Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 652 › Conversation 652-015

Nixon, Finch & Butterfield on White House administration and H. R. Haldeman

Thursday, January 20, 1972 · 6:00 PM–6:08 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.; White House operator; Finch, Robert H.Conversation652-015 on Tape 652 (tape position 02:50:12–02:58:08)StartThursday, January 20, 1972 at 6:00 PMEndThursday, January 20, 1972 at 6:08 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 652-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to handle routine administrative tasks, including the signing of official documents and coordination regarding H. R. Haldeman’s schedule for an upcoming Cabinet dinner. The President also engaged in a brief, informal telephone conversation with Robert H. Finch concerning his health and recovery. The interaction concluded with the President emphasizing the need for strategic political momentum heading into the upcoming months.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Sir Bob was getting ready for dinner and he got on a bugger.
Hold on, sir.
Did you, uh, watch your ears?
I'm trying to understand.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
This is a bottle of ocean air.
And so that's the only fact that they've been able to attempt to do anything else.
Well, I guess once, I'm so sorry, Mr. Malick, you had to stay in the bed, but I wish you well.
I'll tell Carol to bring your booze.
Right, right.
Well, yeah.
You were getting it out of you.
But thank God.
Don't go.
Don't go everywhere with those things.
They're such a pain in the neck.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, you know, I decided to be very conciliatory.
But then that lays it open for us to draw a sword four or five months from now, and they haven't done a damn thing.
True that, yeah.
Which I did.
I supported his dark group.
But what have you done?
Flew again, Bob?
Yeah.
Oh, boy.
Well, you take care.
You take care.
After all, 20 minutes is the beginning of the fourth quarter, so we've got to score a couple of touchdowns.
Okay.

NARA Description

On January 20, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, White House operator, and Robert H. Finch met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:00 pm to 6:08 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 652-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 652-15

Date: January 20, 1972
Time: 6:00 pm - 6:08 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

        H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman’s schedule
              -Preparation for Cabinet dinner

        Items for the President’s signature

        [Signing documents]

        Robert H. Finch
             -Health
                   -Location
                        -Home
                        -Cabinet meeting

[The President talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and
6:06 pm.]

[Conversation No. 652-15A]

[See Conversation No. 19-37]

[End of telephone conversation]
       Finch
               -Health

       [Signing documents]

       Memorandum

[The President talked with Finch between 6:06 pm and 6:08 pm.]

[Conversation No. 652-15B]

[See Conversation No. 19-38]

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 6:08 pm.

[End of telephone conversation]

Also recorded on January 20, 1972

  • 019-036 5:22 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:22 pm.
  • 652-014 5:59 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:59 pm and 6:00 pm.
  • 019-037 6:00 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:06 pm.
  • 019-038 6:06 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Robert H. Finch talked on the telephone from 6:06 pm to 6:08 pm.
  • 652-016 6:08 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:08 pm and 6:12 pm.
  • 652-017 6:08 PM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:08 pm and 6:36 pm.
  • 652-018 6:36 PM · 9 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:36 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 652-019 6:36 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:36 pm and 11:59 pm.

All 39 conversations from January 20, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 652-015, January 20, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/652-015 (accessed October 12, 2026).