Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 717 › Conversation 717-003

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on J. Edgar Hoover and FBI

Tuesday, May 2, 1972 · 10:57 AM–10:58 AM ET · Oval Office · 19 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan)Conversation717-003 on Tape 717 (tape position 00:03:42–00:08:07)StartTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 10:57 AMEndTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 10:58 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 717-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon informs First Lady Pat Nixon of the passing of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who died in his sleep the previous night. The brief exchange confirms the news and serves to ensure the First Lady is personally apprised of the death before it is publicly acknowledged. No further official actions or strategic decisions were discussed during this short interaction.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

After Hoover died last night, and I'm not gonna say it, but I just wanted you to know something.
Okay.
Died in his sleep.
And he fell to earth this morning.
Okay.
You, hello?

NARA Description

On May 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:57 am to 10:58 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 717-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 717-3

Date: May 2, 1972
Time: 10:57-10:58 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon.

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/18/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]

[Personal Returnable]
[717-003-w001]
[Duration: 19s]

[See Conversation No. 23-106]

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

Also recorded on May 2, 1972

  • 717-001 10:54 AM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:54 am to 10:55 am.
  • 023-105 10:55 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:55 am and 10:57 am.
  • 717-002 10:55 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:55 am and 10:57 am.
  • 023-106 10:57 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 10:57 am to 10:58 am.
  • 717-004 10:58 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:58 am and 11:04 am.
  • 023-108 11:04 AM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:04 am.
  • 717-005 11:04 AM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:04 am.
  • 717-006 11:04 AM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:04 am and 11:10 am.

All 67 conversations from May 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 717-003, May 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/717-003 (accessed October 10, 2026).