Nixon White House TapesTape 1 › Conversation 001-118

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Henry Kissinger

Friday, April 16, 1971 · 11:10 PM–11:22 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation001-118 on Tape 1 (tape position 03:53:07–03:53:14)StartFriday, April 16, 1971 at 11:10 PMEndFriday, April 16, 1971 at 11:22 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 001-118 ↗

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to facilitate a telephone connection with his National Security Advisor, Henry A. Kissinger. This brief administrative interaction served as a logistical step to initiate a direct communication line between the President and Kissinger late in the evening. No substantive policy discussions were recorded during this brief operator exchange.

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 111.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 73.7 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:53:07 into the tape and ends around 03:53:14.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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3:54:42Dr. Kissinger, please.
3:54:49Thank you, sir.
3:54:49Yeah.
3:54:52Dr. Kissinger is present.

On April 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:10 pm and 11:22 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 001-118 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 1-118

Date: April 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 11:10 pm and 11:22 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Call to Henry A. Kissinger
  • 001-109 10:56 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:56 pm and 11:01 pm.
  • 001-112 11:01 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 11:01 pm to 11:03 pm.
  • 001-113 11:04 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:04 pm.
  • 001-114 11:05 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 11:05 pm to 11:09 pm.
  • 001-115 11:09 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:09 pm.
  • 001-116 11:10 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone at 11:10 pm.
  • 001-117 11:10 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:10 pm and 11:22 pm.
  • 001-119 11:22 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 11:22 pm to 11:27 pm.

Conversation 001-118, April 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-118 (accessed September 22, 2026).