Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 15 › Conversation 015-173

Nixon phone call with Colson on Tax Bill and Campaign Finance

Monday, November 29, 1971 · 6:22 PM–6:28 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation015-173 on Tape 15 (tape position 04:40:49–04:42:42)StartMonday, November 29, 1971 at 6:22 PMEndMonday, November 29, 1971 at 6:28 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 015-173 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417191191 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss legislative strategy regarding the tax bill, specifically focusing on the campaign check-off provision. They coordinate efforts to pressure key Cabinet members and legislative liaisons to move the administration's agenda forward in Congress. Additionally, the conversation touches upon the optics of Pat Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower attending a shopping event to influence public perception of prices.

Audio

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Position in tape: 04:40:49 – 04:42:42

part C, 40:39

015a.mp3
015b.mp3
015c.mp3
015d.mp3

NARA Description

On November 29, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 6:22 pm to 6:28 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 015-173 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 15-173

Date: November 29, 1971
Time: 6:22 pm - 6:28 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See also Conversation No. 306-20]
     Tax Bill
          -Campaign check-off provision
               -Clark MacGregor
               -The Vice President
          -Cabinet members' action
               -George W. Romney
               -John A. Volpe
               -Robert H. Finch
               -Elliot L. Richardson
          -Desmond J. Barker, Jr. and Douglas L. Hallett

     Prices
           -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower
                -Shopping event
                     -Publicity aspect

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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There you are.
Yes, President.
Coulson, please.
Thank you, sir.
Yeah.
Yes, sir, Mr. President.
On the tax checkoff thing...
I think it's very important in the morning meeting there that somebody be put in charge of that.
Obviously, you'll be working with all of the business units and so forth to concentrate on those Democrats that we can get.
They've individually, of course, got to work on McGregor's crowd, pick the ones that they can work on.
I don't know.
McGregor's gone to New York, but Timmons is working on it here.
But then, in addition, on the PR side, somebody ought to be working on statements and how to fight back and get Agnew in on the trick or anybody, you know, use all the guns you can.
And good God, why can't some of the cabinet members hit on this one now?
I think they can.
I think they should.
This is a purely...
I think you ought to get Romney in on this.
Both of you ought to get in on it.
They have both been in politics...
Maybe Finch ought to be in on it.
But Romney and Volpe, Richardson, he's a good publisher.
Elliot would be good on this.
I've talked to him about it.
But let's be sure that the cabinet people really start cracking hard on this.
We'll line them up, and we have been getting some stuff written.
Des Barker in my office has been pulling stuff together for...
Hallett can get to work.
He'd probably get some good ideas.
I've got Hallett in here to talk about several things we covered this afternoon.
That campaign, by the way, Mr. President, that you asked me about on cutting prices has started this week.
Yeah.
And I discovered Mrs. Nixon and Julie are going shopping Wednesday to kind of help give a little publicity lift.
Good.
That's off and running, and I'll have some details for you tomorrow.
Good.
Yes, sir.

Also recorded on November 29, 1971

  • 015-171 6:15 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 6:15 pm to 6:16 pm.
  • 306-016 6:15 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:15 pm to 6:16 pm.
  • 015-172 6:16 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:16 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 306-017 6:16 PM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:16 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 306-018 6:16 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:16 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 306-019 6:16 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:16 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 306-020 6:22 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:22 pm to 6:28 pm.
  • 306-021 6:28 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:28 pm and 6:29 pm.

All 72 conversations from November 29, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 015-173, November 29, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417191191). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/015-173 (accessed November 12, 2026).