Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 639 › Conversation 639-023
Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Oval Office
Saturday, December 18, 1971 · 4:43 PM–5:03 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon met briefly with an unidentified individual in the Oval Office. The conversation consisted of a casual, logistical exchange regarding the maintenance of the fireplace. No substantive policy matters or official developments were recorded during this brief interaction.
Audio
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 December 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:43 pm and 5:03 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 639-023 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 639-023
Date: December 19, 1971
Time: Unknown between 4:43 pm and 5:03 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with an unknown person.
Request for fire in fireplace [?]
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 5:03 pm.Also recorded on December 18, 1971
- 639-022 4:43 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:43 pm and 5:03 pm.
- 639-024 4:43 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:43 pm and 5:03 pm.
- 639-025 5:03 PM · 1 hr 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Jerrold L. Schecter, Hugh S. Sidey, Hedley W. Donovan, Henry A. Grunwald, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:03 pm to 6:35 pm.
- 639-015 5:05 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 5:12 pm.
- 639-016 5:05 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 5:12 pm.
- 639-017 5:05 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 5:12 pm.
- 639-018 5:12 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:12 pm to 5:20 pm.
- 639-019 5:20 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:20 pm and 5:26 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 639-023, December 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/639-023 (accessed October 11, 2026).