Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 335 › Conversation 335-024

Nixon & Andrews on J. Edgar Hoover and Eulogy

Wednesday, May 3, 1972 · 4:55 PM–5:10 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Andrews, John K., Jr.Conversation335-024 on Tape 335 (tape position 02:28:33–02:32:22)StartWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 4:55 PMEndWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 5:10 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 335-024 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and speechwriter John K. Andrews, Jr. met to revise the President's upcoming eulogy for FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Nixon provided specific editorial guidance, emphasizing the need to moderate religious references and refine the framing of Hoover’s legacy regarding law and order. The discussion focused on finalizing the draft, with the President instructing that a corrected copy be sent to his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 106.9 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:28:33 into the tape and ends around 02:32:22.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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2:29:51Did Chief Justice get over to the county field?
2:29:56Yes sir, he did.
2:30:26You know, you customarily don't invoke the name of God or quote the Bible, but I think in this setting at the end of this book, that's very important.
2:30:33God shall say, I'm not going to quote the name of God.
2:30:41You're going to say, I'm not going to quote the name of God.
2:30:49I think that it would be well to moderate that a little bit.
2:30:54You might say, rather I would predict that that era, an era of the finest in law enforcement, will continue as it do.
2:31:10It's useful to define what era we mean by.
2:32:00Yes.
2:32:03I wonder if the last sentence should be sustained.
2:32:11Yes, that makes sense.
2:32:12Okay.

NARA Description

On May 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John K. Andrews, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:55 pm to 5:10 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 335-024 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 335-24

Date: May 3, 1972
Time: 4:55-5:10 pm.
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with John K. Andrews, Jr.

     J. Edgar Hoover eulogy
          -Remarks by Warren E. Burger
                -Andrews's review
          -President's remarks
                -Invocation of diety
                -Changes
                -Hoover's tenure at the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
                -Law and order references
                -Hoover's respect for law
                -Draft
                      -Copy to Rose Mary Woods
                -Andrews's work

     President's previous address to the Nation on Vietnam

Andrews left at 5:10 pm.

Also recorded on May 3, 1972

  • 023-143 3:49 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Warren E. Burger talked on the telephone from 3:49 pm to 3:53 pm.
  • 335-022 3:49 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Warren E. Burger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:49 pm and 3:53 pm.
  • 023-144 3:53 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:53 pm and 3:56 pm.
  • 335-023 3:53 PM · 41 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:53 pm and 4:34 pm.
  • 023-145 3:56 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:56 pm.
  • 335-025 5:10 PM · 22 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 5:10 pm and 5:11 pm.
  • 335-026 5:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:10 pm and 5:11 pm.
  • 335-027 5:11 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:11 pm to 5:35 pm.

All 63 conversations from May 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 335-024, May 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/335-024 (accessed October 10, 2026).