Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 380 › Conversation 380-013

Nixon & Scouten on White House facilities and Executive Office Building

Thursday, December 28, 1972 · 12:35 PM–12:39 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Scouten, Rex W.Conversation380-013 on Tape 380StartThursday, December 28, 1972 at 12:35 PMEndThursday, December 28, 1972 at 12:39 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 380-013 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417186779 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with White House Chief Usher Rex Scouten to discuss the logistics and potential modifications for a new facility installation within the Executive Office Building. The two men evaluated the practicality of placing the installation on the third floor versus a basement location, considering accessibility and necessary infrastructure upgrades like air conditioning. They reached a general consensus on selecting a convenient location that avoids the need for extensive plumbing or shower installations.

White House facilities
Executive Office Building
Rex Scouten
office renovation
logistics

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 28, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rex W. Scouten met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:35 pm to 12:39 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 380-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 380-13
                                              -22-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Date: December 28, 1972
Time: 12:35 pm and 12:39 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Rex W. Scouten.

[See Conversation No. 35-26]

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 34% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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).

Hello.

Hi, thanks.

You know, I know you've been talking about plans.

Here's what I have in mind.

I already think about it.

You know, even I agree with you down here.

Oh,

They don't have the information.

Well, my view is that rather than having, putting a damn big installation on the little thing down, close it a little bit, that it doesn't matter.

Just have the alley and then upstairs.

One, two, three, four.

And put it on the third floor.

put up a very gorgeous table on the bed.

It goes up there and expands the bath and so forth and so on.

How would that be?

See, you've got the water and so forth down here.

Yeah, it could be done there.

It could be done there, as a matter of fact, then.

And then, I don't know.

And, uh, put it in there where it would be handy.

Yeah.

Well, I suppose we'll go down here.

Let's go over there.

But I didn't want to say in terms of what you do down below, but I think just the one strength of voting, as I understand it, is voting for the tribute.

Now, that would require, for example, organic changes to be done in the air condition, and that sort of thing.

I know that I don't receive it.

Even when I use this bulletin, I don't change each dollar an hour.

But if we had this down here, this is convenient enough.

You just take the elevator down and walk to it, right?

Yeah.

And you don't need showers.

You can go out and shower.

Thank you.

Also recorded on December 28, 1972

035-026 12:35 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rex W. Scouten talked on the telephone from 12:35 pm to 12:39 pm.
035-027 12:39 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:26 pm.
380-014 12:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
380-015 12:39 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
380-016 12:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
380-017 12:39 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
380-018 12:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
380-019 12:39 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.

All 74 conversations from December 28, 1972 →

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Anti-war protests April 28, 1971 · 3 min
Nixon phone call with Woods on Rex Scouten and Military aides June 12, 1971 · 9 min
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Manolo Sanchez and Rex Scouten September 21, 1972 · 1 min
Nixon White House recording on Cabinet Room and Television technology August 1, 1971 · 2 min
Bull on White House facilities and Cabinet Room September 24, 1971 · 6 min
Nixon & Bull on White House facilities September 10, 1971 · 1 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 380-013, December 28, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417186779). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/380-013 (accessed October 29, 2026).