Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 763 › Conversation 763-021

Nixon, Passman & Timmons on Presidential gifts and Legislative strategy

Monday, August 7, 1972 · 3:46 PM–3:51 PM ET · Oval Office · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Passman, Otto E.; Timmons, William E.Conversation763-021 on Tape 763StartMonday, August 7, 1972 at 3:46 PMEndMonday, August 7, 1972 at 3:51 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 763-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Representative Otto E. Passman and legislative liaison William E. Timmons in the Oval Office primarily to exchange formal gifts, including personalized watches and cufflinks. Following a brief photo session, the discussion shifted to legislative strategy regarding a bill sponsored by Passman that was currently facing opposition in Congress. Passman outlined his intentions to secure the legislation through an authorization bill or a special rule, while Nixon deferred the tactical handling of these proceedings to Timmons.

Audio

Download MP3 · 4.4 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello, Mr. President.
Hi there, how are you?
I told you I was going to give you something here.
And, uh, this is your watch you give me.
I'm going to put this in a safe place.
Here you go.
This is not respect.
This is not all that you shall see.
So I don't know how good it is, but it's got a seal.
It has a seal on the back.
That's the first one.
We're going to get a few more.
That is the very first one.
No, we didn't have it.
I want the president to give me that you put your email address.
Okay, fine.
Come on.
Okay.
Okay, I got it.
You and me are?
Don't tell me I'm working!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
He told me not to do it.
I said, you know, I must take what it takes.
You've got to help me.
I don't know.
Where did you give yours to?
I gave it to the cover.
You gave all coverings to Spongy and his cousin.
I didn't give it to him.
He said, let me see.
No, wait a minute.
No, wait a minute.
Of course, of course.
I have a plan.
I told Bill about it.
I'm worried.
I'm going to lose you.
I'm in very hard opposition.
Go on.
I refuse to part my bill.
I don't know if it's personal, but I'm going to write it down.
I'm going to get an authorization bill.
If we don't get it, I'm going to pass my bill under a rule.
If you destroy the gun, then call us back on it.
I'm not worried about it.
I just leave all that to you, Jim.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you.
He's got it.
Thank you.
I appreciate this.

NARA Description

On August 7, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Otto E. Passman, and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:46 pm to 3:51 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 763-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 763-21

Date: August 7, 1972
Time: 3:46 pm - 3:51 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Otto E. Passman and William E. Timmons; the White House

photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.

       Presentation of Presidential gifts
            -Watches
                   -Gift from Passman to the President
                   -The President’s gift to Passman
                          -Bulova
                          -Presidential seal
            -[Photograph session]

       [Unintelligible]

       Presidential gifts
             -Cufflinks
                   -The President’s recent meeting with Edwin W. Edwards

       [Unintelligible]

       Passman's bill before Congress
            -Mark-up of bill
            -The President’s view
                  -Passman
                  -Timmons

Passman and Timmons left at 3:51 pm.

Also recorded on August 7, 1972

  • 763-019 3:01 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Virginia Democratic leaders, including Leslie D. Campbell, Jr., Warren Davis, William M. Dudley, Walther B. Fidler, Calvin W. Fowler, Elmon T. Gray, Frederick T. Gray, Charles W. Gunn, Jr., Edward E. Lane, Paul W. Manns, George N. McMath, B.R. Middleton, William F. Parkerson, Jr., Lacy E. Putney, Randall O. Reynolds, Eleanor P. Sheppard, D. French Slaughter, Jr., W. Roy Smith, Edward E. Willey, J. D. Stetson Coleman, John O. Marsh, Jr., J. Smith Ferebee, Richard T. Short, James F. Olmsted, Richard D. Obenshain, Thomas R. Glass, Fitzgerald Bemiss, Mills E. Godwin, Russell M. Carneal, Robert B. Ball, Sr., and Herbert Bateman, as well as Stephen B. Bull, Herbert Bateman, as well as the White House photographer, met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:01 pm to 3:45 pm.
  • 763-020 3:45 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:45 pm and 3:46 pm.
  • 763-023 3:51 PM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Peter M. Flanigan, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:51 pm to 4:12 pm.
  • 763-024 4:12 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 4:13 pm.
  • 763-025 4:13 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:13 pm to 4:25 pm.
  • 763-026 4:25 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:25 pm and 4:33 pm.
  • 763-027 4:33 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:33 pm and 4:34 pm.
  • 764-001 4:33 PM · 56 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:33 pm to 5:21 pm.

All 38 conversations from August 7, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 763-021, August 7, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/763-021 (accessed October 13, 2026).