Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 432 › Conversation 432-040

Nixon & Bull on White House administration and Presidential staff

Wednesday, May 9, 1973 · 4:14 PM–4:15 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 17 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation432-040 on Tape 432StartWednesday, May 9, 1973 at 4:14 PMEndWednesday, May 9, 1973 at 4:15 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 432-040 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met briefly with his personal aide, Stephen B. Bull, to discuss the status of an item referred to as "the spider." The conversation, though extremely cryptic and truncated, reflects the President's emphasis on maintaining operational continuity within the White House staff. No specific actions or further details were clarified in this exchange.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Yeah.
How about the spider?
We've got to carry on.
That's fine.

NARA Description

On May 9, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:14 pm to 4:15 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 432-040 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 432-40

Date: May 9, 1973
Time: 4:14 pm - 4:15 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Stephen B. Bull.

[See Conversation No. 45-174]

Also recorded on May 9, 1973

  • 432-038 4:05 PM · 5 min — 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 4:05 pm and 4:10 pm.
  • 045-173 4:10 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:15 pm.
  • 432-039 4:10 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:14 pm.
  • 045-174 4:14 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 4:14 pm to 4:15 pm.
  • 432-041 4:15 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:15 pm and 6:03 pm.
  • 432-042 4:15 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas Hart met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:15 pm and 6:03 pm.
  • 434-001 5:00 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:00 pm to 5:05 pm.
  • 045-175 5:05 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 6:03 pm.

All 62 conversations from May 9, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 432-040, May 9, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/432-040 (accessed October 5, 2026).