Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 566 › Conversation 566-017
Nixon & Woods on William Safire and Speechwriting
Tuesday, August 17, 1971 · 3:26 PM–4:12 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon and his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, discuss the preparation and handling of materials for upcoming presidential engagements, specifically a consumer business meeting and a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) address. The President issues instructions to Woods regarding the organization of specific documents, including drafts prepared by William Safire and a recording, to be secured in his briefcase. These materials were intended to facilitate the President's scheduled travel and speaking requirements in New York.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 169.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 171.7 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 8.1 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:24:30 into the tape and ends around 03:26:07.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On August 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:26 pm and 4:12 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 566-017 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 566-17
Date: August 17, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:26 pm and 4:12 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President talked with Rose Mary Woods.
President's speech at consumers business meeting
-Copy
-Briefcase
-William L. Safire
-Tape recording
-Forthcoming Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] speech
-Instructions to Woods
-President’s trip to New YorkAlso recorded on August 17, 1971
- 566-012 2:42 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:42 pm to 2:45 pm.
- 566-013 2:45 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:45 pm and 2:55 pm.
- 566-014 2:55 PM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:55 pm to 3:23 pm.
- 566-015 3:23 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:23 pm to 3:26 pm.
- 566-016 3:26 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:26 pm and 4:12 pm.
- 566-018 3:26 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:26 pm and 4:30 pm.
- 008-026 4:12 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:12 pm.
- 008-027 4:12 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:12 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 566-017, August 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/566-017 (accessed October 12, 2026).