{"conversationCode":"642-040","tapeNumber":642,"conversationNumber":40,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-642-040","startDateTime":"1972-01-03T17:43:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-01-03T17:45:00.000Z","startDate":"3-Jan-1972","startTime":"12:43 PM","endDate":"3-Jan-1972","endTime":"12:45 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)];","description":"On January 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 12:45 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 642-040 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":3,"chronRelease":"Third Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"28-Feb-2002","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 642-40\n\nDate: January 3, 1972\nTime: Unknown between 12:43 pm and 12:45 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President talked with an unknown person.\n\n     Memorandum from Robert H. Finch\n        -Henry E. Ford, II\n             -Government support\n                   -Voluntary action\n                   -Grant\n             -The President’s schedule\n                   -Possible attendance at National Center for Voluntary Action dinner,\n                         February 10, 1972\n             -Resignation\n             -Forthcoming meeting with the President\n                   -Purpose\n             -Decision\n\n     Finch\n          -Location","filename":["642a.mp3","642b.mp3","642c.mp3"],"tapeStart":"05:42:59","tapeEnd":"05:44:32","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","[Unknown person(s)]"],"prevCode":"642-039","nextCode":"642-041","tapeTranscriptFile":"642a.mp3,642b.mp3,642c.mp3","transcript":[{"start":20604.62,"end":20605.35,"text":"I mean, actually, the Rogers."},{"start":20605.38,"end":20605.65,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":20605.69,"end":20607.32,"text":"Old-course Rogers, basically."},{"start":20644.57,"end":20646.45,"text":"Well, he was trying."},{"start":20646.57,"end":20651.33,"text":"He was trying to do the worst of it, the most blameless word."},{"start":20651.35,"end":20658.43,"text":"He said, well, you're, didn't you plan to end the war and postpone the war, postpone the going to Moscow, postpone the defeat of the electioneers?"},{"start":20662.02,"end":20664.98,"text":"That's right."},{"start":20665,"end":20665.58,"text":"That's good and evil."}],"transcriptBoundary":{"start":20604.625,"end":20680,"startMethod":"silence","endMethod":"silence"},"transcriptConfidence":"high","transcriptSource":"bigtape","aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and an unidentified interlocutor discuss political strategy regarding Secretary of State William P. Rogers and the administration's broader policy objectives. The dialogue centers on the political optics of current war efforts, election year preparations, and the implications of the President's scheduled travel to Moscow. These reflections underscore the administration's focus on managing perceptions of policy decisions ahead of the upcoming election cycle.","topics":["William P. Rogers","Foreign Policy","1972 Election","Moscow Summit","Political Strategy"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T01:43:59.223Z"},"topicSlugs":["william-p-rogers","foreign-policy","1972-election","moscow-summit","political-strategy"],"audioDurationSec":93,"audioFiles":[{"file":"642a.mp3","bytes":175699590,"durationSec":7320.75,"bitrate":192001,"missing":false},{"file":"642b.mp3","bytes":176747205,"durationSec":7364.4,"bitrate":192001,"missing":false},{"file":"642c.mp3","bytes":155221889,"durationSec":6467.51,"bitrate":192001,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":true,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:54.663Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/642a.mp3","https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/642b.mp3","https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/642c.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/642-040","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/642/conversation-642-040","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}