Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 908 › Conversation 908-017

Nixon & Bull on Watergate and FBI

Tuesday, May 1, 1973 · 3:07 PM–3:10 PM ET · Oval Office · 35 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation908-017 on Tape 908StartTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 3:07 PMEndTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 3:10 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 908-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directed his aide, Stephen B. Bull, to immediately remove FBI agents stationed in White House offices to ensure their presence was less visible. Concerned about the optics and security of these personnel, Nixon ordered that any necessary interactions with the agents occur within their assigned office rather than in public view. Bull acknowledged these instructions, confirming that the agents would be removed from the general office areas.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Call the FBI agents.
They're not listening to the call.
They're getting the hell out.
I just sorted that one right out.
He said in the office where he belongs.
He wants it not to be out there.
Is that clear?
Yes, sir.
Perfect.
It shouldn't be out there.
You know, I act like a lot of damn fools.
I'm getting that.
Get him out of our office.
We need some information over there.
We need to meet him up.
No, no, no.
We need to meet him up.
Just meet him right there in the office where he belongs.
We're not out there.
Everybody sees him.
It's absolutely clear.
Yes, sir.
Okay.

NARA Description

On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 3:10 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 908-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 908-017

Date: May 1, 1973
Time: Unknown between 3:07 pm and 3:10 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       Watergate
             -Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] guards in offices

Bull left at an unknown time before 3:10 pm.

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 045-092 2:54 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:54 pm and 2:59 pm.
  • 433-025 2:54 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 2:54 pm.
  • 045-093 2:59 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:59 pm to 3:01 pm.
  • 433-027 2:59 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:59 pm to 3:01 pm.
  • 045-094 3:01 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:01 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 908-018 3:07 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 3:10 pm.
  • 120-001 3:10 PM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, and Cabinet officers and staffers, including William P. Rogers, George P. Shultz, Elliot L. Richardson, Rogers C. B. Morton, Frederick B. Dent, Peter J. Brennan, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, James T. Lynn, Claude S. Brinegar, Roy L. Ash, Anne L. Armstrong, John A. Scali, J. Philip Campbell, Richard G. Kleindienst, William P. Clements, Jr., George H. W. Bush, William E. Timmons, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Henry A. Kissinger, Peter M. Flanigan, Ronald L. Ziegler, Kenneth W. Clawson, William J. Baroody, Jr., Richard A. Moore, W. Richard Howard, David R. Gergen, Patrick J. Buchanan, David N. Parker, Frederic V. Malek, Lawrence M. Higby, Bruce A. Kehrli, Stanley S. Scott, Stephen B. Bull, Rose Mary Woods, Arthur J. Sohmer, Lee W. Huebner, Jerry H. Jones, Donald F. Rodgers, Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft, Herbert G. Klein, Thomas C. Korologos, Gerald L. Warren, Andrew T. Falkiewicz, Max L. Friedersdorf, Lyndon K. Allin, Fred F. Fielding, Michael J. Farrell, James H. Falk, Richard M. Fairbanks, III, James H. Cavanaugh, Dana G. Mead, Geoffrey C. Shepard, and C. Gregg Petersmeyer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 3:10 pm and 11:52 pm.
  • 908-027 3:10 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:10 pm and 3:41 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 908-017, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/908-017 (accessed October 15, 2026).