Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 491 › Conversation 491-029

Nixon & Bull on Federal Civilian Service awards and Event logistics

Wednesday, May 5, 1971 · 12:08 PM–12:11 PM ET · Oval Office ·1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Bull, Stephen B.Conversation491-029 onTape 491 (tape position 04:42:50–04:44:37)StartWednesday, May 5, 1971 at 12:08 PMEndWednesday, May 5, 1971 at 12:11 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 491-029 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met to finalize logistical arrangements for an upcoming Federal Civilian Service awards ceremony. They reviewed the precise protocol for the event, including press positioning, the sequence for introducing honorees such as Samuel M. Cohn, and the choreography for the presentation of awards and photographs. This coordination served to streamline the event's flow and minimize potential disruptions.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Mr. President, in order to keep this from getting too much, would you like to just bring some people in, five or so, in terms of war, and just pre-position them, like the press just pre-positioned their photograph, and...
You step out of the room, sir, and then you just come in.
We'll just announce the name of the person, such as Mr. Samuel Cohn.
He is Samuel Cohn and his wife.
And in the case of three of the individual that the department had, Cohn will have to show us his name.
Mr. Cohn, move up here.
No, I stand here.
Oh, do I have your autograph?
Yes, sir.
And we'll just present it to you.
And then after you presented each of the awards, the president took a cool photograph in front of you and said something.
Just a photograph.
And he said, why can't I believe you?
And I said, excuse me?
And he said, does the president say any hard, innocent words?
And he said, no.
All right.
If you'd like to leave this room, just leave it right here.
If you want to use it, you can try that.

NARA Description

On May 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:11 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 491-029 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 491-29

Date: May 5, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:08 pm and 12:11 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     President's schedule
           -Federal Civilian Service awards ceremony
                 -Arrangements
                      -Press
                      -Positioning
                      -Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Cohn
                      -George P. Shultz
                      -Presentation of awards
                      -Photograph
                      -Press

Bull left at an unknown time before 12:11 pm.

Also recorded on May 5, 1971

  • 491-026 11:33 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:33 am to 11:38 am.
  • 491-027 11:39 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:39 am to 11:40 am.
  • 491-028 11:40 AM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Paul W. McCracken, Ezra Solomon, George P. Shultz, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:40 am to 12:08 pm.
  • 491-030 12:11 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Samuel M. Cohn, Mrs. Samuel M. Cohn, U. Alexis Johnson, Edward F. Knipling, Mrs. Edward F. Knipling, Fred Leonard, Mrs. Fred Leonard, Mrs. George H. Willis, George H. Willis, Robert E. Hampton, John B. Connally, Clifford M. Hardin, George P. Shultz, and Frederic V. Malek met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:11 pm to 12:23 pm.
  • 491-031 12:23 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John G. Tower, Robert D. ("Bob") Lee, Jill Lee, A. J. ("Bob") Blasé, Richard A. Moore, Stephen B. Bull, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:23 pm to 12:43 pm.
  • 002-087 12:43 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 1:13 pm.
  • 002-088 12:43 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John W. Dean, III talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 1:13 pm.
  • 491-032 12:43 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:43 pm.

All 77 conversations from May 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 491-029, May 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/491-029 (accessed September 18, 2026).