Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 68 › Conversation 068-003

Nixon White House recording on White House Cabinet Room

Thursday, August 5, 1971 · 5:22 PM–6:20 PM ET · Cabinet Room · 26 min

Participants[Unknown person(s)]Conversation068-003 on Tape 68StartThursday, August 5, 1971 at 5:22 PMEndThursday, August 5, 1971 at 6:20 PMRecording deviceCabinet RoomSourceNixon Library record for 068-003 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417174227 ↗

AI Summary

This recording captures several unidentified individuals, including those referred to as Walt and Frank, as they perform technical maintenance and equipment installation within the White House Cabinet Room. The participants focus on the physical setup of lighting, screens, and furniture arrangement to prepare the room for future use. The discussion remains strictly informal and operational, centering on the mechanical details of the work rather than matters of policy or state.

  • White House Cabinet Room
  • Technical maintenance
  • Equipment installation
  • Room logistics
  • Facility operations

Audio

Download MP3 · 60.3 MB

NARA Description

On August 5, 1971, unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 068-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 068-003

Date: August 5, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm
Location: Cabinet Room

Unknown people met

******************************************************************************

[Previous non-historical (H) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 04/26/2019. Segment
cleared for release.]

[Non-Historical]
[068-003-w001]
[Duration: 26m 15s]

     Equipment

     Furniture

     Maintenance work
          -Screws

     Cost of item
          -Originating from the Philippines
          -Reporter
          -Spain
          -The Philippines

     Maintenance work

     Equipment

     [First name unknown] Weaver
           -Location
                -Montana
                -Salt Lake City

     Maintenance work

     Equipment

     Driving

     Light equipment

     Western Electric

     Equipment

     [Machinery noise]

     Maintenance work

     Operation of equipment

     Windows

     Equipment

     [Machinery noise]

******************************************************************************

The unknown people left at an unknown time before 6:20 pm

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 10 minutes of this recording (about 38% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

I can't even see the screen.
What do you mean?
Yeah.
Yeah, I had it right on there.
I'm telling you, look, if you're inside Frank, what we ought to try to do is just start the sheet, like, middle and end in the middle, and then just like this, go right back up to the middle of this thing.
Well, now, most of the time, I'm going to move always that straight.
We've got to get rid of all this furniture.
Yeah, well, I've got to get them out of the way.
I want to go put them back where they're wrong.
I like that.
Now I'm going to rank four of the books.
Oh, yeah, actually, I've seen that.
The one with the chin up, he's just like that.
Boy, look how good I knew it was the next big cult book.
Go ahead and come slide him down here.
And across the camera.
Just slapping all over.
Which way are you going to go?
I'm going to be away.
I'm going to figure if I'm behind you on this day, because I know you ain't going to stand in the way.
He's trouble, boy.
He's trouble.
Wait a minute, Chief.
You know you're the same.
What do you say?
Just try setting that arm or that hanger on there rather than finding that big grass.
Okay, lights.
Lights.
Is this the safe area over here?
Yeah.
One sec.
It's at the end of the table.
Yeah.
Turn him off now, Walt.
Now it's over.
You need a little more?
Here's a couple.
Okay.
Let's take a break some time.
Let's see if we can get this intersectional.
Okay.
Can you see it?
Yeah.
All right.
Now, let me see.
I might as well put it back in there.
Let's see.
That's it.
Thank you.
Yeah.
You say, I'm gonna be stuck.
You're looking back at me so weird.
All right.
This.
Do that again.
I turned off one.
Turned my phone.
I think it was a trace or something.
I don't know.
A trace, whatever it is.
Oh, it's a screw thing right here.
It's a screw thing right here.
I don't know.
It doesn't matter what it is.
Oh, I was looking for a big bar.
You did with that one.
You did with that one.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
He was right in that dark spot.
That's pretty reasonable.
It has to be a buck 29.
A buck 27 just recently went up to a buck 30.
Sam McHale from the Philippines.
It's been reported that the reporter's name on it.
They may get off in Spain, but this is from the Philippines.
According to the label.
Good stuff.
Cool.
There's a lot of Carlykes.
More than that.
You know, let's just eat a little bit again.
Good.
It's different, you know?
Nothing like it over here.
Carlyke's really well, isn't it, when you wouldn't drink it?
All right?
Good special.
Um, sorry.
The stuff you get over there, I don't take your ass.
It might not be.
I think that's one of the, there's a big difference in taste.
You just need to be able to get over it.
I've never been in an adult vehicle.
I've had you in an adult vehicle.
I mean, it wasn't the export of beer.
It was taken out there.
Yeah.
Of course, local beer wasn't for export.
I mean, there is what it is.
It's the way it tastes.
It tastes even better.
All right.
No, and he was, he died a long time ago, but he's, you know, he's a nice deal.
Yeah.
Weaver's out in La Jolla, Montana somewhere, Salt Lake City.
Hold on.
Again.
Okay.
This is where it is.
Yeah.
I think it's that groovy place.
I was the first kid in the group, you know, that probably had ACL.
I didn't want to work.
But anyway.
That stuff's got to be tidy.
I don't know where he is.
He's kind of close to that thing, Walt.
You can see where the screen's at and where they're going.
See, it's not about the same as the screen.
Now, if you say so, it's great.
A little light.
Now, see, if I come around up here and go down that side, back to where I am now, it'll be done.
See, I'm gonna hit the center first.
I'm gonna have to get my car today.
I don't know if I can make it to my car.
Why?
Huh?
May I switch?
No.
I don't feel like running around as part of this country at night.
Park, please control that out there.
I don't want to hang a sign.
What's that doing here?
I'll take care of you, Bob.
I'll be up over behind Dave this time.
All right.
Turn it off.
You know where it means the end of the stream ends up?
Like that one after it turns off?
Yeah.
It's glowing.
It's white.
Why is it only glowing on that end?
Because the light is only striking it on that end.
Turn your flashlight off, will you?
Turn your flashlight off.
Bullshit, that's the end of that goddamn tube.
No, it isn't.
Alright, uh, okay.
I don't believe it, no.
Okay, now that's it.
Thanks for moving that dog, buddy.
Alright.
Yeah, that's it.
We have to have Pace move the bed in here.
Huh.
They can cut the inside of you and Pace and carry the message in.
I heard so many things about these little machines from a lot of different people.
I don't know what to believe.
Some people say you carry around your pockets every now and then, and other people say you don't get anywhere near them.
Yeah, they'll catch me every now and then.
I think I may have used mine for five and a half years.
And then I've got to show them up in the overcoast at one of these times.
I can't get it.
And so I figured I must be doing it right.
Yeah.
Yeah, that was Tom Petty's program, I can't get it.
And what did the other guy do?
Well, I carried the pocketbook somewhere and everything else.
And I never actually opened it.
I mean, you know, Tom never got anything at all.
I was working with some guys in the Western Electric for demonstrating some clothes to us.
They were a little careless, weren't they?
Well, I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I got a count, but it didn't, I didn't get a count.
Oh, I guess you shouldn't have gone all the way there.
Okay, we're gonna spin this thing around.
We're gonna spin it around.
I figure, I don't wanna put it in the chamber.
That's a great way of doing it.
If you could do it, it would be nice.
You're sweating out.
No, I don't think that's going to do it.
It's just dragging the bucket all the way back under there.
We'll just turn it off here.
What's that?
Damn, it's dragging the bucket.
Yes.
Put it back on.
Put the light on.
It's being watched.
One more after this.
Watch that.
Watch that end.
That sound fish.
Karee, I shot my ass twice.
What the fuck gave you the ass?
No, I don't know if they're in a goddamn major.
You're supposed to know about it, right?
I thought about it the other day.
I said, look, motherfucker, give me one more time to that song, baby, and we're gonna do that.
Mm-hmm.
I don't like it at all.
Yeah, he's a general, isn't he?
I don't know.
Okay.
All right?
Yeah.
The green screen is clean.
All right.
Okay, turn the lights on.
Let's put this gear away.
I have solved the problem.
Stay here.

— 1 min 3 s with no transcribed speech —

I just feel amazing.
I don't want to do that again.
I don't like it.
But it makes me alive.
Is this the direction of our future?
Yeah.
You might as well hold it.

— 1 min 27 s with no transcribed speech —

There you go.
Keep going, keep going.
Ready?
Give it some load.
That feels very good in here, right?
We'll put some curtains on here when we get food on the boat.
Come on through, mate.
There he is.
Let's put the grates back.
Does this thing go all the way around or what?
I'll show you.
Like this?
First, take this thing like this.
Turn this end in.
And then accordion it as you go back.
So it doesn't leave any white shells.
Tommy?
Yeah?
And this thing just hangs like this.
Then not, right in the middle.
See?
Anything else that depends on that?
Oh.
That's enough hair for this one.
Like this.
Hey, Walt.
You cook this one down, and what you do is cook.
Put a lot on these.
Uh, those last two windows didn't have a top.
Oh.
I imagine that's probably why.
Oh, just push this jolly down like this.
Didn't happen to knock on the door, did they?
No, they didn't.
How about this room?
Was anybody there?
No.
They weren't looking to copy it.
They wanted to open it, I don't know.
Here, clear it up.
That's right.
It's the furniture.
It's restored.
It looks all right.
There it is.
I believe we can start.
I'll give it a little second, Jim.
Knock down the wires a little.
No, that's good.
That's good.
That's good.
That's good.
That's good.

Also recorded on August 5, 1971

  • 555-008 3:21 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:21 pm and 3:23 pm.
  • 555-009 3:23 PM · 1 hr 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George W. Romney, John B. Connally, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Peter M. Flanigan, and Paul W. McCracken met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:23 pm to 4:35 pm.
  • 555-010 4:35 PM · 39 min — President Richard M. Nixon, James L. Buckley, John N. Mitchell, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:35 pm to 5:16 pm.
  • 555-011 5:16 PM · 11 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:16 pm and 5:22 pm.
  • 555-012 5:16 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:16 pm and 5:22 pm.
  • 068-002 5:22 PM · 1 hr 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and representatives of leading farm publications, including Claude Gifford, Thomas Huheey, Royal Fraderich, Wayne Swegle, Joseph A. Elliot, Cordell W. Tindall, Richard E. Albrecht, Ferdie J. Deering, William D. Knox, Robert G. Rupp, Lane Palmer, Jack Pickett, Herbert G. Klein, White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
  • 068-004 5:22 PM · 2 min — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.
  • 068-005 5:22 PM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:20 pm.

All 25 conversations from August 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 068-003, August 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417174227). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/068-003 (accessed November 2, 2026).