 1:58 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Henry A. Kissinger briefing
          -Preparation for briefing book
               -Questions and answers [Q&A]
               -Patrick J. Buchanan
               -William L. Safire
               -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
               -Distribution of Q&A
                     -Congressman, senators, press

Also recorded on January 26, 1972

  • 019-101 12:56 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald W. Reagan talked on the telephone from 12:56 pm to 1:02 pm.
  • 656-018 12:57 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald W. Reagan met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:57 pm to 1:02 pm.
  • 019-102 1:02 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:02 pm and 1:58 pm.
  • 019-103 1:02 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:02 pm and 1:58 pm.
  • 656-019 1:02 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:02 pm and 1:58 pm.
  • 656-021 1:02 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:02 pm and 1:58 pm.
  • 656-022 1:02 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Peter J. Pitchess met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:02 pm and 1:58 pm.
  • 656-023 1:02 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and M. Gene Snyder met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:02 pm and 1:58 pm.

All 102 conversations from January 26, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 656-020, January 26, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/656-020 (accessed October 6, 2026).