Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 500 › Conversation 500-033

Nixon & Bull on Sequoia and White House logistics

Tuesday, May 18, 1971 · 6:35 PM–6:38 PM ET · Oval Office · 41 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation500-033 on Tape 500 (tape position 05:56:53–05:58:00)StartTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 6:35 PMEndTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 6:38 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 500-033 ↗

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met to finalize logistical arrangements for an upcoming dinner aboard the presidential yacht, the Sequoia. They discussed the guest list, which included John B. Connally, Henry Kissinger, H.R. Haldeman, Charles Colson, and John Ehrlichman, and coordinated the specific timing for the gathering. Additionally, the pair briefly touched upon administrative details, including the placement of office equipment and scheduling confirmations.

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Okay, who did you say to come?
This is your phone.
We're just, uh, asking people to use this.
Let's get it closer.
It's available.
All right.
And, uh...
Uh... And, uh...
Are you ready for those hours?
What time did you tell them?
I told them to be ready from 6.30 on Sunday.
That's a great meeting.
I'm ready for you this morning.
You don't need to move those.
You don't need to move those.
I'll check.
I'll check.

On May 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:35 pm and 6:38 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 500-033 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 500-33

Date: May 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 6:35 pm and 6:38 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     President's schedule
          -Dinner on the Sequoia
                 -John B. Connally, Henry A. Kissinger, H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman, Charles W.
                      Colson, and John D. Ehrlichman
                 -Time

     Moving of objects

Bull left at an unknown time before 6:38 pm.
  • 500-036 4:41 PM · 20 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:41 pm and 4:42 pm.
  • 500-029 4:42 PM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John A. Scali, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, John D. Ehrlichman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:42 pm to 5:05 pm.
  • 500-030 5:05 PM · 1 hr 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Herbert G. Klein, Robert Lubar, James W. Michaels, Lewis H. Young, Robert M. Bleiberg, Joseph E. Evans, [Pawhatan] Jack Wooldridge, Jr., Raymond J. Brady, Thomas Mulloney, Howard W. Fleiger, Marshall Loeb, Lester Bernstein, Henry Gemmill, White House photographer, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:05 pm to 6:34 pm.
  • 003-060 6:34 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Herbert G. Klein talked on the telephone at 6:34 pm.
  • 003-061 6:34 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:34 pm to 6:35 pm.
  • 500-032 6:34 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:34 pm to 6:35 pm.
  • 500-034 6:38 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:38 pm to 6:49 pm.
  • 500-035 6:49 PM · 33 sec — Alexander P. Butterfield and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:49 pm and 10:43 pm.

Conversation 500-033, May 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/500-033 (accessed September 28, 2026).