Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 40 › Conversation 040-060

Nixon phone call with Woods on Leonid Brezhnev and White House Guest Lists

Wednesday, June 13, 1973 · 12:09 AM–12:12 AM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation040-060 on Tape 40StartWednesday, June 13, 1973 at 12:09 AMEndWednesday, June 13, 1973 at 12:12 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 040-060 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directed his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, to finalize the guest list for an upcoming after-dinner event honoring Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. The President requested that all administration officials with experience traveling to the USSR be included and specifically instructed that individuals who had already attended multiple White House events be excluded. Furthermore, Nixon expressed frustration with the current vetting process, ordering that future guest lists provided by Warren L. “Bill” Gulley be strictly managed to ensure a fresh rotation of attendees.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Hello, Rose.

Hello.

Sorry to bother you, but on the after-dinner guest, if you would check to see who else has been to Russia and invite them for that.

Okay.

You know, like I know the head of the environment thing has been there.

All right.

And he should be, you know, trained and others.

We're going to put some of those on the after-dinner, and the Russians want some names, so I thought maybe we'd give some of those names to the Russians, too.

All right.

But for the after dinner, have those people there, you see.

All right.

Fine.

Okay.

Thank you.

Okay.

Fine.

And incidentally, on that one, don't invite administrative assistants and all that crap, you know?

Well, unfortunately, they've already invited a few, although I must say Bill gave me 41 names and I think I invited eight.

That's all.

Oh, no.

You see, this is a different kind of dinner.

He doesn't understand.

I know, I know.

That's his job, though.

Well, the same ones have been here two or three times this year.

No more.

We've got to talk to him about that.

No, no more, no more.

We're not going to have people the second time they come hear the music and leave and dance, and that's not going to happen anymore.

You've got to tell Bill they're there to have different people each time or else.

Yeah.

At least to mark on it if they've been here before.

Fair enough?

Yep.

Alright.

Okay.

But I want everybody in the administration that's been to Russia to be there.

Alright.

Okay.

Fine.

Thanks.

NARA Description

On June 13, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 12:09 am to 12:12 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 040-060 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 40-60

Date: June 13, 1973
Time: 12:09 am - 12:12 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Rose Mary Woods.

     President’s schedule
           -Leonid I. Brezhnev after-dinner guests
                 -Other travelers to Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
                 -Russell E. Train
                       -Council on Environmental Quality
                 -Soviet list
                 -Administrative assistants
                 -Warren L. (“Bill”) Gulley’s guest list
                       -Number of invitees
                       -President’s instructions

Also recorded on June 13, 1973

040-054 11:38 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 11:38 pm to 11:41 pm.
040-055 11:41 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:41 pm and 11:51 pm.
040-056 11:51 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft talked on the telephone from 11:51 pm to 11:54 pm.
040-057 11:54 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone on an unknown date, sometime between 11:54 pm on June 12, 1973 and 12:02 am on June 13, 1973.
040-058 12:02 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 12:02 am to 12:07 am.
040-059 12:07 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:07 am and 12:09 am.
040-061 12:12 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:12 am and 12:16 am.
040-062 12:16 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 12:16 am to 12:17 am.

All 95 conversations from June 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 040-060, June 13, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/040-060 (accessed October 9, 2026).