Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 838 › Conversation 838-006

Nixon & Haldeman on Presidential appointments and Administration management

Thursday, January 11, 1973 · 8:36 AM–9:04 AM ET · Oval Office · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation838-006 on Tape 838StartThursday, January 11, 1973 at 8:36 AMEndThursday, January 11, 1973 at 9:04 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 838-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon dictates a memorandum to H. R. Haldeman establishing a strict protocol for the handling of high-level administration appointments. Nixon directs Haldeman to oversee the process and participate in all appointment discussions to ensure that competing interests from the RNC, Charles Colson, and Cabinet members are properly balanced and vetted. This directive serves to centralize control over personnel decisions while insulating the President from internal staff conflicts and potential disputes with Congress.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 16% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I noted that, with some concern, that John Ehrlichman was talking to me about some appointments that he wanted people to approve.
And at another time, George Shultz had mentioned a couple of people that he wanted to have appointed to various position trade programs.
I have absolutely no objection whatever
It is vital that wherever appointments are concerned, to the higher offices in which I am interviewed, that you be present when they are discussed so that you can see that the National Committee people, Colson, and other people in the cabinet who might have different views, as well as other people in my house have their views represented.
their occasion probably say go ahead and kill it uh just as i did when uh this of course is
I would like you to have a talk with our top point house people and tell them that you have to have responsibility for the appointments.
always want to hear their side of the case if they feel that they are not getting their views across and that you will come in with them if they feel they must bring an order to carry it back.
with his staff and get the people with regard to who's going to be applying to law, let alone to get into such fights with Congress.
Our staff has done very well in keeping me out of such struggles over the last four years.
I just want to be sure that I continue to be isolated from them to the extent possible, although I want to be sure my input is considered.
Uh, my peers, uh, uh, he was, uh, far strong.
They are not able to, again, not able to leave, not in any way.
With regard to the appointments, I'd like you to talk...
Why would there certainly be another position for Moore over there if he wants to stay in government?
But we had to do know an impossible situation where Larry was concerned because of General Hursley, uh, threatened to leave town, was a very bad actor, close friends.
Uh, assuming that Moore

NARA Description

On January 11, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 838-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 838-6

Date: January 11, 1973
Time: Unknown between 8:36 and 9:04 am
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a memorandum to H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

       Appointments to Administration positions
             -John D. Ehrlichman
             -George P. Shultz
             -Haldeman’s presence during discussions
                     -Republican National Committee
                     -Charles W. Colson
             -Hobart D. (“Hobe”) Lewis
                     -Frank Stanton
                            -United States Information Agency [USIA]
             -Compared to the President's acceptance of speaking engagements
                     -Haldeman
                     -Stephen B. Bull
             -Haldeman's role
                     -Discussions with White House staff
                     -Congress
                     -Frederic V. Malek
             -Elliot L. Richardson
                     -Jonathan Moore
                     -Henry A. Kissinger
                                             -5-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                     -Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger
                     -Moore
              -Melvin R. Laird
              -General Robert E. Pursley
              -Moore

Also recorded on January 11, 1973

  • 035-127 8:36 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am.
  • 838-002 8:36 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am.
  • 838-003 8:36 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am.
  • 838-004 8:36 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am.
  • 838-005 8:36 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am.
  • 838-007 8:36 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am.
  • 838-008 8:36 AM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am.
  • 838-009 8:36 AM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 9:04 am.

All 63 conversations from January 11, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 838-006, January 11, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/838-006 (accessed October 11, 2026).