Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 857 › Conversation 857-001

Nixon & Bull on Operation Homecoming and Cabinet meeting

Thursday, February 15, 1973 · 9:02 AM–9:12 AM ET · Oval Office · 10 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation857-001 on Tape 857StartThursday, February 15, 1973 at 9:02 AMEndThursday, February 15, 1973 at 9:12 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 857-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his aide Stephen B. Bull to review logistical details for upcoming executive engagements, including a Pentagon visit, a Cabinet meeting, and a briefing on international monetary policy. They discussed strategies for public relations regarding 'Operation Homecoming' for returning POWs and finalized scheduling for a meeting with Sir Christopher Soames. Additionally, the President issued instructions regarding an ongoing hijacking agreement with Cuba, opting to have the ambassador deliver a message rather than personally addressing the matter.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Are they having their press man?
Yes, sir.
It's something we'd like to investigate and handle it and give you a report later on in the day.
Maybe even after the lunch.
Suggestions from Midge is that Operation Homecoming command post over there.
This is something we might be able to consider.
We'd just like to take a look and see what it is it's doing, but I think that this is an area where there are people on the telephone who are talking to lives.
make an arrangement for a concert and it's just something that we can at least keep in the back of our minds and it pans out and looks good and would be something favorable for you and wouldn't look like a big contrived thing.
It would be consistent generally with your visit with the band.
We'll just take a look in case someone raises it with you.
We'll look at it and see how it is.
Tomorrow we have a meeting.
Do you want to go as far as the undersecretary said, the state principals?
Oh, just the district principals.
Just principals, yeah.
But, for example, it's out of town, I believe, so we will always have a secretary to come.
Yeah, that's right.
Oh, there's something to do with Johnson, but not the district principals.
As far as staff, I'm sitting on the road, mulling, flagging.
No.
Tennis.
No.
Cold.
Cold.
Ray Price.
No.
Well, wait.
No.
Well, all right.
So we'd like to include you on this program.
Yes, he's going to be a part of it.
And like last year, which I understand is a special thing, you wanted to do something nice with your brother.
Do you want to go back and do more with Zephyr?
No, I'm not going to stop those people.
So what do you still want to do with Zephyr?
Five, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13.
i would have uh i think it's good to have champions here but nobody else you see i want to broke it down
It's an international monetary thing.
Yeah.
But be sure that it's done in a pattern where they don't get spit in very much.
Yeah.
Start planning and then fill in.
Let's go for it.
Let's see if we'll know about it.
That's planning.
Okay.
Of course, if you want to put a question, obviously push.
Scali answers.
Push.
Do you want to give an early call to the nationals?
Yes.
Next week.
I've got to see her with her son.
Don't put it down.
I'll take care of it.
I'll put it down.
I'll take care of it.
There's a man by the name of Mr. Christopher Soames who's committed for extermination of the Canadian community.
This is an appointment that you made with my Captain Norman.
It looks a favorably on him, but this will be very appropriate for about 9.35 tomorrow morning when you depart the cabin meeting.
All right.
The British.
Yes, sir.
He is the... Do you want to talk about him?
The... Well... Just go ahead.
Courtesy.
You're going to... You've been explaining to Solvents...
All right, good.
And one of the Cressler ones is just the flat one that's sitting on the back.
Since the cabinet meeting is going on, do you want this Cressler one?
The Spinal Magnet is just a peel of something that the flat ultimate already turned down.
The Brazilian ambassador has a letter from President Vinicius.
Oh, it's a deliver person.
We just can't do that now.
That is exactly what I want to see.
We just can't get it.
There's other ambassadors.
There's so many that want to deliver.
We have a problem here.
We'll answer the question.
We'll answer the question.
We'll have the ambassador deliver it.
Yes, sir.
Very good response to that.
Yes, sir.
What we're doing, maybe you asked this question last night, but we're not sending them out all at once.
We're timing them so they arrive as close to you or the arrival of the man.
Yeah, here's the second one.
There was a little box in the evening star last night.
I thought it might have been included in the news.
I thought it was going to be at a restaurant.
It appeared to be an ad that someone put in there.
Trust it was.
A toast to the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Herb Black.
May you breathe a sigh of relief.
May you give some humble thanks for the rest of the Americans you recommend and achieve.
Signed, by someone at the second page.
I think it reflects the sentence that we see in the editorial.
One thing that you can do better for these people than this is to, uh... On the command post, I...
I think not.
I think that's too gimmicky.
Sorry.
Cool it.
You asked Walter to punish the chief.
Oh, yeah, there's something here.
Oh, I have seen that.

NARA Description

On February 15, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:02 am to 9:12 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 857-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 857-1

Date: February 15, 1973
Time: 9:02 am - 9:12 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       Pentagon visit
              -Service secretaries
                      -Press representative
                      -Elliot L. Richardson
                      -Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft

       Operation Homecoming
              -Command center
              -Coincidence with Pentagon visit
              -Public relations [PR]

       Cabinet meeting
              -Deputy Secretaries
              -Earl L. Butz
                      -Absence
              -Staff attendance
                      -John D. Ehrlichman
                      -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                      -Peter M. Flanigan
                      -William E. Timmons
                      -Kenneth R. Cole, Jr.
                      -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
                      -Scowcroft
                      -Gerald L. Warren [?]
                      -William L. Safire [?]
                      -Ziegler
                      -Timmons
                                       -2-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                      Conversation No. 857-1 (cont’d)

Briefing meeting
       - Flanigan
       -International monetary situation
       -Length
        -Scowcroft
       -George H. W. Bush
       -John A. Scali
       -Ehrlichman
       -Haldeman
       -Roy L. Ash
       -George P. Shultz

President's schedule
       -Next week
       -Ehrlichman

Sir Christopher Soames
       -European community
       -Meeting with President
               -Henry A. Kissinger’s recommendation
       -Cabinet meeting
       -Official position of Soames
       -Purpose of visit with President
               -European relations
               -Kissinger

Cabinet meeting

Haldeman
      -Appeal

US-Cuba hijacking agreement
     -Fidel Castro
     -President’s letter
     -Delay
                                            -3-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                         Conversation No. 857-1 (cont’d)

                      -Haldeman’s opinion
               -Scowcroft’s role
               -Reply from President
                      -Ambassador to deliver message

       Flowers to Prisoners of War [POWs] wives
             -Response
             -Timing
                      -Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo

       Washington Star article
             -News summary
             -Washington Post, New York Times
             -Content
                    -Herblock

       Command cantor

       Dr. Walter R. Tkach
             -Editorial
                      -London paper

Bull left at 9:12 am.

Also recorded on February 15, 1973

  • 043-134 8:27 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 9:06 am.
  • 857-002 9:12 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:12 am and 9:20 am.
  • 857-003 9:20 AM · 1 hr 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Stephen B. Bull, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft, William E. Timmons, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:20 am to 10:40 am.
  • 857-004 10:40 AM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Rogers C. B. Morton, J. Philip Campbell, Russell E. Train, William D. Ruckelhaus, John D. Ehrlichman, Richard M. Fairbanks, III, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:40 am to 11:10 am.
  • 043-087 11:12 AM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:12 am and 11:14 am.
  • 043-088 11:12 AM · 43 sec — Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft and Adm. Thomas H. Moorer talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:12 am and 12:02 pm.
  • 857-005 11:12 AM · 50 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft, Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, White House operator, Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:12 am to 12:02 pm.
  • 857-006 12:02 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:05 pm.

All 41 conversations from February 15, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 857-001, February 15, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/857-001 (accessed October 11, 2026).