Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 1 › Conversation 001-071

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Henry Kissinger

Monday, April 12, 1971 · 6:22 PM–7:23 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation001-071 on Tape 1 (tape position 02:21:22–02:21:27)StartMonday, April 12, 1971 at 6:22 PMEndMonday, April 12, 1971 at 7:23 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 001-071 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a brief telephone call through the White House operator to contact his National Security Advisor, Henry A. Kissinger. The primary purpose of this communication is to facilitate a direct line of dialogue with Kissinger regarding ongoing diplomatic or national security matters. The exchange concludes once the operator begins processing the connection request.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Doctor Kissinger, please.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On April 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:22 pm and 7:23 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 001-071 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 1-71

Date: April 12, 1971
Time: Unknown between 6:22 pm and 7:23 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Call to Henry A. Kissinger

Also recorded on April 12, 1971

  • 477-011 3:37 PM · 51 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Maurice H. Stans, and James T. Lynn met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:37 pm to 4:27 pm.
  • 477-012 4:27 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:27 pm and 4:30 pm.
  • 477-013 4:30 PM · 54 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Victor Lasky, Patricia (Pratt) Lasky, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:30 pm to 5:22 pm.
  • 477-014 5:23 PM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, Steven Baker, White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, Ronald L. Ziegler, Manolo Sanchez, and Fredrick C. LaRue met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:23 pm and 6:20 pm.
  • 001-068 5:34 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 5:34 pm to 5:36 pm.
  • 001-067 5:35 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at 5:35 pm.
  • 001-069 6:20 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 6:20 pm to 6:21 pm.
  • 001-070 6:21 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:21 pm to 6:22 pm.

All 21 conversations from April 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 001-071, April 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/001-071 (accessed October 12, 2026).