Exclusive: Haldeman, Son of Watergate, Remembers His Father and President Nixon

March 17, 2015 by Andrew Simpson

H.R. “Bob” Haldeman bears some responsibility for the Watergate scandal, but he was innocent of the criminal charges brought against him, says the son of President Richard Nixon’s former chief of staff.

Haldeman Predicts Vindication
H.R. “Bob” Haldeman — March 1974 (AP Photo/Jeff Robbins)

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Wells Media Group, Hank Haldeman, oldest son of H.R. Haldeman, discusses his father, Nixon, Watergate, politics, prison, relationships, his own career, the family name and more.

In the interview, Haldeman reveals what it was like talking with his father about Watergate as the scandal unfolded on the front pages of The Washington Post. He describes his father’s relationship with President Nixon. He also shares his impressions of Judge John Sirica and his father’s trial along with memories of visiting his father in prison.

The full interview, “The Hank Haldeman Interview: A Son of Watergate Remembers His Father,” is scheduled to air on InsuranceJournal.com on Thursday March 19, at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

Hank Haldeman is executive vice president and director with The Sullivan Group in Los Angeles. He is also current president of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO).

In an excerpt (below) released before the broadcast, Haldeman shares his own conclusions about his father’s responsibility for Watergate.


“Things that shouldn’t have gone on did go on,” he says. “Certainly, ultimate responsibility for that comes back to whoever set the tone for the administration. More than anybody, that comes back to Dad. Does he have responsibility? Absolutely. But that’s not the same thing as criminal culpability or the cause.”

The Watergate scandal resulted in Nixon’s resignation in his second term in 1974. H.R. Haldeman was convicted of perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He was sentenced to Lompoc prison in California for 18 months.

His son’s observations, anecdotes and memories from the interview cover a number of areas:

H.R. Haldeman died in 1993. His son remembers him as a man of steady faith and character:

“I think he never wavered in the belief that he had never committed the acts for which he was tried and convicted. His religion was a very, very important part of his life. He stuck with that throughout. That gave him a great deal of strength.

“He was very much unchanged, the same person from the advertising days before he was in the White House, through the White House and afterward. Everybody evolves with the experiences that you go through, but his character remained very, very steady and the same.”

The interview is sponsored by the new Learning Management System (LMS) of the Insurance Journal Academy of Insurance.

Wells Media Group serves the property/casualty insurance industry. The company is publisher of Insurance Journal, Carrier Management, Claims Journal and MyNewMarkets. It also offers professional education through the Insurance Journal Academy of Insurance.

The Hank Haldeman interview will air in its entirety on Thursday, March 19, at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Visit insurancejournal.com on March 19 for the broadcast and live discussion.