Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-006

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on George P. Shultz

Wednesday, May 12, 1971 · 8:07 AM–9:51 AM ET · White House Telephone · 8 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation003-006 on Tape 3 (tape position 00:03:34–00:03:43)StartWednesday, May 12, 1971 at 8:07 AMEndWednesday, May 12, 1971 at 9:51 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon communicated with a White House operator regarding an attempt to contact George P. Shultz. Upon learning that Shultz was in a staff meeting without immediate phone access, Nixon declined the offer to interrupt the meeting. The President instructed the operator to have Shultz return the call at a later time.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Yeah.
Mr. President, Mr. Schultz is at a staff meeting.
There's no phone there, but the secretary said you could go get him.
No, no, no.
He can call me back.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On May 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:07 am and 9:51 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 003-006

Date: May 12, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:07 am and 9:51 am
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     George P. Shultz
          -Location
          -Return call

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

Also recorded on May 12, 1971

  • 003-005 8:07 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:07 am and 9:51 am.
  • 003-007 9:51 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 9:51 am to 10:12 am.
  • 003-008 10:12 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:12 am and 10:25 am.
  • 003-009 10:25 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 10:25 am to 10:35 am.
  • 003-010 10:35 AM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:35 am and 2:19 pm.
  • 003-011 2:19 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Walter R. Tkach talked on the telephone from 2:19 pm to 2:22 pm.
  • 003-012 3:27 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:27 pm.
  • 003-013 3:27 PM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 3:33 pm.

All 37 conversations from May 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 003-006, May 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-006 (accessed September 23, 2026).