Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-073

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Walter E. Washington

Tuesday, May 4, 1971 · 4:10 PM–4:20 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation002-073 on Tape 2 (tape position 02:53:52–02:54:00)StartTuesday, May 4, 1971 at 4:10 PMEndTuesday, May 4, 1971 at 4:20 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-073 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a call to Walter E. Washington, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., through the White House operator. This brief interaction serves as a routine administrative request to connect the President with local municipal leadership. No substantive policy discussions occur within this segment as the exchange is limited to the operator successfully placing the call.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Mr., uh, the Mayor of Washington, please.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On May 4, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:20 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-073 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-73

Date: May 4, 1971
Time: Unknown between 4:10 pm 4:20 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 490-24B]

     Call to Walter E. Washington

Also recorded on May 4, 1971

  • 490-020 2:05 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at 2:05 pm.
  • 490-022 2:14 PM · 50 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:14 pm to 3:06 pm.
  • 490-023 3:06 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 3:06 pm.
  • 490-024 3:07 PM — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, unknown person(s), Ronald L. Ziegler, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Stephen B. Bull, Walter E. Washington, Arthur F. Burns, Paul W. McCracken, Paul A. Volcker, Richard G. Kleindienst, and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:07 pm to 6:19 pm.
  • 002-074 4:20 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Walter E. Washington talked on the telephone from 4:20 pm to 4:22 pm.
  • 002-075 4:22 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:22 pm and 4:27 pm.
  • 002-076 4:29 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard G. Kleindienst talked on the telephone from 4:29 pm to 4:31 pm.
  • 002-077 4:31 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:31 pm and 7:46 pm.

All 33 conversations from May 4, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-073, May 4, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-073 (accessed October 12, 2026).