Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 697 › Conversation 697-016

Nixon & Bull on White House scheduling and Political strategy

Thursday, March 30, 1972 · 12:15 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation697-016 on Tape 697 (tape position 02:42:54–02:43:34)StartThursday, March 30, 1972 at 12:15 PMEndThursday, March 30, 1972 at 12:15 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 697-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull meet to discuss administrative oversight regarding the President's upcoming schedule and guest management for social events. The conversation touches on the logistical handling of invitees and the strategic necessity of maintaining a professional distance in political associations. Nixon emphasizes the importance of deliberate caution in these interactions, instructing Bull to step back from certain ongoing organizational efforts to ensure proper protocol.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 167.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 141.2 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 02:42:54 into the tape and ends around 02:43:34.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
2:42:51I noticed, for example, that Chuck had four people coming to the, uh, the same dinner, and none of them came to the Lakers.
2:42:54Oh, really?
2:42:54Yeah.
2:42:57However, the building trade is still sitting around.
2:43:01That's all you ever had.
2:43:09You'd take a stab at it.
2:43:10You've lost it now.
2:43:11You've got a good enemy and you've got to use it.
2:43:15But after you finish with the truck, let's do that a little properly.
2:43:18Okay.
2:43:18And so they'd say, look, we're on the same road, but keep me one step removed from it.
2:43:24Would you not agree?
2:43:24Yeah.
2:43:25But I haven't spent any more time on it than I should have.
2:43:28But I think you ought to say that.
2:43:30Yeah.
2:43:31That you're at a point where we just, you better take a step back from it.

NARA Description

On March 30, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:15 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 697-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 697-16

Date: March 30, 1972
Time: 12:15 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

      The President's schedule
           -Forthcoming open door hour

Bull left.

Also recorded on March 30, 1972

  • 697-017 12:15 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, James E. Stewart, Clark MacGregor, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:15 pm to 12:20 pm.
  • 697-018 12:20 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:20 pm to 12:21 pm.
  • 697-019 12:21 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Donald L. Jackson, Peter M. Flanigan, Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:21 pm to 12:25 pm.
  • 697-020 12:25 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:25 pm to 12:26 pm.
  • 697-021 12:26 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Carl W. Tiller, George P. Shultz, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:26 pm to 12:30 pm.
  • 697-022 12:30 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:30 pm to 12:31 pm.
  • 697-023 12:31 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Mike Finamore, Ann Landers, A. Hamblin Letton, Mrs. A. Hamblin Letton, Charles R. Ebersol, Mrs. Charles R. Ebersol, Lane W. Adams, Mrs. Lane W. Adams, Irving I. Rimer, Alan Davis, John Finamore, Mrs. John Finamore, Deborah Finamore, Alice Letton, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., James H. Cavanaugh, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:31 pm to 12:39 pm.
  • 697-024 12:39 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 12:45 pm.

All 48 conversations from March 30, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 697-016, March 30, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/697-016 (accessed October 12, 2026).