Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 826 › Conversation 826-001

Nixon, Haldeman & Bull on White House Reorganization and Anne L. Armstrong

Tuesday, December 19, 1972 · 8:59 AM–9:35 AM ET · Oval Office · 9 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Bull, Stephen B.; Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation826-001 on Tape 826StartTuesday, December 19, 1972 at 8:59 AMEndTuesday, December 19, 1972 at 9:35 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 826-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman met to discuss personnel and organizational logistics for the upcoming second term, specifically focusing on the office placement of Counselor Anne L. Armstrong within the White House complex. Nixon insisted that Armstrong be provided with suitable office space inside the White House rather than the Executive Office Building to enhance her profile, even at the expense of office space for other staffers. Additionally, the President received updates on internal leadership disputes within the Republican National Committee regarding finance chair candidates.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Good.
That's all.
He wants to request a couple points.
I just don't get the promise.
Yeah, we're working on it after the trade mission type thing.
We're all in on that.
Just so you know, we want to work something out.
Don't get into the John Rawlings question, because there's a battle between Stans and Rawlings, apparently.
Between Tom Evans and Stans.
Rollins, it now turns out, would like to be finance chairman, if he is.
But he didn't want to be asked by Dole.
And I don't know whether we want to get into that.
I'm trying to sort that out with John Mitchell and all the characters concerned.
But we should get into what stands.
Well, just let it stand.
I'm just telling you.
Oh, Christ.
Yeah.
Yeah, well, it's just how I, you know, all right.
All the reports don't happen again.
I want to catch it before he comes in and raise it.
Unless you want to just raise it with him yourself.
I forget.
All right.
Why is it possible to fix that up?
It is.
Let me tell you why I had mine.
I'm going to be quite candid about you.
I spent three-fourths of my time on the EOB.
I use this office and I'm going to use it now only for formal purposes because I don't like, I don't like talking to people in here, you see.
So I'll go over there.
Not everybody else maybe wants to show their goddamn asses over here to prove their big shots, so I'll have them sit over here.
You know what I mean?
And I'll be over there.
So it's just fine.
And I realize, but you see, you've got, you've got a bench going out, you've got a rub stall going out.
Who's coming in?
Why, who fills our office?
Ash and Schultz.
Well, Schultz takes the line under our office.
Weinberger got an office here.
Oh, yeah.
You know, I beat her up.
There's always an office here.
She should be in here.
We'll put her in this room, in this office, this building.
That's what I do.
Right.
What hurt?
I think the woman thing, frankly, and this is a question on her part, thinking it means anything at all, she can give an answer, but it holds up.
All states.
You look at our case, it means something.
You look at it on the basis of our income, which is really what concerns me.
We're a hell of a lot better off to have her in the White House and have that word be out than we are to have a couple of George Shultz's assistants in the White House.
Hell yeah.
And that Shultz's assistant would be a hell of a word.
That's really what a very good department or the EOB or anything like that.
And if Shultz has a problem with that, then Shultz can put his office over to the EOB.
Which he ought to do anyway.
Where the counselors are.
Sure.
So, uh, I agree with you on that.
Well, it really shouldn't.
It's better to have that group in here.
We're going to work the way we're talking about.
But he doesn't need officers for assistance.
She doesn't want a big office or anything.
She said, just get us, she said, just put a cubbyhole in or something.
Well, you can't do that.
Well, you know you can't do that because you're going to have somebody else down there.
Well, but she's got to, when she has people in here, she's got to look like she's in a decent office.
She can't put her in a closet somewhere.
Yeah, that's right.
No, they were gonna, they had a plan for changing the stuff around up there to get their own supporting staffs in.
They don't need that much.
They were gonna go to conference room and do this and do all that.
Shit.
Now go over to the OV for their conferences.
On your own, okay.
They're all quiet.
You can use your offices for a conference room.
Kevin got through us a number of times.
You told him to use the cabin room for some of this.
Okay, keep your phone on the side.
Good.
Pete, tell him to tell him that.
Because I know this office correctly.
I listen to everybody.
I said, I have this little place and that little place and that little place and an aide here and a secretary here and all that asshole stuff.
Well, it isn't just awesome.
It isn't awesome.
A lot of it is.
Believe me, I did say it.
uh the uh it's rose in here yet but go ahead and see get those two checks that i suppose that i asked march about last night if i have any
I was just trying to plan something upstairs to put her in there.
I just want you to be calm about that.
I was going to be without bothering you with it, but I was going to blame it on you because that's the only thing I can do.
That's why you've now said it.
I only said it.
She didn't raise any religion.
I said she'd talk to you about it.
I don't know if it can be done, but if it can, she thinks it would be awful if not.
Well, the argument the other way, which I came down, as I said, I was in the process of doing that this morning, but the argument the other way is that the other three counselors will be over in the EOB.
I mean, it doesn't make sense, but she's totally different.
That's right.
She's a full-time counselor on the White House staff.
The others are part-time counselors.
Now, the others are actually in a totally different situation.
That's my point.
That's why she's not here.
That's my point.
Thank you.
Well, I don't know what you're saying, but the president did not commit it to her.
He wanted her to have an office, and we've got to work it out so she doesn't.
That's pretty hard to say she shouldn't.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On December 19, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:59 am and 9:35 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 826-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 826-1

Date: December 19, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:59 am and 9:35 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

*****************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

      Republican National Committee [RNC]
           -Maurice H. Stans
                 -Meeting with the President
                 -Report
                 -Trade mission
           -John W. Rollins
           -Thomas W. Evans
           -Finance chairman
                 -Rollins
                 -Robert J. Dole
           -John N. Mitchell
           -Haldeman’s role

[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
*****************************************************************

      Second term reorganization
           -Office locations
                 -The President’s conversation with Anne L. Armstrong
                       -Executive Office Building [EOB]
                             -The President’s work habits
                       -Oval Office
                             -Formal purposes
                 -Robert H. Finch
                 -Donald H. Rumsfeld
                                             -2-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                             Conversation No. 826-1 (cont’d)

                   -Roy L. Ash
                   -George P. Shultz
                         -Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger
                   -Weinberger
                         -Office of Management and Budget [OMB]
                               -White House
                   -Armstrong
                         -White House
                               -Compared to EOB
                   -Crowding
                         -Lyndon B. Johnson
                   -Armstrong
                   -Peter M. Flanigan
                         -EOB
                   -Armstrong
                         -White House
                               -Shultz’s assistants
                   -Shultz
                         -EOB
                               -Counsellors
                   -Armstrong
                         -Office size
                               -Meetings
                   -Plan
                         -Supporting staffs
                         -Conference room
                   -Conference room
                         -EOB
                         -Roosevelt Room
                         -Cabinet Room
                   -Aides, secretaries

Stephen B. Bull entered at 9:20 am.

       The President’s schedule
            -Meeting with Julie Nixon Eisenhower
            -Rose Mary Woods’s schedule
            -Checks
                  -The President’s conversation with Marjorie P. Acker
                                               -3-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                                Conversation No. 826-1 (cont’d)

              -Meeting with Julie Nixon Eisenhower

Bull left at 9:21 am.

       Second term reorganization
            -Office locations
                  -Armstrong
                        -Conversation with the President
                              -Armstrong’s conversation with Haldeman
                        -Compared to other Counsellors
                              -EOB
                              -Finch, Rumsfeld
                              -Arthur F. Burns
                                    -EOB

Bull entered at 9:24 am.

       The President’s schedule
            -Meeting with Julie Nixon Eisenhower

Bull left at 9:25 am.

       Second term reorganization
            -Office location
                  -Armstrong
                        -White House

Alexander P. Butterfield entered at an unknown time after 9:25 am.

       Second term reorganization
            -Butterfield
                  -[Federal Aviation Administration] [FAA]
                         -Announcement

Butterfield left and Bull entered at an unknown time after 9:25 am.

       The President’s schedule
            -Meeting with Julie Nixon Eisenhower
                                                        -4-

                       NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Bull and Haldeman left at 9:35 am.

Also recorded on December 19, 1972

  • 826-002 9:35 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Manolo Sanchez, Stephen B. Bull, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:35 am to 9:53 am.
  • 826-003 9:53 AM · 1 hr 33 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, Maurice H. Stans, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:53 am and 11:27 am.
  • 826-012 9:53 AM · 12 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:53 am and 11:27 am.
  • 826-004 11:27 AM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William D. Ruckelhaus, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:27 am to 11:51 am.
  • 826-005 11:51 AM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:51 am to 11:52 am.
  • 826-006 11:52 AM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Richard C. Van Dusen, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:52 am to 12:05 pm.
  • 034-130 12:07 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 12:07 pm to 12:08 pm.
  • 826-007 12:07 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:07 pm to 12:08 pm.

All 15 conversations from December 19, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 826-001, December 19, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/826-001 (accessed October 5, 2026).