Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 647 › Conversation 647-002

Nixon, Woods & Bull on Administrative tasks and Presidential gifts

Thursday, January 13, 1972 · 10:12 AM–10:19 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Woods, Rose Mary;  Bull, Stephen B.Conversation647-002 onTape 647 (tape position 00:02:38–00:08:54)StartThursday, January 13, 1972 at 10:12 AMEndThursday, January 13, 1972 at 10:19 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 647-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, and aide Stephen B. Bull to address routine administrative tasks and correspondence. The participants reviewed documents requiring the President’s signature, discussed the proper handling of presidential gifts such as custom flag cufflinks, and coordinated upcoming scheduling matters regarding Camp David. Stephen B. Bull joined the session briefly to assist with organizing gift inventories for official visitors.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 33.4 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 00:02:38 into the tape and ends around 00:08:54.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

2:36Oh, you better put that in there.
2:39Thank you, Mr. McFadden.
2:58I was just going to ask you about this.
3:02This was in that envelope with the page on my Christmas.
3:06Did you, it was a, what's the line?
3:10Did you thank him or shall we write him a note?
3:14Yeah, write him a note.
3:16Okay.
3:16He sent a box out about it, but I didn't know.
3:19Okay.
3:25And if any of that stuff gave you the most tough ones that night on the plane?
3:28Yeah, they were with the American flag on them, yeah.
3:31Yeah, they were special.
3:32I can do that.
3:33I'm afraid they'd get lost.
3:34Yeah, I was.
3:34These backpacks, as much as a lot of it was, whatever the hell they called them, they blocked that, you know what I mean?
3:44They were specially designed.
3:45Tough ones.
3:48Exactly.
3:54You're so unique.
3:56I'm proud of the look of the fire.
4:21You don't need to be active, but you've got to know about something else that anyone mentioned when he was afraid of the law.
4:27I know, and I honestly don't feel exactly that way, which is, you know...
4:30I don't want to know.
4:31Well, they shouldn't have.
4:32They should.
4:32They shouldn't have.
4:33There can't be anything like that.
4:36Well, it's just one of those things.
4:37So all that, I didn't mean to...
4:38I thought I was checking over there...
5:09No, I don't know.
5:19I was outside.
5:23When are you coming back?
5:28I don't know if you can catch it in the marks.
6:00I wish we were.
6:01I wish we were.
6:04No, Frank, no.
6:40the high class were a little better for these fifth graders than these men.
7:16I'm sorry.
8:15Yeah, here we go.
8:16That's it, if you mind, please.
8:17Sorry, can you find the record?
8:25It's fine.
8:29I just can't tell how it's going to count.
8:33It's so far behind.
8:35That's right, there we go.
8:38Okay.
8:38There we go, that's good.

NARA Description

On January 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:12 am to 10:19 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 647-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 647-2

Date: January 13, 1972
Time: 10:12 am - 10:19 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

     Budget

     Items for the President's signature
          -Bob [Surname unknown]
          -Tricia Nixon Cox
                 -Envelope
          -Note to Gen. Walter R. Tkach
                 -Box

     US flag cufflinks
          -Unknown person
          -Possible placement in library
          -Note

     Camp David
         -Woods’s schedule
         -The President's return
         -Marjorie P. Acker

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 10:12 am.

     Presidential gifts for visitors
          -Pins
          -Tie clasps

Bull left at an unknown time before 10:19 am.

     Schedule
          -Acker

Woods left at 10:19 am.

Also recorded on January 13, 1972

  • 647-001 10:10 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 10:12 am.
  • 647-003 10:19 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:19 am and 10:34 am.
  • 647-004 10:19 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:19 am and 10:34 am.
  • 647-005 10:19 AM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:19 am and 10:34 am.
  • 647-006 10:34 AM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:34 am to 10:35 am.
  • 647-007 10:35 AM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Melvin R. Laird, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:35 am to 11:05 am.
  • 647-008 11:05 AM · 43 sec — United States Secret Service agents, Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:05 am and 11:07 am.
  • 647-009 11:11 AM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:11 am to 11:41 am.

All 54 conversations from January 13, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 647-002, January 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/647-002 (accessed September 18, 2026).