Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 908 › Conversation 908-019

Nixon & Bull on Watergate and Presidential papers

Tuesday, May 1, 1973 · 3:41 PM–4:02 PM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation908-019 on Tape 908StartTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 3:41 PMEndTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 4:02 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 908-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Stephen B. Bull to discuss strategies for handling legal challenges, specifically regarding the handling of presidential papers and the refusal of a subpoena. Nixon asserted that his records were protected by national security claims and insisted they should be submitted through alternative channels rather than handed over directly. The conversation concluded with Nixon directing Bull to coordinate with William P. Rogers to manage the situation.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
No.
No.
No.
No.
Talk it over with him.
See if he can get me.
That's not my point.
I'm not buying that.
My papers are national security papers.
There's a lot to believe about that.
I know I can get out of it.
I have a letter where they can be submitted.
Is that clear?
They can be submitted out of this.
I'm not going to have that.
Go get him.
He's right in there.
Walk right out there and get him.

NARA Description

On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:41 pm and 4:02 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 908-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 908-019

Date: May 1, 1973
Time: Unknown between 3:41 pm and 4:02 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       Watergate
             -Memorandum
                    -William P. Rogers
             -Presidential papers
                    -Bull’s meeting with Rogers
                    -Refusal of subpoena
                    -Bull’s meeting with Rogers

Bull conferred with an unknown person at an unknown time after 3:41 pm.

       Rogers’s location

Bull left at an unknown time before 4:02 pm.

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 908-017 3:07 PM · 35 sec — 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.
  • 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.
  • 908-020 3:41 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:41 pm and 4:02 pm.
  • 908-021 3:41 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:41 pm and 4:02 pm.
  • 908-022 4:07 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:07 pm and 4:16 pm.
  • 908-023 4:07 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:07 pm and 4:16 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 908-019, 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/908-019 (accessed October 12, 2026).