Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 256 › Conversation 256-008

Nixon with unidentified visitors in his EOB office on Washington Star

Tuesday, June 1, 1971 · 9:14 AM–11:25 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]Conversation256-008 on Tape 256 (tape position 00:05:09–00:08:38)StartTuesday, June 1, 1971 at 9:14 AMEndTuesday, June 1, 1971 at 11:25 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 256-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon held an informal discussion with an unidentified reporter from the Washington Star regarding the coverage and internal dynamics of his administration's foreign affairs policy. The conversation touched upon the involvement of Attorney General John Mitchell and the influence of media reporting on political decision-making. The interaction reflects the President's ongoing efforts to manage press narratives and ensure his policy initiatives were accurately framed within the media landscape.

Audio

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Position in tape: 00:05:09 – 00:08:38

5:06

256a.mp3

NARA Description

On June 1, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 11:25 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 256-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 256-8

Date: June 1, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:14 am and 11:25 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with an unknown reporter at the Washington Star

     “Foreign Affairs” column of Washington Star

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

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

I think we've done the right thing.
You know, I miss Bob Mitchell, and I think that black-over Murphy made the story bigger.
And actually, Murphy, the Iowa kind of son of a bitch there, with the trustee David Wilson on, I didn't make the decision, but I was delighted that Mitchell was actually the son of a bitch.
He took Jerry Wilson on.
There, the police chief was fine in the meeting, too.
The Boston police chief was real good.
Those chiefs, they were refreshing.
God damn, they're good Americans.
They've never been in the White House before, you know?
Well, you know, no president ever sat down with the police chiefs and sheriffs of the nation to do that.
They said, we have never had it.
I mean, it would be just so overwhelmed, even by his care for us, and we're willing to sit down with his staff.
Well, for Christ's sake, let's take all of them out of here.
And boy, I have to tell you, we were, we had been there.
We had been there.
We turned in.
It was like they were the chiefs.
They were the sheriffs.
Boy, they were just.
Boy, they were gung-ho.
One of them said afterwards, this fellow says, get out of here.
I got a press for you.
If you do that, we're going to have you next to them.
You know, that's it.
Good job.
We could just, uh, you gotta keep repeating the story.
Keep it around, you know, you make a little blip, and it drops off, and we'll find a way to better keep service.
We probably had some fun, mainly because the press kept asking questions.
If the press had dropped it, I mean, there's one answer, but the backers were probably going to have to get it, so they kept editing it.
Or I was the one.
Or they asked it, I was the one.
They'd ask it again.
I'm trying to stick to it.
I never believed it.
We have to realize the little controversy that's on the island.
The only way to get it.

Also recorded on June 1, 1971

  • 256-002 9:14 AM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 11:25 am.
  • 256-003 9:14 AM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 11:25 am.
  • 256-004 9:14 AM · 26 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 9:14 am and 11:25 am.
  • 256-005 9:14 AM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 11:25 am.
  • 256-006 9:14 AM · 4 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 9:14 am and 11:25 am.
  • 256-007 9:14 AM · 46 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 9:14 am and 11:25 am.
  • 256-009 9:14 AM · 59 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 11:25 am.
  • 256-010 9:14 AM · 6 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 9:14 am and 11:25 am.

All 49 conversations from June 1, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 256-008, June 1, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/256-008 (accessed November 11, 2026).