Conversation 433-011

TapeTape 433StartTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 1:07 PMEndTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 1:08 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Bull, Stephen B.Recording deviceOld Executive Office Building

President Nixon instructed Stephen B. Bull to ensure that all staff correspondence and files, particularly those concerning national security, are categorized as presidential property rather than the personal property of individual staff members. Nixon explicitly distinguished these records from Watergate-related materials, for which he expressed indifference regarding their disposition. Bull was tasked with drafting a memorandum to formalize this policy for review by Rodney Smith.

Presidential recordsNational securityWhite House staffWatergateProperty rights

On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:07 pm to 1:08 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 433-011 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 433-11

Date: May 1, 1973
                                             -6-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                      (rev. March-2011)

Time: 1:07 pm - 1:08 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Stephen B. Bull.

[See Conversation No. 45-79]

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

The point is to be held that all files, any correspondence or anything that has to do with between me and any member of my staff, belongs to the president, not to them.
It's not their files, goddammit, they're mine.
Do you get that point?
Yep.
And tell what Dan and I are about that.
And anything in the national security area is an area that is mine.
It's not theirs.
in the national security area.
That is mine.
Not theirs.
Anything on Watergate, anything shut, they can do anything they want.
I don't give a goddamn about that.
Okay?
Time to rewrite the memorandum along those lines so that Rodney can look at it after he's captured it.