Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 719 › Conversation 719-003
Nixon & Woods on J. Edgar Hoover and Eulogy
Thursday, May 4, 1972 · 8:58 AM–9:02 AM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon met with his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, to dictate a eulogy honoring the late FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. The President reflected on Hoover's non-partisan career and noted that both Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson had advised him to retain Hoover as director. The brief meeting also included a peripheral discussion regarding the medical expenses for a knee operation for staff member Manolo Sanchez.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 155.3 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 00:17:09 into the tape and ends around 00:24:10.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On May 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:58 am to 9:02 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 719-003 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 719-3
Date: May 4, 1972
Time: 8:58 am - 9:02 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Rose Mary Woods.
Dictation-Eulogy for J. Edgar Hoover
-Hoover's legend
-Hoover's career
-Support of presidents
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Performance as Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] director
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 8:58 am.
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 9:02 am.
Woods's suggestion
Manolo Sanchez
-Health
-Knee operation
-Payment
Woods left at 9:02 am.Also recorded on May 4, 1972
- 719-001 8:43 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 8:45 am.
- 719-002 8:45 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:45 am to 8:57 am.
- 719-004 9:06 AM · 54 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:06 am to 9:59 am.
- 023-150 9:30 AM · 38 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:30 am and 9:35 am.
- 719-005 9:59 AM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:59 am.
- 719-006 9:59 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:59 am and 10:03 am.
- 719-007 9:59 AM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:59 am and 10:22 am.
- 719-008 10:22 AM · 8 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:22 am to 10:31 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 719-003, May 4, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/719-003 (accessed October 9, 2026).