President Nixon met with Rose Mary Woods, H. R. Haldeman, and Alexander Butterfield to manage his schedule and handle administrative tasks, including a document signature request from John Dean. The group discussed preparations for an upcoming prayer breakfast, specifically expressing frustration over the excessive length of speeches and the need for the President to keep his own remarks brief. Additionally, they reviewed presidential gifts, including sculptures of Winston Churchill and John Foster Dulles, and briefly reflected on the deaths of prominent aging statesmen.
On January 31, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:49 pm to 6:00 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 661-012 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 661-12
Date: January 31, 1972
Time: 5:49 pm - 6:00 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Rose Mary Woods.
Review of gifts
-Congressional medals
The President’s schedule
-John W. Dean III request for signature
-Supreme Court
-Fred F. Fielding
-Farewell ceremony for Maj. Gen. James D. (“Don”) Hughes, January 31, 1972
-Hughes’s family
-Melvin R. Laird
-Mrs. Hughes [?]
Busts
-John Foster Dulles
-David Waters
-Executive Office Building [EOB]
-Winston Churchill
-Waters
Weather
Alexander P. Butterfield entered at 5:50 pm.
Prayer breakfast
-Length of the President’s remarks
Butterfield left at 5:52 pm.
[The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman at an unknown time between 5:52 pm and
5:55 pm.]
[Conversation No. 661-12A]
Prayer breakfast
-Length of the President’s remarks
[End of telephone conversation]
The President’s schedule
-Prayer breakfast
-Warren E. Burger speech
-Length
-Toast
-Toasts
-Scripture reading
-Mamie G.D. Eisenhower
-Augusta, Georgia
-European guests
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 5:52 pm.
Item for the President
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 5:55 pm.
The President’s schedule
-Demands on the President’s time
-Charitable groups
Death of Dudley Swim
-Age
-Aging statesmen
-Thomas E. Dewey
-Dean G. Acheson
-Ann [Surname unknown]
Alexander P. Butterfield entered at 5:55 pm.
Remarks for prayer breakfast
-Length
-The President’s talk with Haldeman
Butterfield left at 5:55 pm.
Prayer breakfast, 1971
-Program
-Length of speeches and readings
-Charles M. Teague
-Marvin L. Esch
-Walter E. Washington
-Length
-Lyndon B. Johnson
Speeches
-Anachronistic nature
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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 08/05/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[661-012-w001]
[Duration: 12s]
Rose Mary Woods’s schedule
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
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Woods left at 6:00 pm.This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.