Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 255 › Conversation 255-024

Nixon & White on Journalism and Correspondence

Wednesday, June 9, 1971 · 7:30 AM–8:24 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White, William S.Conversation255-024 on Tape 255 (tape position 00:35:18–00:38:43)StartWednesday, June 9, 1971 at 7:30 AMEndWednesday, June 9, 1971 at 8:24 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 255-024 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with journalist William S. White to dictate a letter and seek professional advice regarding a specific course of action. The discussion involved ambiguous directives regarding whether White should proceed with a particular task, interspersed with philosophical reflections on duty, honor, and public service. No concrete policy decisions were finalized, as the dialogue remained focused on the drafting of the correspondence and the conceptual approach to the matter at hand.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Dear Bill, I advise you
What?
What?
What?
What?
What?
What?
You're not going to do it.
You're going to do it.
You're not going to do it.
You're not going to do it.
The person not reverting to the call of the flesh, and the foe, the people, the praise, the honor, the magnanimity of the end, the value of the present, the purpose of the day, the purpose of the night, the purpose of the day.
whoop

NARA Description

On June 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William S. White met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:30 am and 8:24 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 255-024 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 255-24

Date: June 9, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:30 am and 8:24 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President dictated a letter to William S. White

     [Unintelligible]

     White
          -Advice given

Also recorded on June 9, 1971

  • 004-080 7:30 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:30 am and 8:24 am.
  • 255-022 7:30 AM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:30 am and 8:24 am.
  • 255-025 7:30 AM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:30 am and 8:24 am.
  • 255-026 7:30 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:30 am and 8:24 am.
  • 004-081 8:24 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 8:24 am to 8:25 am.
  • 255-027 8:24 AM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:24 am to 8:25 am.
  • 004-082 8:25 AM · 25 sec — Rose Mary Woods and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:25 am and 8:35 am.
  • 255-028 8:25 AM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, Marjorie P. Acker, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:25 am to 9:20 am.

All 58 conversations from June 9, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 255-024, June 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/255-024 (accessed September 27, 2026).