Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-108

Nixon phone call with Rogers on David Packard and Presidential appointments

Tuesday, May 1, 1973 · 6:49 PM–6:51 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Rogers, William P.Conversation045-108 on Tape 45StartTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 6:49 PMEndTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 6:51 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-108 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Secretary of State William P. Rogers discussed the recruitment of David Packard for an appointment, agreeing that Nixon should personally call Packard to address his reluctance and concerns regarding potential stock conflicts. Rogers confirmed that congressional leaders, including Mike Mansfield and George Mahon, strongly supported Packard as the best candidate for the position. Additionally, Nixon briefed Rogers on a recent meeting with Vice President Spiro Agnew, during which he instructed Agnew to refrain from making public political statements.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.

Secretary Rogers.

Bill.

Yeah, Mr. President.

I wondered how we, uh, how we have now left the Packard thing.

I, uh, that, with all of our other things, I... Well, uh, the way we left it was that, uh, we didn't get in touch with him, but I think that if we're going to convince him to take it, you've got to make a call.

Yes, yes, yes, I would do that, but I don't know what I can tell him about the stop thing, and so... Well, the only nice thing to do is tell him to come and see us.

You have a feeling we can work it out, huh?

Yes.

Don't you think he's the best man?

Oh, by far.

All right.

I will make a call to him then and come back and have a chat with me.

He says he could come tomorrow.

I guess you're going to leave, aren't you, Thursday noon or something like that?

I thought I would, but I can stay.

Well, he said he could come here Thursday.

You see, I've talked to...

I talked to Mike Mansfield and I talked to George Mahon.

They all thought he was the best possible choice.

We've got to convince him.

He's a little bit reluctant.

Yeah, yeah.

I thought you should know, incidentally, I got Agnew in.

I wasn't intending to crack him.

I was just telling everybody to stay clear if they had any political ambitions, because he'd been, you know, the person of a gun has been out making statements both ways, and he's got to keep his damn mouth shut.

So I said, now look here, you stay out of this, and so he was fine.

Good.

All right, Mr. President.

Thank you.

Good idea.

Bye.

NARA Description

On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:49 pm and 6:51 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-108 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-108

Date: May 1, 1973
Time: Between 6:49 and 6:51 p.m.
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with William P. Rogers.

[See also Conversation No. 433-46]

     David Packard
          -Appointment
                -Delay
          -Possible call by President
          -Stock problem
          -President’s schedule
          -Rogers’s’ conversations
                -John E. Stennis, Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield, George H. Mahon
          -Desire for job

     Spiro T. Agnew
           -Conversation with President
           -Public statements

     President’s telephone call to Packard

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

433-044 6:45 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Robert H. Finch met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:45 pm to 6:47 pm.
045-107 6:47 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:47 pm and 6:49 pm.
433-045 6:47 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:47 pm and 6:49 pm.
433-046 6:49 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:49 pm to 6:51 pm.
045-109 6:51 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:51 pm and 6:53 pm.
433-047 6:51 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:51 pm and 6:53 pm.
045-110 6:53 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and David Packard talked on the telephone from 6:53 pm to 6:55 pm.
433-048 6:53 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and David Packard met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:53 pm to 6:55 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-108, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-108 (accessed October 5, 2026).