Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 827 › Conversation 827-015

Nixon & Woods on White House gifts and Presidential correspondence

Wednesday, December 20, 1972 · 2:36 PM–2:40 PM ET · Oval Office ·3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Woods, Rose MaryConversation827-015 onTape 827StartWednesday, December 20, 1972 at 2:36 PMEndWednesday, December 20, 1972 at 2:40 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 827-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard Nixon met with his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, to manage administrative tasks, including the selection of gifts and the coordination of presidential correspondence. They discussed the distribution of custom-made music boxes and reviewed letters to individuals such as Ronald Kessler. Nixon also decided to reduce the number of congressional birthday calls and events, opting instead to prioritize more impactful outreach.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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And there are a few different ones.
One has its own music bar.
And then in that red, red box, there'll be some beauty.
But because they're individually made, you know, you can't get, like, 200 at once, unfortunately.
No problem at all.
And may I put this in?
I gave you this.
This is a piece.
Okay.
All right.
And this is too tall, so you promised me you'd make it.
Yeah, I'll get it.
I'll get it.
Of course.
Well, that's the lady that you told me you wanted to call with.
The correspondence is attached.
She's the one who backed you up even though her husband died after.
Okay.
That's fine.
Unless they are somebody that we're getting a special party, we're not going to hold a congressional party.
They've got so many people piled up, and it means nothing.
So we're not going to hold them.
And the same with the calls, because if there's too many, we can make more useful calls from other people.
Those are very nice.
I think people will like them.
I think they will.
I think you'll be better home than having to go back to prison.
This was made up.
It was a terrible time.
You'll follow through.
See, she gets a telephone call.
You just call her.
I mean, write her the note.
We'll just send the note out to her, and then I'll call her.
Yeah.
Right, right.
And I'll write this and put the subject upon me before she comes.
All right.

NARA Description

On December 20, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:36 pm to 2:40 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 827-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 827-15

Date: December 20, 1972
Time: 2:36 pm - 2:40 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

       White House gifts
            -Music boxes
                 -Marjorie P. Acker
                 -Presidential Seal
                 -Music bar
            -Color
            -Number

       The President’s letter to Ronald Kessler
            -Dictation
                  -Dictaphone

       The President’s schedule
            -Telephone calls
                  -J[ean] Paul Getty
                  -Deborah [?] Morrison
                         -Previous correspondence
                         -Death of husband
                  -Birthdays
                         -Congressional relations

       Clifford Moore
             -Telephone call
                   -The President’s letter to Kessler
                        -Dictation
                              -Dictaphone

The President replayed a portion of his dictation.
                                               -39-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                          (rev. July-08)

                                                              Conversation No. 827-15 (cont’d)

Rose Woods left at 2:40 pm.

[This letter continues as Conversation No. 827-16]

Also recorded on December 20, 1972

  • 827-013 2:20 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, Edward V. Jones, Mrs. Edward V. Jones, James Balling, Jr., Mrs. James Balling, Jr., Nella Balling, Maria Balling, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:20 pm to 2:25 pm.
  • 827-014 2:25 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:25 pm and 2:35 pm.
  • 827-016 2:40 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:40 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 827-017 2:40 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:40 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 827-018 2:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:45 pm to 2:46 pm.
  • 827-019 2:47 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:47 pm to 2:55 pm.
  • 827-020 2:56 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:56 pm to 3:05 pm.
  • 827-021 3:05 PM · 45 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Saul Pett, Henry Burroughs, White House photographer, and Zosimo T. Monzon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 3:49 pm.

All 47 conversations from December 20, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 827-015, December 20, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/827-015 (accessed September 18, 2026).