Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 831 › Conversation 831-017

Nixon & Bull on Oval Office protocol and J. Bennett Johnston

Wednesday, January 3, 1973 · 3:03 PM–3:05 PM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation831-017 on Tape 831StartWednesday, January 3, 1973 at 3:03 PMEndWednesday, January 3, 1973 at 3:05 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 831-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull reviewed the President’s upcoming schedule of meetings and photo sessions. They discussed the logistics for hosting Senator J. Bennett Johnston’s group, David M. Abshire, and various guests including baseball players and the 'Truck Driver of the Year.' Nixon provided instructions on trimming the guest list, specifically noting that Abshire's attendance was not required for the session.

Presidential scheduling
Oval Office protocol
J. Bennett Johnston
David M. Abshire
Photo opportunities

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.7 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

He's got a whole crew of people in here.

Senator Johnson and then Senator and Mrs. And we bring the kids in and then the whole family.

And he runs this entire place.

And Asher comes in.

Now look, with Asher, he doesn't have to come.

He would not have to.

I don't know anything at all, unless there's a special reason, but there's nothing for the baseball players.

And, uh, what was this guy?

I can't remember his name.

I don't know.

NARA Description

On January 3, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:03 pm and 3:05 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 831-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 831-17

Date: January 3, 1973
Time: Unknown between 3:03 pm and 3:05 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       Photograph

       The President’s schedule
            -Meetings
                  -Photograph session
                  -J. Bennett Johnston group
                  -David M. Abshire
                  -Baseball players
                  -Truck driver of the year
                  -Gifts

Bull left at an unknown time before 3:05 pm.
                                              -45-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Also recorded on January 3, 1973

035-074 2:52 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
831-012 2:52 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
831-013 2:52 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
831-014 2:52 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
831-015 2:52 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
035-075 2:59 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr. talked on the telephone from 2:59 pm to 3:03 pm.
831-016 2:59 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr., and Gerald R. Ford met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:59 pm and 3:03 pm.
831-018 3:05 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, J. Bennett Johnston, III, Mrs. J. Bennett Johnston, III, J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., Mrs. J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., Mary Johnston, Hunter Johnston, Sally Johnston, Betsy Allums, Bill Allums, William E. Timmons, Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 3:14 pm.

All 39 conversations from January 3, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 831-017, January 3, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/831-017 (accessed October 12, 2026).