{"conversationCode":"920-004","tapeNumber":920,"conversationNumber":4,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-920-004","startDateTime":"1973-05-16T21:22:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-05-16T21:25:00.000Z","startDate":"16-May-1973","startTime":"5:22 PM","endDate":"16-May-1973","endTime":"5:25 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;","description":"On May 16, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 5:25 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 920-004 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":"5.5","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part V","chronReleaseDate":"21-Aug-2013","aogpRelease":"Abuse of Governmental Power Release","aogpSegment":"Segment 0","lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 920-4\n\nDate: May 16, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 5:22 pm and 5:25 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.\n\n       Watergate\n              -Haig’s possible call to H. R. Haldeman\n                     -Haldeman’s meeting with Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters, Richard M. Helms\nand John D. Ehrlichman\n\f                                               -8-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                            Conversation No. 920-13 (cont’d)","filename":["920-004.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haig, Alexander M., Jr."],"prevCode":"920-003","nextCode":"920-005","transcript":[{"start":0.25,"end":21.81,"text":"before we go i wish i wish to give bob a call again and say god damn it you're just talking to me and i'm enraged by this and i just wish we could help some but that will they are absolutely right to take the position that i directed that we check out because we"},{"start":22.45,"end":29.34,"text":"It appeared that they liked me at all, and that the purpose was not to make out my point, too, that if we wasn't, there could be a cover-up."},{"start":29.38,"end":30.82,"text":"Why the hell would we have Hells there?"},{"start":30.84,"end":31.86,"text":"You know?"},{"start":32.94,"end":36.32,"text":"But put that point to him, so that if he didn't, because he needs a little encouragement."},{"start":36.34,"end":38.78,"text":"It's a tough thing right now."},{"start":38.9,"end":40.04,"text":"And they can win on this thing."},{"start":40.12,"end":43.04,"text":"After all, they're hearing only one side of it at the moment."},{"start":43.06,"end":44.84,"text":"Everybody buttering up his own ass."},{"start":45.41,"end":45.83,"text":"Correct."},{"start":47.25,"end":47.53,"text":"Okay."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon directed Alexander Haig to contact H.R. Haldeman regarding his recent meeting with Richard Helms, Vernon Walters, and John Ehrlichman. Nixon expressed frustration over the perception of a cover-up and instructed Haig to reassure Haldeman that their actions were based on presidential directives to investigate the matter. The discussion highlights Nixon’s effort to manage the fallout of the Watergate scandal by ensuring his staff remained firm in their defense against the ongoing investigation.","topics":["Watergate","H.R. Haldeman","Richard Helms","Vernon Walters","John Ehrlichman","Cover-up"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-09T00:14:56.258Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","h-r-haldeman","richard-helms","vernon-walters","john-ehrlichman","cover-up"],"audioDurationSec":55,"audioFiles":[{"file":"920-004.mp3","bytes":1755136,"durationSec":54.73,"bitrate":256536,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:06.648Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:45:03.164Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/920-004.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/920-004","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/920/conversation-920-004","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}