Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 535 › Conversation 535-019

Nixon, Malek & Carroll on Presidential appointments

Friday, July 2, 1971 · 12:13 PM–12:16 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Carroll, Thomas E.; Hull, Hadlai A.; Pecora, William T.; Reed, Nathaniel P.; Walker, Pinkney; Zark, Frank G.; Malek, Frederic V.; Kinsley, Daniel T.Conversation535-019 on Tape 535 (tape position 03:12:07–03:16:05)StartFriday, July 2, 1971 at 12:13 PMEndFriday, July 2, 1971 at 12:16 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 535-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with a group of administration officials and appointees, including Frederic Malek and several representatives from the Department of the Interior, for a brief introductory session. The President utilized the opportunity to express appreciation for the sacrifices made by individuals serving in government and to acknowledge the bureaucratic challenges inherent in Washington work. The meeting concluded with the exchange of presidential gifts for the attendees and their spouses.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 42% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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All set on it?
Yes, sir.
All right.
Mr. President, I'll be able to forward it to the editor.
But if you want to get it to the editor, we can still leave it to you.
We're in your office if you want to get it to the editor.
Good.
There we are.
Mr. President, I'll be able to forward it to you.
Okay, we're done.
We're looking at each other.
He watches us, so we look out on him.
This is John Carroll.
This is Mr. Marlowe.
I heard we had a problem with this drive.
We're going to have to deal with it.
And my house is the Secretary's apartment in Antwerp, New Jersey.
Right.
You've got a lot of work there.
That's right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
This is Peyton Walker.
This is Charles Walker .
Oh, yeah.
You've got Charles there.
Oh, yeah.
And this is Dan Reed.
I'm the Secretary of Interior for the Fish and Wildlife Department.
What's your area?
What's your area?
Antwerp, Antwerp, Antwerp, Antwerp.
Oh, yeah.
You didn't track all that, but you went out with Andrew?
Yes, sir.
I just got back in.
Yeah?
Is he got a good setup out there?
Looks like it's a wonderful setup.
Yeah.
It's going to be a big switch.
It's going to be an animal park.
We can't blow Bessie's park in the boat.
I think that pup is really trying to get us to get out of Washington.
Great idea.
Well, I want you to know that, uh, you know what comedies we've got out here, first, and some of them you can pick up inside.
Oh, Mark.
but I'm keenly aware of the fact that they can do the job without kind of supporting it down the line.
And you have to say the same thing for people that work for you.
I think perhaps the most that are helping the government is for people to come to Washington.
the other side of the administration.
of the assistant secretary to the people at the highest levels who are not just basically terrible bureaucrats who have made a career, who have come in and sacrificed to do the job.
So I want you to appreciate John for doing a good job.
Don't get any credit until I apologize.
Well, we're going to get to these people over there over time.
There's nothing else to talk about.
Well, let's get those, and those, and...
Thank you, sir.
Thank you very much.
Have you got something for their wives, too?
Have you got something for your wife?
Have you got something for your wife?
Thank you very much.
Thanks a lot.

NARA Description

On July 2, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Thomas E. Carroll, Hadlai A. Hull, William T. Pecora, Nathaniel P. Reed, Pinkney Walker, Frank G. Zark, Frederic V. Malek, and Daniel T. Kinsley met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:13 pm to 12:16 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 535-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 535-19

Date: July 2, 1971
Time: 12:13 pm - 12:16 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Thomas E. Carroll, Hadlai A. Hull, William T. Pecora, Nathaniel P.

Reed, Pinkney Walker, Frank G. Zarb, Frederic V. Malek, and Daniel T. Kinsley.
[The White House photographer was present for part of the meeting]

     Introductions
           -Pecora
           -Zarb
           -Carroll
           -Hull
           -Walker
           -Reed

     Federal government
          -Jobs
                -Challenges, pressures in Washington

     Presidential gifts

     Best wishes

Carroll et al. left at 12:16 pm

Also recorded on July 2, 1971

  • 535-015 11:57 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:57 am.
  • 535-016 11:59 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William J. Keating, Herbert W. Wengler, and Richard A. Fossier met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:59 am to 12:02 pm.
  • 535-017 12:02 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Chalmers P. Wylie met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:02 pm to 12:12 pm.
  • 535-018 12:02 PM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:02 pm to 12:13 pm.
  • 535-020 12:16 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:16 pm.
  • 535-021 12:16 PM · 37 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:16 pm to 12:19 pm.
  • 535-022 12:20 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:20 pm and 12:25 pm.
  • 535-023 12:25 PM · 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:25 pm.

All 78 conversations from July 2, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 535-019, July 2, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/535-019 (accessed October 12, 2026).