Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 504 › Conversation 504-019

Nixon & Fletcher on Correspondence and Sam Ervin

Thursday, May 27, 1971 · 8:27 PM–9:00 PM ET · Oval Office ·13 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Fletcher, Thomas W.Conversation504-019 onTape 504 (tape position 06:39:46–06:41:01)StartThursday, May 27, 1971 at 8:27 PMEndThursday, May 27, 1971 at 9:00 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 504-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with his staff regarding the drafting of a letter to Thomas W. Fletcher, the former Deputy Mayor of Washington, D.C. The discussion focused on confirming the first name of Senator Sam Ervin to ensure the appropriate level of formality in the correspondence. Nixon ultimately decided that addressing the recipient by his first name was the preferred tone for the letter.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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This letter is to Mr. Fletcher, who is the former deputy mayor of Washington and is now in the Senate, saying, I check with Ervin as to his first name.

I think I should call him by his first name.

NARA Description

On May 27, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas W. Fletcher met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:27 pm and 9:00 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 504-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 504-19

Date: May 27, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:27 pm and 9:00 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a letter to Thomas W. Fletcher.

     Fletcher
          -Deputy Mayor, Washington, DC
          -San Jose

          -John D. Ehrlichman

Also recorded on May 28, 1971

003-155 8:19 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John K. Andrews, Jr. talked on the telephone from 8:19 pm to 8:20 pm.
003-156 8:20 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:20 pm and 9:05 pm.
003-157 8:20 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:20 pm and 9:05 pm.
003-158 8:20 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:20 pm and 9:05 pm.
504-016 8:27 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:27 pm and 9:00 pm.
504-017 8:27 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:27 pm and 9:00 pm.
504-018 8:27 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John J. McCloy met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:27 pm and 9:00 pm.
504-020 8:27 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:27 pm and 9:00 pm.

All 63 conversations from May 28, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 504-019, May 28, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/504-019 (accessed September 18, 2026).