Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 308 › Conversation 308-009

Nixon & Schecter on Old Executive Office Building and Presidential workspace

Friday, December 10, 1971 · 6:27 PM–6:37 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Schecter, Jerrold L.Conversation308-009 on Tape 308 (tape position 00:12:19–00:16:10)StartFriday, December 10, 1971 at 6:27 PMEndFriday, December 10, 1971 at 6:37 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 308-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard Nixon provided journalist Jerrold L. Schecter with an informal tour of his Old Executive Office Building (EOB) workspace, highlighting the office's personal significance and historical function. Nixon described the room as a venue for private, high-level discussions with key advisors such as Henry Kissinger, John Mitchell, and Melvin Laird. The discussion emphasized the President's preference for this intimate setting to conduct work and manage administration affairs away from the more formal environment of the Oval Office.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 75% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
And the operators are without question.
The theater staff, since you're there, fantastic.
Let's see what's going on.
I move over here to my right.
Then my manager will give me that.
Speakers.
Yeah, these are vice presidents.
Everything in this school, that's all vice presidents.
These are all, as you can see, gables.
It's a nice room to work in.
It is personal.
Going back to home.
It's a great way to do it.
Oh, good day.
We have many of these common themes, common concepts here.
Robert Laird changed his mind often.
you know, just in the afternoon.
We sit and relax, play, and put our feet up.
John Mitchell would come in early.
Charles Paul was the first.
We'd sit around here.
We'd sit in here and talk for hours.
Rather than the other way, sometimes we would say, it's a busy day, I have to spend time over there.
But if I've got time,
I'll go over here and I'll be working on the art, and I'll come on over and spend an hour or two.
And as you can see, this is the tradition.
And even with that, they come here, and they, they'll, their items, they're a little more alive.
And that, that was important.
And, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and,
This one I haven't read yet.
Bill Sapphire.
Bill Sapphire.
Bill Sapphire.
Bill Sapphire.
Bill Sapphire.
Good night.
Good night.

NARA Description

On December 10, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Jerrold L. Schecter met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:27 pm to 6:37 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 308-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 308-9

Date: December 10, 1971
Time: 6:27 pm- 6:37 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Jerrold L. Schecter.

     White House operators
          -Praise from the President

     The President's work
          -Desk
               -Michael J. Mansfield
               -Speeches
                      -Final copies

     EOB office
         -The Vice President’s materials [?]
         -Gavels
         -Meetings with staff
               -William P. Rogers
               -Melvin R. Laird
               -Henry A. Kissinger
               -John N. Mitchell
               -John D. Ehrlichman
               -George P. Shultz
               -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
         -The President's desk
               -Books
                     -William L. Safire
                     -Daniel P. Moynihan

The President and Schecter left at 6:37 pm.

Also recorded on December 10, 1971

  • 636-009 5:11 PM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:11 pm to 5:34 pm.
  • 016-084 5:15 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert P. Griffin, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:15 pm to 5:17 pm.
  • 016-085 5:17 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:17 pm.
  • 016-086 5:18 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William H. Rehnquist talked on the telephone from 5:18 pm to 5:20 pm.
  • 016-087 5:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:20 pm and 7:53 pm.
  • 636-010 5:34 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:34 pm and 5:38 pm.
  • 636-011 5:38 PM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Jerrold L. Schecter met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:38 pm to 6:27 pm.
  • 636-012 6:27 PM · 7 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:27 pm and 8:34 pm.

All 75 conversations from December 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 308-009, December 10, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/308-009 (accessed October 6, 2026).