Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-138

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on John D. Ehrlichman

Monday, May 10, 1971 · 6:15 PM–7:04 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation002-138 on Tape 2 (tape position 05:17:07–05:17:13)StartMonday, May 10, 1971 at 6:15 PMEndMonday, May 10, 1971 at 7:04 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-138 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiated a call to the White House operator to facilitate a connection with his Assistant for Domestic Affairs, John D. Ehrlichman. The brief exchange served as a logistical step to reach a key advisor regarding ongoing administrative business. No substantive policy discussions occurred during this operator-assisted contact.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 111.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 108.6 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 05:17:07 into the tape and ends around 05:17:13.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

5:17:07Mae'n rhaid i chi ddweud.
5:17:12O, roeddwn i'n meddwl y byddwch yn gwneud hynny, ond rwy'n meddwl y byddwch yn gwneud hynny.

NARA Description

On May 10, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:15 pm and 7:04 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-138 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-138

Date: May 10, 1971
Time: Unknown between 6:15 pm and 7:04 pm
Location: White House Telephone

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       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Call to John D. Ehrlichman

Also recorded on May 10, 1971

  • 496-015 5:25 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 5:25 pm.
  • 496-016 5:25 PM · 51 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:25 pm and 6:15 pm.
  • 002-137 6:14 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 6:14 pm to 6:15 pm.
  • 496-017 6:15 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:15 pm and 7:47 pm.
  • 496-019 6:15 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at 6:15 pm.
  • 002-139 7:04 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 7:04 pm to 7:08 pm.
  • 002-140 7:08 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:08 pm and 7:12 pm.
  • 002-141 7:12 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:12 pm.

All 26 conversations from May 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-138, May 10, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-138 (accessed September 20, 2026).