Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 68 › Conversation 068-005

Nixon White House recording on Architecture and Design planning

Thursday, August 5, 1971 · 5:22 PM–6:20 PM ET · Cabinet Room · 1 min

Participants[Unknown person(s)]Conversation068-005 on Tape 68StartThursday, August 5, 1971 at 5:22 PMEndThursday, August 5, 1971 at 6:20 PMRecording deviceCabinet RoomSourceNixon Library record for 068-005 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417174231 ↗

AI Summary

Unnamed individuals met in the Cabinet Room to review physical architectural plans or visual diagrams related to a structural installation. The participants discussed specific design details, including the positioning of a long drop feature and its placement relative to the sides of the structure. The conversation concluded with an acknowledgment of the work performed, though no substantive policy decisions were documented.

  • Architecture
  • Design planning
  • Facility maintenance
  • White House infrastructure

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.3 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 068-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 068-005

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 04/29/2019. Segment
cleared for release.]
[Non-Historical]
[068-005-w001]
[Duration: 1m 1s]

     Description of apparatus
          -Fan
          -Smoke detector

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

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 1 minute of this recording (about 78% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).

See, they are.
They're a little bogus, that rain.
That's what you would see today.
This part is the bones.
The bones are all coming down to the side.
The bones drop down.
Those are all feet up.
Yeah.
The ones you can see in the sides.
The one up there.
That's the one about there going down.
The one here is the side.
The straight down is going to be at the top.
I'm here for an exam, and here's your smoke detector.
For this one, on that end.
What's that?
The big speaker box.
That is a speaker.
Well, I have to count the boxes on time.
I can't see what you're doing.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Don't do that.
Good job.

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.
  • 068-003 5:22 PM · 26 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.
  • 068-004 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.

All 25 conversations from August 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 068-005, August 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417174231). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/068-005 (accessed November 2, 2026).