Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 640 › Conversation 640-012

United States Secret Service agents on Ambassadorships and Argentina

Wednesday, December 22, 1971 · 1:50 PM–11:59 PM ET · Oval Office · 36 sec

ParticipantsUnited States Secret Service agents; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation640-012 on Tape 640 (tape position 03:25:06–03:26:43)StartWednesday, December 22, 1971 at 1:50 PMEndWednesday, December 22, 1971 at 11:59 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 640-012 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417183165 ↗

AI Summary

Secret Service agents and unidentified individuals convened in the Oval Office to facilitate official presidential business. Discussions focused on personnel appointments, specifically evaluating John D. Lodge’s performance as Ambassador to Argentina and considering candidates for future diplomatic postings. The meeting also addressed logistical management of the President's schedule, including coordination efforts involving Charles Colson and James Suffridge.

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 22, 1971, United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 11:59 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 640-012 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 640-12

Date: December 22, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:50 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Oval Office

Unknown people [Secret Service agents] met.

     The President’s location
          -Executive Office Building [EOB]

An unknown person [Secret Service agent] talked with an unknown person.

[Conversation No. 640-12A]

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

[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 04/07/2022.]
[Unintelligible]
[640-012-w001]
[Duration: 5s]

     The President’s location [?]

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

[End of telephone conversation]

The unknown people [Secret Service agents] left at an unknown time before 11:59 pm.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

President of the U.S. President of the U.S.

Also recorded on December 22, 1971

  • 640-005 11:03 AM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Richard S. Smith, Christopher Sumner, Lewis F. Powell, III, William H. Rehnquist, James Rehnquist, James Rehnquist, John N. Mitchell, Wallace H. Johnson, John D. Ehrlichman, Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., Richard A. Moore, Charles W. Colson, Herbert G. Klein, Geoffrey C. Shepard, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:03 am to 11:33 am.
  • 086-005 11:33 AM · 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the President's Commission on Financial Structure and Regulation, including Reed O. Hunt, Atherton Bean, Morris D. Crawford, Jr., Morgan C. Earnest, James H. Edgerton, Richard G. Gilbert, William D. Grant, Alan Greenspan, Walter S. Holmes, Jr., [Joseph] Lane Kirkland, Donald S. MacNaughton, Edward H. Malone, Rex J. Morthland, William H. Morton, Ellmore C. Patterson, K. A. Randall, Ralph S. Regula, Dr. Raymond J. Saulnier, Ezra Solomon, Robert H. Stewart, III, Dr. Donald Jacobs, Dr. Almarin Phillips, Allen R. Rule, Henry Shine, Jr., Clarence Scruggs, James Lynch, Edward J. Gannon, Charls E. Walker, Paul A. Volcker, Peter M. Flanigan, George P. Shultz, the White House photographer, and members of the press, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 11:33 am to 12:11 pm.
  • 640-006 12:11 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Peter M. Flanigan, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:11 pm and 12:31 pm.
  • 640-007 12:31 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Paul W. McCracken, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:31 pm to 12:43 pm.
  • 640-008 12:43 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 12:45 pm.
  • 640-009 12:45 PM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Anthony T. ("Tony") Rossi, and Acheille Mongelli met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:45 pm to 1:13 pm.
  • 640-010 1:13 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:13 pm and 1:16 pm.
  • 640-011 1:16 PM · 33 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:16 pm to 1:50 pm.

All 13 conversations from December 22, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 640-012, December 22, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417183165). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/640-012 (accessed November 1, 2026).