Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 876 › Conversation 876-012
Nixon & Bull on Schedule management and Prisoners of war
Monday, March 12, 1973 · 4:24 PM–6:34 PM ET · Oval Office · 53 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon met with his aide Stephen B. Bull to review his daily schedule and manage routine administrative tasks, including signing disaster assistance documents for Texas. The two discussed a scheduled telephone call from Julie Nixon Eisenhower and logistics regarding the President’s upcoming meetings with returning Prisoners of War. No major policy shifts occurred, as the session focused primarily on managing the President's public engagements and correspondence.
Audio
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On March 12, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:24 pm and 6:34 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 876-012 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 876-12
Date: March 12, 1973
Time: Unknown between 4:24 pm and 6:34 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Stephen B. Bull.
Schedule
-Signature
-Disaster assistance for Texas [?]
-Telephone call from Julie Nixon Eisenhower
President's meetings with Prisoners of war [POWs]
Bull left at an unknown time before 6:34 pm.
-61-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 876-13/877-1
Date: March 12, 1973
Time: Unknown between 4:24 pm and 6:34 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Capt. Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. Stephen B. Bull and the White House
photographer were present at the beginning of the meeting.
Photo session
-Flags
-Seating
Legislation
-President’s signature
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:24 pm.
Sanchez
-Return to Cuba
-Visit to North Vietnam
Refreshments
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 6:34 pm.
Oval Office
-Previous visits
-White House tour
Denton
-Public statement
-Effect on nation
-Letter to President
-Publication
-Respect for privacy
-Experience as Prisoner of war [POW]
-Plans for White House dinner for POWs
-62-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 876-13/877-1 (cont’d)
-Wives
-Discussions
-Reaction
-Repatriation
-Captivity
-Length
President's conversation with Col. Robinson Risner
-Honorable conclusion to war
-Reasons
-POWs
-Fate of South Vietnam’s people
-War casualties
-US credibility
-People's Republic of China [PRC], Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics [USSR]
President's trip to PRC
-Peking
-Meeting with Chou En-lai
-“Handshake around the world”
-State dinner
-Reputation as anti-Communist
Vietnam
-Honorable conclusion to war
-South Vietnam’s integrity
-US credibility
-President’s advisors
-Withdrawal
-1969
-John F. Kennedy’s, Lyndon B. Johnson’s responsibility
-President’s November 3, 1969 speech
-US defeat
-Loss of power, pride
-US as great power
-Compared to France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, USSR, PRC
-US self-image
-63-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 876-13/877-1 (cont’d)
Bull entered at an unknown time after 4:24 pm.
Schedule
-Buzzer
Bull left at an unknown time before 6:34 pm.
Denton’s letter to President
-Effect on nation
-American spirit
POWs
-Ordeal in prison
-Mohandus K. [Mahatma] Gandhi, Dr. Achmed Sukarno, Radha Krishna [?]
-Significance
-Personal strength
-Adversity
-Meaning for US
-Sense of pride
-Sense of shame
-Retreat
-Denton's captivity
-Survival
-Reasons
-Solitary confinement
-Length
-Means of survival
-Curiosity
-Mental, physical activity
-Awareness of time
-Prayer
-Solidarity [?]
-Reception at White House
-Scheduling
-Plans
-President’s meeting with Risner
-Briefing on national security
-State Department
-Wives
-64-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 876-13/877-1 (cont’d)
-Henry A. Kissinger, President, William P. Rogers
-Changes in world
-Dinner on White House lawn
-Tent
-Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
-Greeting
-Blue Room
-Dress
-Long dresses
-Uniforms
-Arrangements
-Entertainment
-Television [TV]
-Leslie T. (“Bob”) Hope
-Other celebrities
-Les Brown Orchestra
-Dancing
-Captivity
-Treatment
-Torture
-Risner
-Exercise
-Notoriety
-Isolation
-Denton’s leadership [?]
-Communication
-Isolation [?]
-Communications
-System
-Tapping on walls
-Code
-Dangers
-Coughing
-Code
President's foreign policy
-Denton's support
-US history
-Benefits for nation, world
-65-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 876-13/877-1 (cont’d)
-Opening to PRC
-US aid to North Vietnam
-POWs’ support
-Reasons
-Opposition to PRC, USSR
-Influence in Hanoi
-Communist revolution
-US restraint
-Situation in Laos
-Condition for withdrawal
-Cease-fire violations
-Condition for adherence
-World War II precedent
-Differences
-Japan, Germany
-Regime change
-Economic pursuits
-Peaceful pursuits
-Questionable effectiveness
-Alternatives
-Bombing
-North Vietnam’s impressions of President
-December 1972 bombing
-Difficulty
-Compared to Denton’s captivity
-Survival
-Impression of irrationality
-Liberal critics
-[Arnold] Eric Sevareid, Washington Post
-Questions about President's sanity
-“Mad bomber”
The conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 6:34 pm. The conversation continues on
a subsequent tape [Oval Office Tape 877-1].Also recorded on March 12, 1973
- 419-007 1:18 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 2:33 pm.
- 419-008 2:33 PM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:33 pm to 3:02 pm.
- 037-096 2:38 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 2:38 pm to 2:41 pm.
- 876-010 3:06 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:06 pm and 3:08 pm.
- 876-011 3:08 PM · 2 hr 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Col. Robinson Risner, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:08 pm to 4:34 pm.
- 876-013 4:24 PM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:24 pm and 6:34 pm.
- 877-001 4:40 PM · 1 hr 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:40 pm to 6:34 pm.
- 877-002 6:36 PM · 37 sec — Manolo Sanchez and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building on an unknown date, sometime between 6:36 pm on March 12, 1973 and 8:14 am on March 13, 1973.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 876-012, March 12, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/876-012 (accessed October 5, 2026).