Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 442 › Conversation 442-004

Nixon & Bull on White House Tapes and Tape management

Monday, June 4, 1973 · 11:24 AM–11:30 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation442-004 on Tape 442StartMonday, June 4, 1973 at 11:24 AMEndMonday, June 4, 1973 at 11:30 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 442-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met to review and organize the White House taping system, specifically addressing the management, technical quality, and cataloging of recorded conversations. The discussion focused on logistical concerns, including the identification of specific tape segments, the potential for audio enhancement, and the overall security and disposition of the recordings. This meeting reflects the administration's efforts to assess the scope and integrity of the archives amidst increasing scrutiny regarding the tapes.

Audio

Download MP3 · 10.6 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 55% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
This is the next lady.
Do you want to have the 27?
No, sir, no, we do.
You mean you didn't have this office done?
I am 27 years old.
I don't know if you've ever seen me.
I don't know what I'm doing.
I'm starting to remember.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I'm not sure.
I'll continue to look at that.
That's done.
Yeah.
I don't like the idea that I'm going to go into that later.
That's what happens.
That's the thing that's impressive to me.
I mean, I'm not sure where the idea stands, as I feel that you are, or anybody else.
But when all of a sudden people know that, besides yourself, you, me, all of it, everything came out.
Everything came out.
Everything else came out.
And I said, I'm glad this thing is starting to break down.
If you don't have it, we don't have it.
President, if you do want to hear me and the others.
286 to 325.
The second one is running ahead to 625.
And then, there really is only a few track digits here.
Go past 1,000 and start rebounding on starting at zero.
So actually, this final meeting is 1 o'clock to 1.10.
We don't actually have more numbers on this period.
There are a couple of television calls.
There's a call made by Dave to Jim.
We got the call today.
We had a couple of calls today.
There's one currently related to the conversation.
That's what got me involved in the problem.
I wanted to call the police.
We had the calls.
They're all here.
That's what we're doing.
We're going to set them up.
We're going to set them up.
We're probably going to have better quality out there.
We're going to have better quality out there.
We're going to have better quality out there.

NARA Description

On June 4, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:24 am to 11:30 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 442-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 442-004

Date: June 4, 1973
Time: 11:24 am - 11:30 am
Location: Executive Office Building

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was initially prepared for the
Watergate Special Prosecution Force (WSPF) and can be found in Record Group (RG) 460, Box
172, “Transcript Prepared by the Impeachment Inquiry Staff for the House Judiciary
Committee…,” pages 1-4 (.pdf pages 1-4). The Nixon Presidential Materials Staff reviewed the
transcript and made changes as necessary. This transcript has been reviewed under the
provisions of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 (PRMPA).
The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

[Begin transcribed portion]

[End transcribed portion]

       White House tapes
             -February 27, 1973
                     -President’s knowledge
                     -President’s meetings with John W. Dean, III
                     -Review

[Resume transcribed portion]

[End transcribed portion]

       White House tapes
             -Review
                     -Bull
                     -Length
                     -Number of meetings
             -Purpose
                     -Historical value
                     -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman [?]
             -Disposition
                     -National security
             -Secrecy

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

[Resume transcribed portion]

[End transcribed portion]

       White House tapes
             -Secrecy
                     -Selectivity
                     -United States Secret Service [USSS]
                             -Monitoring and maintenance

[Resume transcribed portion]

[End transcribed portion]

       White House tapes
             -Activation

[Resume transcribed portion]

[End transcribed portion]

       White House tapes
             -Review
                     -Preparation
                            -Bull
                     -Telephone conversations
                            -Quality of recording

[Resume transcribed portion]

[End transcribed portion]

Bull left at 11:30 am.

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Also recorded on June 4, 1973

  • 039-061 11:19 AM · 11 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 11:19 am.
  • 442-003 11:19 AM · 10 sec — unknown person(s) and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:19 am and 11:24 am.
  • 039-062 11:30 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:30 am and 11:52 am.
  • 442-005 11:30 AM · 39 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:30 am and 11:52 am.
  • 442-006 11:30 AM · 9 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 11:30 am and 11:52 am.
  • 039-063 11:52 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 11:52 am to 11:53 am.
  • 442-007 11:52 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:52 am to 11:53 am.
  • 442-008 11:58 AM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:58 am to 12:35 pm.

All 103 conversations from June 4, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 442-004, June 4, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/442-004 (accessed October 1, 2026).