In August 1972, President Richard M. Nixon was riding high in the polls as he headed into the Republican National Convention. In this conversation, he and his chief of staff H. R. “Bob” Haldeman paused to assess the state of the Watergate cover-up. “I’m not that worried about it, to be perfectly candid with you,” Nixon admitted. Haldeman remarked on the cost of keeping one of the men who planned the Watergate break-in, E. Howard Hunt, quiet. “Well, they took a hell of a risk and they have to be paid. That’s all there is to that,” Nixon said.

Date: 1972-08-01
Time: 10:33-11:50
Participants: Richard M. Nixon, H. R. "Bob" Haldeman
Location: Oval Office
Tape: 758-011 A