Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 659 › Conversation 659-023

United States Secret Service agents on Operational Security

Friday, January 28, 1972 · 5:03 PM–11:59 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsUnited States Secret Service agents; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation659-023 on Tape 659 (tape position 04:54:20–04:55:44)StartFriday, January 28, 1972 at 5:03 PMEndFriday, January 28, 1972 at 11:59 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 659-023 ↗

AI Summary

Secret Service agents and unidentified individuals discuss the complexities of maintaining operational security regarding presidential travel routes and secret logistical arrangements. The conversation highlights the value of managing information disclosure to foster trust and political rapport with foreign counterparts, specifically referencing previous interactions with French officials. The participants reflect on the importance of controlled leaks and selective credit-sharing as strategic tools in high-level diplomacy.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 84.7 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 04:54:20 into the tape and ends around 04:55:44.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
4:54:10If you bring up something secretly, they love it.
4:54:12I get focused.
4:54:13Really?
4:54:13Is that right?
4:54:15They want to know what airplanes we used, what airplanes we landed at.
4:54:21You haven't told them that?
4:54:23That's good.
4:54:24But time figured out.
4:54:26Of course, we had five different routes.
4:54:28But time had found out one of them.
4:54:32What's a fascinating story.
4:54:35Did they know about Walters?
4:54:37No.
4:54:39You know, didn't you say that the French, though, were delighted?
4:54:42Oh, they're drooling all over.
4:54:44I expressed my thanks to the person who followed you, you know, who made the rings and the scissors.
4:54:57They loved it.
4:54:58Frankly, they started to regal, didn't they?
4:55:01No.
4:55:01Was he dead?
4:55:01No.
4:55:01August 69, he was alive, but...
4:55:04He resigned in May 69, end of April 69.
4:55:07April 69.
4:55:09Oh, wow.
4:55:11It was then, though.
4:55:12Yes.
4:55:15But I mean, de Gaulle resigned in April.
4:55:17Yes, he resigned in August.
4:55:19Yes, and in August they started.
4:55:23But you know, that was a very good story when you were in the parks yesterday.
4:55:28I should have thought of it.
4:55:29But I see that whenever you can let a man get some credit for something, and also whenever you let the world know that he's in on the secret, it shows you trust in him.
4:55:42Papa, who is a French love to me, that when we were sitting there and he said, or she once said, is there any way we can help on this?
4:55:48Can you please let us know?
4:55:49And I said, well, you know.
4:55:52They all want it all.
4:55:54Oh, no, that, that, that turns out to be fine.

NARA Description

On January 28, 1972, United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and 11:59 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 659-023 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 659-23

Date: January 28, 1972
Time: Unknown between 5:03 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Oval Office

Unknown people [Secret Service agents] met.

An unknown agent talked with an unknown person at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and
11:59 pm.

[Conversation No. 659-23A]

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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Federal Statute]
[Duration: 5s]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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

[End of telephone conversation]

     [Unintelligible]

     The President’s location
          -Residence

An unknown agent talked with an unknown person at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and
11:59 pm.

[Conversation No. 659-23B]

     The President’s location
          -Residence

[End of telephone conversation]

     [Unintelligible]

Also recorded on January 28, 1972

  • 659-017 4:46 PM · 59 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 4:48 pm.
  • 659-018 4:46 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 4:48 pm.
  • 659-019 4:46 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 4:48 pm.
  • 659-020 4:48 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:48 pm to 5:03 pm.
  • 019-148 5:05 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 5:23 pm.
  • 019-149 5:23 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 5:23 pm to 5:25 pm.
  • 019-150 5:25 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:25 pm and 5:26 pm.
  • 019-151 5:26 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:26 pm to 5:30 pm.

All 37 conversations from January 28, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 659-023, January 28, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/659-023 (accessed October 12, 2026).