Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 3 › Conversation 003-131
Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Charles W. Colson
Wednesday, May 26, 1971 · 2:19 PM–2:20 PM ET · White House Telephone ·11 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place a telephone call to special counsel Charles W. Colson. This brief communication served to initiate a direct line of contact between the President and a key political operative. The exchange was limited to these logistical arrangements and did not involve further substantive discussion.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On May 26, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:19 pm and 2:20 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-131 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 3-131
Date: May 26, 1971
Time: Unknown between 2:19 pm and 2:20 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with the White House operator.
[See Conversation No. 253-11]
The President conferred with an unknown person.
79
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
President's schedule
[End of conferral]
Call to Charles W. Colson
Conv. No. 3-131 (cont.)Also recorded on May 26, 1971
- 003-130 2:17 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Edward J. Kiernan talked on the telephone from 2:17 pm to 2:19 pm.
- 253-010 2:17 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Edward J. Kiernan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:17 pm and 2:19 pm.
- 253-011 2:19 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 2:19 pm and 2:20 pm.
- 003-132 2:20 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 2:20 pm to 2:21 pm.
- 253-012 2:20 PM · 14 sec — 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 2:21 pm.
- 003-133 2:21 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:21 pm and 3:12 pm.
- 253-013 2:21 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:21 pm and 3:12 pm.
- 253-014 2:21 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:21 pm and 3:12 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 003-131, May 26, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-131 (accessed September 18, 2026).