Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 342 › Conversation 342-026

Nixon & Colson on Watergate and White House security

Tuesday, June 20, 1972 · 2:16 PM–2:17 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 11 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation342-026 on Tape 342 (tape position 05:13:31–05:13:51)StartTuesday, June 20, 1972 at 2:16 PMEndTuesday, June 20, 1972 at 2:17 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 342-026 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson coordinate a brief, private meeting to discuss sensitive matters following the recent Watergate break-in. The participants verify the security of their current location before Colson is summoned to the President's office. This brief exchange serves primarily as a procedural arrangement to facilitate a confidential in-person consultation.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Hello?
Yeah.
Are you and your officer out?
Oh yeah.
Do you want to step over, please?

NARA Description

On June 20, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:16 pm to 2:17 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 342-026 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 342-26

Date: June 20, 1972
Time: 2:16-2:17 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.
[See Conversation No. 25-85]

Also recorded on June 20, 1972

  • 025-080 1:38 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Joseph Trerotola talked on the telephone from 1:38 pm to 1:39 pm.
  • 025-081 1:39 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:39 pm and 1:45 pm.
  • 025-082 1:39 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:39 pm and 1:45 pm.
  • 025-083 1:45 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 1:45 pm to 1:49 pm.
  • 025-084 2:10 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:10 pm and 2:16 pm.
  • 342-025 2:10 PM · 7 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 2:10 pm and 2:16 pm.
  • 025-085 2:16 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 2:16 pm to 2:17 pm.
  • 342-027 2:20 PM · 1 hr 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm.

All 49 conversations from June 20, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 342-026, June 20, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/342-026 (accessed September 19, 2026).