Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 412 › Conversation 412-005

Nixon & Timmons on Congressional relations and Legislative strategy

Wednesday, February 14, 1973 · 2:59 PM–3:04 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Timmons, William E.Conversation412-005 on Tape 412StartWednesday, February 14, 1973 at 2:59 PMEndWednesday, February 14, 1973 at 3:04 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 412-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and legislative liaison William E. Timmons discuss the strategic timing for upcoming congressional sessions and managing Republican congressional relations. The conversation touches upon the sensitivities of maintaining party discipline and avoiding personal embarrassment for specific members during political maneuvers. The President ultimately tasks Timmons with exercising discretion in handling these delicate legislative and personnel matters.

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 63% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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So, Bill, in regard to that resumption for the Congress and so forth, you feel that it should be next week, right?
Yeah.
Now, in terms of time, we can go to perhaps the next one.
Okay, let me ask you, on your list, I'd rather suggest that I'd like you to, as far as the Republicans are concerned, pretty much, pretty cleverly, you know, you don't need to come up with a plan straight away.
Well, depending upon, in other words, particularly depending upon whether you're running, say my client, they call it whiteness, which I've not followed, but it's important to know.
And would you say, I think it's a whole decade for those to run out of whiteness.
In other words, you've got some people that are very strong personally.
Yeah.
And I don't want to mention the fact that they have supported their personal embarrassments.
Huh?
And of course, you know, they've got some people like that, you know, Andrew and Richard and Zach.
I don't think, for example, that we can have a person come in here and say, yeah, yeah, in fact, well, not have to do it, not have to do it, but I don't think we can have sex.
I think that the one statement was so far that it made it a little embarrassing.
On the other hand, it made it a little embarrassing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, of course, we'll have sex with the church services when we have them.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
Right.
I really, I'm sorry.
We don't want to move here.
But, on this one, you can see the owners are really just fighting for that.
I read it on the air.
Yeah.
No, you can't do that.
I'm trying to figure it out.
I can sort it out on my own.
I'm trying to figure it out.
All right, bye.

NARA Description

On February 14, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:59 pm to 3:04 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 412-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 412-5

Date: February 14, 1973
Time: Between 2:59 pm and 3:04 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with William E. Timmons.

[See Conversation No. 43-81]

Also recorded on February 14, 1973

  • 043-078 2:38 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:38 pm.
  • 043-079 2:38 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 2:38 pm to 2:39 pm.
  • 043-080 2:39 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:39 pm and 2:59 pm.
  • 412-004 2:39 PM · 11 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 2:39 pm and 2:59 pm.
  • 043-081 2:59 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:59 pm and 3:04 pm.
  • 043-082 3:04 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 5:06 pm.
  • 412-006 3:04 PM · 23 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 3:04 pm and 4:05 pm.
  • 412-007 3:04 PM · 1 hr 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, and White House photographer met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 4:05 pm.

All 58 conversations from February 14, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 412-005, February 14, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/412-005 (accessed October 1, 2026).