Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 664 › Conversation 664-004
Nixon & Bull on William P. Rogers and Police funerals
Wednesday, February 2, 1972 · 9:13 AM–9:14 AM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull discussed the tactical handling of Secretary of State William Rogers regarding his involvement in the funeral arrangements for fallen New York City police officers Gregory P. Foster and Rocco Laurie. Nixon sought to manage Rogers’ public position to prevent negative press coverage and potential internal dissent from within the State Department. The President concluded that while Rogers' attendance would be strategically beneficial, he preferred not to force the issue if Rogers remained reluctant.
- William P. Rogers
- Police funerals
- Public relations
- State Department
- Internal administration politics
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 169.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 41.4 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 00:18:38 into the tape and ends around 00:19:11.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On February 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:13 am and 9:14 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 664-004 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 664-4
Date: February 2, 1972
Time: Unknown between 9:13 am and 9:14 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Stephen B. Bull.
[Funeral for Gregory P. Foster and Rocco Laurie]
-Telephone list
-Operators
Bull left at an unknown time before 9:14 am.Also recorded on February 2, 1972
- 020-016 8:51 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:51 am and 9:10 am.
- 020-017 9:10 AM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles S. Gubser talked on the telephone from 9:10 am to 9:13 am.
- 664-002 9:10 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles S. Gubser met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:10 am to 9:13 am.
- 020-018 9:13 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:13 am and 9:14 am.
- 664-003 9:13 AM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:13 am and 9:14 am.
- 020-019 9:14 AM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas N. Downing talked on the telephone from 9:14 am to 9:15 am.
- 664-005 9:14 AM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas N. Downing met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:14 am to 9:15 am.
- 664-006 9:15 AM · 49 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:15 am to 10:05 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 664-004, February 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/664-004 (accessed October 12, 2026).