{"conversationCode":"045-079","tapeNumber":45,"conversationNumber":79,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-045-079","startDateTime":"1973-05-01T17:07:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-05-01T17:08:00.000Z","startDate":"1-May-1973","startTime":"1:07 PM","endDate":"1-May-1973","endTime":"1:08 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.;","description":"On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 1:07 pm to 1:08 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-079 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.5","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part V","chronReleaseDate":"21-Aug-2013","aogpRelease":"Abuse of Governmental Power Release","aogpSegment":"Segment 0","lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 45-79\n\nDate: May 1, 1973\nTime: 1:07 pm - 1:08 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with Stephen B. Bull.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 433-11]\n\n[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was prepared under court order for\nSpecial Access 57, Harry R. Haldeman v. Rowland G. Freeman, III, et al.,United States District\nCourt for the District of Columbia, Civil Action No. 80-3250, page 1. The National Archives\nand Records Administration produced this transcript. The National Archives does not guarantee\nits accuracy. See logging below.]\n\n     Watergate\n          -Staff member files\n                -Ownership\n                -National security\n                -Watergate\n          -Leonard Garment’s memorandum\n                -William P. Rogers","filename":["045-079.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Bull, Stephen B."],"prevCode":"045-078","nextCode":"045-080","transcript":[{"start":1.26,"end":14.8,"text":"The point is, Steve, that all files, any correspondence or anything that has to do with between me and any member of my staff belongs to the president, not to them."},{"start":15.24,"end":17.2,"text":"It's not their files, goddamn it."},{"start":17.22,"end":17.9,"text":"They're mine."},{"start":18.48,"end":18.72,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":19.58,"end":20.2,"text":"Do you get that?"},{"start":20.4,"end":21.52,"text":"Yes, I understand completely."},{"start":21.55,"end":22.13,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":22.15,"end":23.63,"text":"And tell that damn garment that's it."},{"start":23.81,"end":28.15,"text":"And anything in the national security area is an area that is mine."},{"start":28.99,"end":29.73,"text":"It's not theirs."},{"start":30.54,"end":32.6,"text":"in the national security area."},{"start":32.62,"end":34.05,"text":"That is mine, not theirs."},{"start":34.63,"end":37.31,"text":"If they hang on Watergate and anything, shit, they can do anything they want."},{"start":37.33,"end":38.67,"text":"I don't give a goddamn about that."},{"start":39.62,"end":39.92,"text":"Okay?"},{"start":40.02,"end":40.38,"text":"All right, sir."},{"start":40.4,"end":41.18,"text":"I understand completely."},{"start":42.74,"end":48.31,"text":"Time to rewrite the memorandum along those lines so that Rogers can look at it after the cabinet meeting."},{"start":48.33,"end":48.75,"text":"All right, sir."},{"start":48.77,"end":49.05,"text":"Fine."},{"start":49.51,"end":49.71,"text":"Thank you."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon instructed Stephen B. Bull to establish firm control over White House staff files, asserting that all correspondence between himself and his staff—particularly regarding national security—belongs exclusively to the President rather than individual staff members. This directive was intended to clarify ownership protocols in response to a memorandum drafted by Leonard Garment. Bull was tasked with revising the document to reflect the President's position for subsequent review by William P. Rogers.","topics":["Watergate","Presidential authority","National security","White House staff files","Leonard Garment","William P. Rogers"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T07:07:32.120Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","presidential-authority","national-security","white-house-staff-files","leonard-garment","william-p-rogers"],"audioDurationSec":56,"audioFiles":[{"file":"045-079.mp3","bytes":1792000,"durationSec":55.85,"bitrate":256672,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.712Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/045-079.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-079","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/45/conversation-045-079","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}