Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 540 › Conversation 540-005

United States Secret Service agents on Secret Service and Stephen B. Bull

Tuesday, July 20, 1971 · 8:05 AM–10:23 AM ET · Oval Office · 11 sec

ParticipantsUnited States Secret Service agentsConversation540-005 on Tape 540 (tape position 00:22:57–00:24:55)StartTuesday, July 20, 1971 at 8:05 AMEndTuesday, July 20, 1971 at 10:23 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 540-005 ↗

Secret Service agents met with White House staff in the Oval Office to discuss operational instructions related to Stephen B. Bull’s office. This brief interaction involved the coordination of administrative or security protocols under the purview of the President’s personal aide. No significant policy decisions were recorded during the short exchange.

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This is...

On July 20, 1971, United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 10:23 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 540-005 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 540-5

Date: July 20, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:05 am and 10:23 am
Location: Oval Office

Unknown men (Secret Service agents) entered.

******************************************************************************

[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
cleared for release. The withdrawal is now categorized as a PRMPA Federal Statute (A) and
was reviewed under deed of gift 01/21/2020.]
[Federal Statute]
[540-005-w001]
[Duration: 11s]

     Instructions
           -Stephen B. Bull’s office

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The unknown men (Secret Service agents) left.
  • 065-001 7:35 AM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 7:35 am and 8:05 am.
  • 065-002 7:35 AM · 2 hr 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, and Republican Congressional leaders, including Hugh Scott, John C. Stennis, Robert P. Griffin, Margaret Chase Smith, Gordon L. Allott, Norris Ctton, Peter H. Dominick, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, John B. Anderson, Richard H. Poff, Barber B. Conable, Jr., John J. Rhodes, Robert C. ("Bob") Wilson, Robert T. Stafford, H. Allen Smith, Robert J. Dole, Henry A. Kissinger, Clark MacGregor, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, William E. Timmons, Kenneth E. BeLieu, Richard K. Cook, Harry S. Dent, Herbert G. Klein, Patrick J. Buchanan, Bryce C. Harlow, and Ronald L. Ziegler, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 7:35 am and 10:23 am.
  • 540-001 7:35 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:35 am and 7:53 am.
  • 540-002 7:35 AM · 5 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:35 am and 7:53 am.
  • 540-003 7:35 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:35 am and 7:53 am.
  • 540-004 7:53 AM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:53 am to 8:05 am.
  • 540-013 8:05 AM · 17 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 10:23 am.
  • 540-014 8:05 AM · 3 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 10:23 am.

Conversation 540-005, July 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/540-005 (accessed October 11, 2026).