In December 1970, Elvis Presley boarded a flight to Washington, D.C. with a highly specific mission. He wanted a badge from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
This impromptu trip led to a highly unusual, unrecorded encounter in the Oval Office between the musician and President Richard Nixon, resulting in the most-requested photograph in the history of the U.S. National Archives.
A Cross-Country Flight for a Federal Badge
A few days prior to the meeting, Presley spent $100,000 on Christmas presents, buying 32 handguns and 10 Mercedes-Benzes. After his wife Priscilla and his father reprimanded him for the spending, an irritated Presley boarded a flight out of Memphis to Washington, D.C., and then immediately flew to Los Angeles.
During his travels, Presley decided he wanted a federal narcotics badge to add to his police badge collection. Priscilla wrote in her memoir that Presley believed the federal badge would give him the authority to enter any country carrying guns and drugs. To pursue this, he flew right back to D.C. just one day after arriving in Los Angeles.
Delivering a Handwritten Letter to the White House
On the flight, Presley wrote a letter to Nixon offering his services to help the country in exchange for the credentials of a federal agent. He checked into the Washington Hotel under the alias Jon Burrows, then took a limousine directly to the White House to drop off the letter.
Afterward, he went to the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to request the badge in person, but the agency denied his request. Meanwhile, Nixon’s aide Bud Krogh, a fan of the musician, received the letter and convinced the Chief of Staff to arrange a meeting. Six hours after touching down in D.C., Presley returned to the White House.
A Purple Velvet Suit and a Confiscated Colt .45
Presley arrived at the executive mansion wearing a purple velvet suit and a large gold belt buckle. He brought a mounted Colt .45 taken right from the wall of his Los Angeles home as a gift for the president. The Secret Service confiscated the firearm before escorting the musician into the Oval Office.
The Unrecorded Conversation and the Honorary Badge
The White House recording system had not yet been installed, so the only record of the December 21 meeting is a note written by Krogh. Presley showed Nixon his collection of police badges, expressed his support for the presidency, and directly asked for the narcotics badge.
Nixon agreed to provide it, prompting Presley to hug the president. While Krogh noted the badge was strictly honorary and carried no actual authority, Presley left believing it was genuine. At Presley’s request, the meeting remained a secret for a year and was not publicized until after his death.