Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 334 › Conversation 334-041

Nixon & Moore on J. Edgar Hoover and L. Patrick Gray

Thursday, May 4, 1972 · 2:51 PM–2:57 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Moore, Richard A.Conversation334-041 on Tape 334 (tape position 03:52:36–03:58:38)StartThursday, May 4, 1972 at 2:51 PMEndThursday, May 4, 1972 at 2:57 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 334-041 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directs Richard A. Moore to plant a story with major television networks or wire services to clarify the nature of his professional relationships following the recent death of J. Edgar Hoover. Nixon emphasizes the need to frame his history with Hoover as a uniquely close personal friendship while explicitly defining his relationship with acting FBI director L. Patrick Gray as strictly professional and non-political. The objective is to utilize the Hoover narrative to distance the administration from Gray and counter media speculation regarding his personal involvement with government associates.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 41% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Hi, how are you?
I had a story that I think would be very good, and I want you to handle it.
If you could talk to Scali and tell him you need to use it with any, with either of the two networks, not CBS, because we were hated and unattached, but you could do it with either, or NBC, or ABC, you know, anybody that uses it.
So it would be an interesting thing.
with a wire service.
What triggered me on it was that when that break came in today, his wife asked me a question.
She said, first of the two things, she said, you know, I had volunteered for the
The second client, however,
more subtle, and perhaps she's better yet.
Dan Rather, who wasn't in the seat, said very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,
I said, when you're asked a question, I said, here's the thing to say.
Yes, I'm a very, I'm a long-time professional worker, co-worker of the president, and I was there in the 60s and 70s, and I'm a graduate of the MNCB, and of course, yes, I'm a friend.
But I said, as distinguished as Mr. Hoover, I've never met one of his personal friends.
He said, Mr. Hoover and the president were very close personal friends for about five years.
I think it's quite out of the blue that we always exchange Christmas gifts.
We spent many birthdays at our house, either in California, where we often met in Florida, or at the White House, in St. David's, in Sequoia.
In other words, we ended the races together.
In other words, and then I can go on to say that the relationship between President Nixon and me goes back 25 years.
was a very close personal relationship.
The president considered Hoover, among all of his government associates, to be his closest personal friend.
Now, that includes Eisenhower and anybody in the Congress.
I have no others, you know, with whom I have done all these things.
You see what I mean?
So he's a very close personal friend.
Now, you see that does two things.
First, it points out the close personal friendship of Hoover, which is now done.
Nobody can steal him from death.
But it also finds out that Gray's connection with the president is totally different.
Hoover and I were on a first-name basis.
I said, Gray, do you recall that?
I said, as you know, you and I are not on a first-name basis.
He said, I'm well aware of that.
Now, as president, he always...
As Vice President, he would call me Dick.
But as President, that was the only time he went into the Mr. President's room.
But it was first name, for 20 years it was first name, until I became President.
And I always spoke in that direction.
but most people did that, but my point is that we were, the only time we were not the first man faces was after I became president.
But on the others, I mean, my relationship with Gray is a professional relationship, one of mutual respect, only, whereas my relationship with Hoover was personal, on a very close, and that he was my best personal friend, among, in government, in government, of all the different people I know.
Now it's, well, who else can you name?
Rogers, oh Christ, I mean, I don't exchange Christmas gifts with Rogers.
I mean, I've seen Hoover maybe 10 times as much as I've seen Rogers.
See what I'm saying?
I didn't see Hoover and I, and it goes back very, this goes back to 47, my God, we've read that correctly in history, isn't that correct?
But you see, we've done this.
He's been my closest, my longest, closest personal friend.
But you see, the reason I'm doing this is not to build up the Hoover relationship, but more to build up the fact that Gray is not
And that gray is first, non-political by my direction, and second, that it's not personal.
I have no personal relationship with whatever.
That is a trick.
One of due to respect and not personal is I don't have personal relationships with people that I work with, and that's just my rule.
Okay.
Okay, bye.

NARA Description

On May 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Richard A. Moore met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:51 pm to 2:57 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 334-041 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 334-41

Date: May 4, 1972
Time: 2:51 pm - 2:57 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Richard A. Moore.

[See Conversation No. 23-152]

Also recorded on May 4, 1972

  • 023-152 2:51 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard A. Moore talked on the telephone from 2:51 pm to 2:57 pm.
  • 334-042 2:57 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:57 pm and 3:02 pm.
  • 334-043 2:57 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ray Conniff, Alexander P. Butterfield, and White House photographer met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:57 pm and 3:03 pm.
  • 023-153 3:04 PM · 8 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:44 pm.
  • 023-154 3:04 PM · 31 sec — the White House operator, Henry A. Kissinger, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:44 pm.
  • 023-155 3:04 PM · 2 min — the White House operator, Henry A. Kissinger, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:44 pm.
  • 023-156 3:04 PM · 18 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:44 pm.
  • 023-157 3:04 PM · 17 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:44 pm.

All 48 conversations from May 4, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 334-041, May 4, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/334-041 (accessed October 9, 2026).