Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 550 › Conversation 550-001
Nixon, Haldeman & Bull on Personnel appointments and Pro Football Hall of Fame
Wednesday, July 28, 1971 · 4:58 PM–5:16 PM ET · Oval Office · 19 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman met to discuss various personnel assignments, including potential roles for Robert Finch and Donald Rumsfeld, and to coordinate the President's upcoming schedule, specifically events surrounding the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. They reviewed the political implications of Arthur Burns's public comments on the economy and discussed managing relations with conservative figures such as William F. Buckley Jr. and J. Daniel Mahoney. The conversation also touched upon intelligence gathering and the administration's strategic handling of various political outreach initiatives.
- H. R. Haldeman
- Personnel appointments
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Arthur Burns
- Economic policy
- Conservatism
- White House scheduling
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On July 28, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:58 pm to 5:16 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 550-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 550-1
Date: July 28, 1971
Time: 4:58 pm - 5:16 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman ; this recording begins at an unknown time
while the meeting is in progress.
The President's schedule
-William D. Eberle
-Martin C. (“Marty”) Anderson
-John S. Davies
-"Early Bird" group
-Leslie C. Arends
-Murray M. Chotiner
-Request for meeting
-Return from European trip
-Purpose
-Timing of return from trip
-Purpose
-F. Donald Nixon
-Israel
-American Jewish community
-Campaign contributions
-Ambassadors
-Robert C. Hill
-William P. Rogers
-White House activities
-Law firm
-John N. Mitchell
-Intelligence reports
Staff changes
-Haldeman's conversation with Mitchell
-Robert H. Finch
-Donald H. Rumsfeld
-Finch
-Possible job as head of the Office of Emergency Preparedness [OEP]
-Staffing and responsibilities
-Peter M. Flanigan
-Darrell M. Trent
-Rumsfeld
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] post
-White House post
-Committee to Re-elect the President [CRP] post
-Frank Dale
-Possible Ambassadorial post in Latin America
-Haldeman's forthcoming conversations with Finch and Rumsfeld
-OEP job
-Compared to Departments of Defense, State, Treasury, Justice
The President's schedule
-Forthcoming visit to Canton, Ohio, July 30-31, 1971
-Pro Football Hall of Fame induction events
-American Broadcasting Corporation [ABC] coverage
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 4:58 pm.
-Chotiner
Bull left at an unknown time before 5:16 pm.
-Pro Football Hall of Fame
-Frank Gifford interview with the President, July 31, 1971
-Chotiner
-Transportation
Pro Football Hall of Fame event
Arthur F. Burns
-Effect of story
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Reorganization of the Federal Reserve Board [FRB]
-Effect of comments
-George P. Shultz
-Conversation with Alan Greenspan
-Proposed statement
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Request for meeting
-Handling
Rudolph A. Peterson
-Haldeman's conversation with John B. Connally
-Possible job appointment
Stock market
-Report
-Effect of news stories
Conservatives
-William F. Buckley, Jr.
-Call to Henry A. Kissinger
-Mitchell's forthcoming call to J. Daniel Mahoney
-Comments about the administration's policies
-Effect
-Congress
-The public
-National Review and Human Events magazines’ constituency
-Mahoney
-Mitchell’s forthcoming call
-Buckley
-Schedule
Schedule
-"Early Bird" group
-Mitchell, Clark MacGregor
-Prisoner of War [POW] group presentation
-Catholic War veterans
-"Early Bird" group
-Size
Haldeman left at 5:16 pm.Also recorded on July 28, 1971
- 549-026 4:54 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:54 pm and 4:58 pm.
- 550-002 5:16 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at 5:16 pm.
- 550-003 5:16 PM · 58 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, John B. Connally, George P. Shultz, Manolo Sanchez, and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:16 pm to 6:22 pm.
- 007-019 5:41 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:41 pm to 5:43 pm.
- 007-020 5:43 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 6:04 pm.
- 007-021 6:04 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 6:04 pm to 6:19 pm.
- 007-022 6:19 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:19 pm and 8:42 pm.
- 550-004 6:21 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:21 pm and 6:40 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 550-001, July 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/550-001 (accessed October 12, 2026).