Listen to the Tapes
Audio clips from King Richard
1. "Totally treasonable." Nixon calls Chuck Colson the night before his second inauguration, January 20, 1973. They discuss the Inaugural concerts, Nixon's speech later that day, the Vietnam War, and Colson's campaign to punish the Washington Post for its coverage of Watergate. See pages 7-12 King Richard. Extracts from White House tape 036-018 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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2. "The president will not go to the cathedral." President Nixon is determined to prevent his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, from being buried at the National Cathedral. In a January 22, 1973 conversation with chief of staff Bob Haldeman, he describes the dean of the cathedral as a "political enemy" opposed to the Vietnam War. See page 35 King Richard. Extract from Tape 036-055 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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3. "It kills the bloody liberals." Nixon calls Henry Kissinger from the Lincoln Sitting Room following his nationwide television address announcing the Vietnam peace agreement on January 23, 1973. See pages 56-57 King Richard. Extracts from White House tape 036-099 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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4. "A cancer on the presidency." John Dean warns President Nixon of a "cancer on the presidency" in a meeting in the Oval Office on March 21, 1973. The tape recorded conversation was one of the "smoking guns" that led to Nixon's resignation the following year. See pages 132-6 King Richard. Extracts from White House tape 886-008 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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5. A new bowling alley. Julie Nixon Eisenhower calls her father on March 27, 1973 to share some "good news" to relieve the growing pressure from the Watergate scandal. A bowling alley has just been built under the North Portico of the White House for Nixon's private enjoyment. See pages 164-5 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 044-028 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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6. "People have got to have a little faith." Henry Kissinger congratulates President Nixon on his March 29, 1973 speech announcing an end to the Vietnam war. The two men agree that "a little faith" is necessary to overcome the divisions caused by the Vietnam War. See page 175 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 044-086 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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7. John Mitchell is "living in a dream world." John Ehrlichman tells President Nixon on April 8, 1973 that former White House aide Jeb Magruder has become "a loose cannon." Nixon expresses concern about his former attorney-general, John Mitchell, who cannot be allowed to go "popping off." See page 184 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 044-103 available in full from Nixon library here. |
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8. "Watergate will pass." President Nixon calls Ron Ziegler after midnight on April 15, 1973, to discuss the White House correspondents dinner. Nixon hates the press and is enmeshed in Watergate, but Ziegler assures him that it was "a great evening." See pages 210-11 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 038-039 available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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9. "You'd better examine your hole card." John Ehrlichman calls FBI acting director Patrick Gray from President Nixon's private office on April 15, 1973 to inform him that John Dean has implicated him in the Watergate scandal. Gray confesses that he has destroyed politically sensitive documents. See page 228 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 038-060 available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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10. "You saved this country, Mr. President." Henry Kissinger tries to dissuade President Nixon from resigning in an April 17, 1973 conversation at the height of the Watergate scandal. He predicts that "nobody will remember" what Watergate was about after a few months. See pages 247-9 King Richard. Extracts from White House tape 038-092 available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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11. "A rather painful dinner."
Bob Haldeman has "farewell dinner" with President Nixon at Camp David on April 18. 1973. Nixon sees no way out of Watergate unless his top aides resign and "fight like hell" from outside the White House. See page 253 King Richard. Extract from Haldeman audio diary available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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12. "The difficult one to figure out is Dean." President Nixon bemoans the "treachery" of John Dean in the Watergate affair in conversation with his chief of staff, Bob Haldeman, on April 19, 1973. Speculates that he is attempting "to save himself" from prosecution. See page 257 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 038-126 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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13. "That may be his bomb." President Nixon suspects that John Dean may have smuggled a tape recorder into the Oval Office, and plans to present the evidence to Watergate prosecutors. In an April 25, 1973 conversation, Bob Haldeman tells Nixon that his fears are unfounded. See pages 279-80 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 038-157 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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14. "I never heard of E. Howard Hunt, no sir, no!" John Ehrlichman accuses President Nixon of responsibility for Watergate in a phone call to Camp David on April 28, 1973. Nixon lies about his involvement in the scandal, falsely claiming that he never heard of Howard Hunt, a leader of the bugging team, prior to the break-in. See pages 293-4 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 164-021 available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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15. "What the hell do you do for money?" Nixon has trouble restraining his tears in telephone call with his press secretary, Ron Ziegler, at Camp David on April 29, 1973. Worries about the "money problems" facing disgraced aides Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman because of their Watergate legal woes. See page 297 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 164-039 available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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16. "He was in terrible shape." Bob Haldeman records his impressions of Richard Nixon following a meeting at Camp David on April 29, 1973, at which the president asks for his resignation. Nixon tells Haldeman that he is thinking of resigning himself. See pages 298-300 King Richard. Extract from Haldeman diary available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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17. "It's been a hard day." President Nixon phones Bebe Rebozo from Camp David on April 30, 1973, after deciding to accept the resignations of Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. Talks about resigning himself. See pages 302-3 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 164-040 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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18. "God bless you, boy." President Nixon speaks to Bob Haldeman from the Lincoln Sitting Room after announcing the resignation of "two of the finest public servants it has been my privilege to know" on April 30 1973. Tells him he loves him "like a brother." See page 306 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 045-041 available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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19. "How did you get to marry such a pretty girl?" Slurring his words from drink, President Nixon thanks California governor Ronald Reagan for an April 30, 1973 call expressing support at the height of the Watergate crisis. The two politicians exchange flattering comments about each other's wives. See page 307 King Richard. Extract from White House tape 045-053 available in full from the Nixon Library here. |
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20. "It'll be a fight to the death." After hosting a White House dinner for hundreds of POWs freed from North Vietnam on May 25, 1973, President Nixon tells Al Haig that he is preparing for a "fight to the death" with the media over Watergate. See pages 315-316 King Richard. Extracts from White House Tape 039-016 available in full from the Nixon library here. |
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