Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 918 › Conversation 918-029

Nixon & United States Secret Service agents on Haile Selassie

Tuesday, May 15, 1973 · 1:04 PM–1:07 PM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); United States Secret Service agentsConversation918-029 on Tape 918StartTuesday, May 15, 1973 at 1:04 PMEndTuesday, May 15, 1973 at 1:07 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 918-029 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Secret Service agents in the Oval Office to coordinate logistics for the upcoming state visit of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. The discussion centered on managing the President’s schedule, specifically regarding the timing for press photography sessions and the rotation of security personnel. The agents also reviewed security protocols, including checking the physical locks in the area, to ensure the venue was properly prepared for the dignitary's arrival.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Okay.

It's a lot.

All right.

Go on with this, huh?

Oh, thank you very much.

Uh, I'm sore up in here.

Yeah, I'm going to be tilting you.

All right.

OK. All right.

Go take a break.

Well, I'm not quite ready, though.

Is this better?

Yeah, I was just trying to see if that thing is locked or such.

NARA Description

On May 15, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:04 pm and 1:07 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 918-029 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 918-29

Date: May 15, 1973
Time: Unknown between 1:04 pm and 1:07 pm
Location: Oval Office

Unknown United States Secret Service [USSS] men met.

     President’s schedule
           -Haile Selassie’s state visit
                 -Press photographs
           -Rotation
                 -Message
                 -Break

     Selassie’s arrival
           -Check
                 -Lock

The conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 1:07 pm.

Also recorded on May 15, 1973

046-052 12:24 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:24 pm and 1:00 pm.
918-025 12:24 PM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:24 pm to 1:00 pm.
046-053 1:00 PM · 30 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 1:00 pm.
918-027 1:00 PM · 29 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at 1:00 pm.
918-028 1:00 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:00 pm and 1:04 pm.
046-054 1:04 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:04 pm and 1:07 pm.
046-055 1:07 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 1:07 pm to 1:08 pm.
046-056 1:38 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:38 pm and 2:10 pm.

All 67 conversations from May 15, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 918-029, May 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/918-029 (accessed October 1, 2026).