John Newton Mitchell
White House Tape 485-004
John Mitchell appears with Richard Nixon in the 3-minute White House recording numbered 485-004; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Watergate · Presidential recordings · 1971–1974
Watergate White House Tapes Timeline
The Nixon White House taping system operated from February 1971 to July 1973. The existence of the system became public during the Senate Watergate hearings in July 1973 and made the recordings central evidence in the investigation.
This page presents selected database records concerning recorded conversations, the Senate and special-prosecutor subpoenas, the 18½-minute gap and the legal struggle over access to presidential recordings.
50 selected database records
The record cards below are rendered directly in this page’s HTML. They are selected from the World History Database Watergate dataset; the source links beneath each record group provide authoritative context for the chronology.
1971
3 records
John Newton Mitchell
White House Tape 538-015
John Mitchell appears with Richard Nixon, John Ehrlichman, and H. R. Haldeman in the 19-minute White House recording numbered 538-015; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 587-003
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon and John Mitchell in the 9-minute White House recording numbered 587-003; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Reference context for this record group: Richard Nixon Presidential Library — White House tapes · Richard Nixon Presidential Library — Watergate trial tapes · National Archives — Watergate chronology
1972
7 records
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman
White House Tape 697-015
H. R. Haldeman appears with Richard Nixon in the 25-minute White House recording numbered 697-015; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Charles Colson
White House Tape 698-009
Charles Colson appears with Richard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman in the 3-minute White House recording numbered 698-009; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
James W. McCord Jr.
Watergate
After Frank Wills removes tape from a door latch, McCord retapes the latch, prompting Wills to become suspicious when he returns.
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman
White House Chief of Staff
June 20 Conversation
Meets with Nixon three days after the break-in in a conversation whose recording later becomes notorious for an eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap.
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman
White House Tape 741-002
H. R. Haldeman appears with Richard Nixon and Ronald Ziegler in the 54-minute White House recording numbered 741-002; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman
White House Tape 347-004
H. R. Haldeman appears with Richard Nixon and John Mitchell in the 3-minute White House recording numbered 347-004; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 779-002
Richard Nixon appears with H. R. Haldeman and John Dean in the 48-minute White House recording numbered 779-002; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Reference context for this record group: Richard Nixon Presidential Library — White House tapes · Richard Nixon Presidential Library — Watergate trial tapes · National Archives — Watergate chronology
1973
38 records
Charles Colson
White House Tape 394-021/395-001
Charles Colson appears with Richard Nixon in the 23-minute White House recording numbered 394-021/395-001; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 856-004
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon in the 16-minute White House recording numbered 856-004; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 862-004
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon in the 22-minute White House recording numbered 862-004; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 865-014
Richard Nixon appears with John Dean in the 56-minute White House recording numbered 865-014; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Dean
White House Tape 878-014
John Dean appears with Richard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman in the 69-minute White House recording numbered 878-014; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Dean
White House Tape 037-175
John Dean appears with Richard Nixon in the 14-minute White House recording numbered 037-175; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 421-018
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon, John Dean, and H. R. Haldeman in the 36-minute White House recording numbered 421-018; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 885-007
Richard Nixon appears with H. R. Haldeman in the 46-minute White House recording numbered 885-007; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 422-020
Richard Nixon appears with H. R. Haldeman in the 106-minute White House recording numbered 422-020; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 423-003
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon, H. R. Haldeman, and Ronald Ziegler in the 109-minute White House recording numbered 423-003; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 890-019
Richard Nixon appears with Ronald Ziegler and John Ehrlichman in the 16-minute White House recording numbered 890-019; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 038-037
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon in the 29-minute White House recording numbered 038-037; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 428-028
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman in the 57-minute White House recording numbered 428-028; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 896-005
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman in the 43-minute White House recording numbered 896-005; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 038-042
Richard Nixon appears with H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman in the 18-minute White House recording numbered 038-042; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Dean
White House Tape 427-010
John Dean appears with Richard Nixon in the 19-minute White House recording numbered 427-010; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Dean
White House Tape 897-004
John Dean appears with Richard Nixon in the 37-minute White House recording numbered 897-004; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 897-011
Richard Nixon appears with H. R. Haldeman in the 22-minute White House recording numbered 897-011; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 898-006
Richard Nixon appears with H. R. Haldeman and Rose Mary Woods in the 11-minute White House recording numbered 898-006; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 898-023/899-001
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon, H. R. Haldeman, and Ronald Ziegler in the 43-minute White House recording numbered 898-023/899-001; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 900-026
Richard Nixon appears with John Ehrlichman in the 18-minute White House recording numbered 900-026; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
John Ehrlichman
White House Tape 902-001
John Ehrlichman appears with Richard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman in the 34-minute White House recording numbered 902-001; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 902-009
Richard Nixon appears with John Ehrlichman in the 30-minute White House recording numbered 902-009; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman
White House Tape 903-019
H. R. Haldeman appears with Richard Nixon and John Ehrlichman in the 17-minute White House recording numbered 903-019; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 038-151
Richard Nixon appears with John Ehrlichman in the 2-minute White House recording numbered 038-151; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman
White House Tape 430-004
H. R. Haldeman appears with Richard Nixon and John Ehrlichman in the 150-minute White House recording numbered 430-004; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman
White House Tape 431-009
H. R. Haldeman appears with Richard Nixon, John Ehrlichman, and Ronald Ziegler in the 309-minute White House recording numbered 431-009; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Richard Milhous Nixon
White House Tape 039-080
Richard Nixon appears with H. R. Haldeman in the 15-minute White House recording numbered 039-080; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Ronald L. Ziegler
White House Tape 442-001
Ronald Ziegler appears with Richard Nixon and John Dean in the 281-minute White House recording numbered 442-001; the Watergate Special Prosecution Force later included the recording in its transcript collection.
Senator Howard Henry Baker
Senate Watergate Committee Vice Chairman
White House Taping System Revelation
Participates when Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of the White House recording system, giving the committee a potential source of direct evidence about disputed presidential conversations.
President of United States of America Richard Milhous Nixon
President of USA
Watergate
Nixon refuses to turn over the presidential tape recordings to the Senate Watergate committee or the special prosecutor.
Charles Alan Wright
Presidential Legal Counsel
Presidential Tape Defense
Argues Nixon's position in federal court, defending presidential confidentiality against the special prosecutor's demand for Watergate recordings.
President of United States of America Richard Milhous Nixon
President of USA
Stennis Compromise
Nixon, looking toward a solution to the tape dispute, offered what later came to known as the Stennis Compromise. U.S. Senator John C. Stennis (D-MS) would independently review the tapes and summarize them for the special prosecutor's office.
President of United States of America Richard Milhous Nixon
President of USA
Post-Massacre Tape Decision
Following intense political backlash, agrees that subpoenaed presidential recordings will be submitted through the judicial process.
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman
White House Tapes
The disputed June 20, 1972 recording concerns a conversation between President Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman.
President of United States of America Richard Milhous Nixon
President of USA
White House Tapes
Woods demonstrates how she says she could have accidentally erased part of a presidential recording while operating transcription equipment and reaching for a telephone.
Rose Mary Woods
White House Tapes
The disputed June 20, 1972 recording concerns a conversation between President Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman.
Rose Mary Woods
White House Tapes
Woods demonstrates how she says she could have accidentally erased part of a presidential recording while operating transcription equipment and reaching for a telephone.
Reference context for this record group: Richard Nixon Presidential Library — White House tapes · Richard Nixon Presidential Library — Watergate trial tapes · National Archives — Watergate chronology
1974
2 records
President of United States of America Richard Milhous Nixon
President of USA
White House Tapes
The White House releases more than 1,200 pages of edited transcripts of the Nixon tapes to the House Judiciary Committee, but the committee insists that the tapes themselves must be turned over.
President of United States of America Richard Milhous Nixon
President of USA
Smoking Gun Tape Released
Releases transcripts of June 23, 1972 conversations showing his early participation in efforts to limit the FBI's Watergate funding investigation.
Reference context for this record group: Richard Nixon Presidential Library — White House tapes · Richard Nixon Presidential Library — Watergate trial tapes · National Archives — Watergate chronology
Sources and archival context
The explanatory text and major chronology on this page were cross-checked against the following institutional sources. Individual database records may contain additional detail from the wider World History Database dataset.