Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 850 › Conversation 850-009

Nixon & Bull on White House administration and Foreign policy

Tuesday, February 6, 1973 · 12:42 PM–12:48 PM ET · Oval Office · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation850-009 on Tape 850StartTuesday, February 6, 1973 at 12:42 PMEndTuesday, February 6, 1973 at 12:48 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 850-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull reviewed various administrative matters, focusing on establishing a standard practice for preparing summaries of the President's meetings with foreign dignitaries to improve efficiency. They discussed scheduling for upcoming White House events, including the swearing-in ceremony for John T. Dunlop and meetings regarding tax policy. Additionally, the President issued instructions for streamlining correspondence and handling personnel matters and nominations, including those of Jack O. Horton and John H. Kyl.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Thank you.

I'd like to ask you just to make that a standard practice.

Normally, normally you can't do it, but he couldn't possibly have done it.

Well, some events like this, this kind of a visit where, frankly, it just hurts anyway.

Just a quick case, in case I have a heavy schedule, because I said I got to read all this.

One thing that he, for all events, that in any event, something should come up that he can't go through all that material, they ought to get his summary done.

Come on, tell them, tell them, in case I did.

tomorrow regarding tax policy.

Technically, pointing out swearing in Dunlop's mouth, covering his Dunlop alone in the Oval Office ceremony.

I know it's not a bad ceremony, just being fast, fast, fast, fast.

I know a lot of people that, that we should visit soon.

And we won't go to a Supreme Court justice because of this, this lower level.

You can't get a justice white that will just get one, one of your appointees.

Yeah, George McKinnon.

George McKinnon?

Yeah.

Oh, that's a lot of white.

I'll ask both of you.

We don't have it.

We don't have it either.

And that's not good.

Not good.

No, sir.

Not yet.

I'm trying to get a reading from the students.

If we might have, I will probably have a date tomorrow.

Rose will know.

We're going to have to go see this tomorrow.

Don't worry about it.

It is there, yes.

That's the problem.

So I can do it after five tomorrow.

We can schedule the rest of the day.

I don't know, 10 to 12, 10 to 12, 10 to 1, and then maybe not 3 to around 5 o'clock.

We don't want to go see her at 5 to 5.

So you can see that's what he did.

Not all things that you need to do is put him in.

He's going to be around.

Do you want to make a couple of decisions?

I heard that the shelves talk is to be.

Yeah, that's right.

There's those two at this point.

We'll put in a couple of courtesy commercials.

It's okay.

There are people like that.

You could perhaps get three or four of those around.

Just like we used to have people in New York.

I understand, for example, the title of

Chief guy in charge of every issue in the letter writing department.

The State Department usually has a correspondence.

Oh, a memo, yeah.

But people like that just admit quick, quick, quick.

They're all, you see if they have a number, then there's no problem with that.

Yes, ma'am.

In common speech, I should not agree.

You'll be jacked up, obviously.

It's really brilliant.

It's great stuff.

NARA Description

On February 6, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:42 pm to 12:48 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 850-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 850-009

Date: February 6, 1973
Time: 12:42 pm - 12:48 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman's location
               -Meeting with the President
                      -Barber

       Meeting summaries
             -President’s recent meeting with [Hussein, King of Jordan] Hussein ibn Talal
                     -Henry A. Kissinger
                            -Adequacy
             -Standard practice
             -President’s recent meeting with Edward R. G. Heath
             -Length
             -State Department

       Nominations [Jack O. Horton and John H. Kyl]
             -Announcement
             -[Signature]

       The President’s schedule
              -John D. Ehrlichman’s conversation with President [?]
                     -Meeting with George P. Shultz

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

                             -Tax policy
                             -Ehrlichman’s schedule
              -John T. Dunlop
                     -Swearing-in ceremony
                             -Oval office
                             -Number of people
                             -Judge
                                    -Byron R. (“Wizzer”) White
                                    -George E. MacKinnon
              -John A. Scali
              -Donald H. Rumsfeld
                     -Departure
              -Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger
                     -Confirmation
                     -William E. Timmons
              -Rose Mary Woods
              -Alice Roosevelt Longworth
                     -Location
              -Meeting with Shultz and Ehrlichman
              -White House staff
                     -Departures
                             -James Roy Goodearle
                             -Compared to previous “open door hours”
                             -Noble Mellencamp
                                    -State Department
                                    -Correspondence
       -Meeting with President
              -Haldeman

Bull left at 12:48 pm.

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Also recorded on February 6, 1973

850-008 11:34 AM · 58 min — President Richard M. Nixon, King Hussein ibn Talal, White House operator, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, and Zaid al-Rifai met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:34 am to 12:38 pm.
850-013 12:38 PM · 29 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:38 pm and 12:42 pm.
850-010 12:48 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:48 pm and 12:51 pm.
850-011 12:51 PM · 33 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:51 pm to 1:23 pm.
043-031 1:54 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:54 pm and 2:47 pm.
409-008 1:54 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 1:54 pm.
409-009 1:54 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:54 pm to 1:55 pm.
409-010 1:55 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:55 pm to 1:56 pm.

All 39 conversations from February 6, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 850-009, February 6, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/850-009 (accessed October 12, 2026).