Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 718 › Conversation 718-008

Nixon & Bull on Soviet Union summit and Melvin Laird

Wednesday, May 3, 1972 · 10:56 AM–10:59 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Bull, Stephen B.Conversation718-008 onTape 718 (tape position 01:06:44–01:07:23)StartWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 10:56 AMEndWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 10:59 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 718-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Stephen B. Bull to finalize logistical details regarding his upcoming trip to the Soviet Union, specifically focusing on the departure schedule via Salzburg. During the discussion, the President expressed significant frustration with Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird's involvement in military briefings. Nixon decided to bypass Laird in future meetings to prevent perceived interference, opting instead to receive direct briefings from military personnel.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 60.1 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 01:06:44 into the tape and ends around 01:07:23.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

1:07:15I spent a little time and I told Lance there wasn't going to be a brief then.
1:07:41He said that's because the targets aren't any good anyway.
1:07:45I went over the targets with him and with Mora and Raj.
1:07:50They're the best they are.
1:07:51I'm going to knock out all their airlines.
1:07:56I've got the targets ready.
1:08:05The targets are okay.
1:08:06You should get the briefing at some point just to...
1:08:10But the way to do it is to bring Mota in for you after the Vlasak meeting and just let him out.
1:08:15Yeah, I'm not going to do it with Laird.
1:08:16I'm tired of having Laird come in with him all the time.
1:08:19He screws things up.
1:08:20I don't know, you know, you bring him in and maybe wind him up and...

NARA Description

On May 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 10:59 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 718-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 718-8

Date: May 3, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:56 am and 10:59 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     Soviet Union trip
          -Time of departure
               -US
               -Salzburg

                                        (rev. Dec-01)

Bull left at an unknown time before 10:59 am.

Also recorded on May 3, 1972

  • 718-002 10:06 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:06 am to 10:19 am.
  • 718-003 10:19 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:19 am and 10:20 am.
  • 718-004 10:20 AM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:20 am to 10:50 am.
  • 718-005 10:50 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:50 am and 10:54 am.
  • 718-006 10:54 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:54 am to 10:56 am.
  • 718-007 10:56 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 10:59 am.
  • 718-009 10:59 AM · 1 hr 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:59 am to 12:11 pm.
  • 718-010 12:14 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:14 pm and 12:18 pm.

All 63 conversations from May 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 718-008, May 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/718-008 (accessed September 18, 2026).