Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-098

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on John A. Scali

Thursday, May 20, 1971 · 7:50 PM–7:52 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation003-098 on Tape 3 (tape position 01:57:46–01:57:53)StartThursday, May 20, 1971 at 7:50 PMEndThursday, May 20, 1971 at 7:52 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-098 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a request to the White House operator to place a telephone call to journalist John A. Scali. The brief communication serves solely as an administrative directive to establish contact with Scali. No further substantive policy matters or tactical decisions are addressed during this exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Yes sir.
Scali, John Scali please.
Thank you Mr. President.

NARA Description

On May 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:50 pm and 7:52 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-098 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 003-098

Date: May 20, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:50 pm and 7:52 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator; background noise can be heard in the
original recording.

     Call to John A. Scali

Also recorded on May 20, 1971

  • 003-095 3:57 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:57 pm and 7:46 pm.
  • 502-021 3:58 PM · 19 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:58 pm and 9:43 pm.
  • 003-096 7:46 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:46 pm.
  • 003-097 7:46 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Herbert G. Klein talked on the telephone from 7:46 pm to 7:50 pm.
  • 003-099 7:52 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:52 pm.
  • 003-100 7:53 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:53 pm.
  • 003-101 7:53 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:53 pm and 7:59 pm.
  • 003-102 7:59 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 7:59 pm to 8:00 pm.

All 48 conversations from May 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 003-098, May 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-098 (accessed October 5, 2026).