Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 661 › Conversation 661-006

Nixon & Arsht on Presidential briefings and Staff appreciation

Monday, January 31, 1972 · 4:01 PM–4:03 PM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Arsht, Leslye A.Conversation661-006 on Tape 661 (tape position 02:30:36–02:31:48)StartMonday, January 31, 1972 at 4:01 PMEndMonday, January 31, 1972 at 4:03 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 661-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Leslye A. Arsht to express his personal gratitude for the extensive work she and her team performed on a new presidential summary document. He lauded the quality of the summary, describing it as a superior achievement compared to those provided to previous presidents. The President concluded the meeting by encouraging Arsht to continue contributing her talents to his administration.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I'm sorry that I didn't get to call you that time.
I had your party.
I tried to reach you, but I just want you to know how grateful I am for those minutes of long hours you put in, night after night after night, and what a fine job all of you have done.
And I just hope now that you can go over and help us now.
I tell you, that new summary is a fantastic achievement.
It's probably much better than any president has ever had it.
There will be more talent than you and all the rest of the work on it if you serve me.
And we appreciate all those honors.
We couldn't pay enough.
I hope they pay enough in Canada.

NARA Description

On January 31, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Leslye A. Arsht met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:01 pm to 4:03 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 661-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 661-6

Date: January 31, 1972
Time: 4:01 pm - 4:03 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Leslye A. Arsht.

[See Conversation No. 20-7]

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 08/05/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[661-006-w002]
[Duration: 7s]

     [See Conversation No. 020-007-w002]

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

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 08/05/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[661-006-w003]
[Duration: 11s]

     [See Conversation No. 020-007-w003]

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

Also recorded on January 31, 1972

  • 020-006 4:00 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:00 pm and 4:01 pm.
  • 661-004 4:00 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:00 pm and 4:01 pm.
  • 661-005 4:00 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 4:00 pm and 4:01 pm.
  • 020-007 4:01 PM · 59 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Leslye A. Arsht talked on the telephone from 4:01 pm to 4:03 pm.
  • 020-008 4:03 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:03 pm and 4:04 pm.
  • 661-007 4:03 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:03 pm and 4:04 pm.
  • 661-008 4:03 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:03 pm and 4:04 pm.
  • 020-009 4:04 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stewart B. McKinney talked on the telephone from 4:04 pm to 4:06 pm.

All 32 conversations from January 31, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 661-006, January 31, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/661-006 (accessed October 12, 2026).