Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-015

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on William L. Safire

Wednesday, May 12, 1971 · 3:34 PM–3:56 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation003-015 on Tape 3 (tape position 00:18:42–00:18:49)StartWednesday, May 12, 1971 at 3:34 PMEndWednesday, May 12, 1971 at 3:56 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a call to speechwriter and aide William L. Safire through the White House operator. The brief exchange serves as a request to connect with Safire for a subsequent discussion. No further substantive policy matters or decisions are documented in this brief administrative communication.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Sapphire, please.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On May 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:34 pm and 3:56 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 003-015

Date: May 12, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:34 pm and 3:56 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Call to William L. Safire

Also recorded on May 12, 1971

  • 003-012 3:27 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:27 pm.
  • 003-013 3:27 PM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 3:33 pm.
  • 003-014 3:33 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 3:33 pm to 3:34 pm.
  • 003-016 3:56 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William L. Safire, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 3:56 pm to 4:01 pm.
  • 003-017 4:10 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:17 pm.
  • 003-018 4:17 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:17 pm.
  • 003-019 4:17 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:17 pm and 4:24 pm.
  • 003-020 4:24 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:24 pm.

All 37 conversations from May 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 003-015, May 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/003-015 (accessed October 11, 2026).