Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 5 › Conversation 005-008

Nixon phone call with Richardson on New York Times and Media coverage

Friday, June 11, 1971 · 4:09 PM–4:11 PM ET · White House Telephone · 41 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Richardson, Elliot L.Conversation005-008 on Tape 5 (tape position 00:09:36–00:10:18)StartFriday, June 11, 1971 at 4:09 PMEndFriday, June 11, 1971 at 4:11 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 005-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon called Secretary of Defense Elliot L. Richardson to offer personal praise for a favorable article about Richardson recently published in the New York Times. Nixon noted that he and John Ehrlichman had reviewed the piece and agreed it was an excellent and well-deserved assessment of the Secretary's performance. The President concluded the call by emphasizing to Richardson that his staff at the Department of Defense should recognize the value of his leadership.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Secretary Richardson, sir.
Hello, Mr. President.
I just wanted you to know that I was really delighted to see that piece in the Times.
I just came across the desk today on you.
Oh, that was very nice of you.
Wasn't that a good one, though?
Yes, remarkably so.
Ehrlichman and I were just sitting here talking, and he had brought it in to me.
I don't go through the papers completely.
And the day before yesterday, I guess it was.
And it was just excellent.
Excellent.
Much deserved, too.
Just be sure all the people over there appreciate you.
They're lucky to have you.
Thank you very much.
Okay.

NARA Description

On June 11, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone from 4:09 pm to 4:11 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 005-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

None

Also recorded on June 11, 1971

  • 517-021 2:38 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:38 pm and 2:40 pm.
  • 517-022 2:40 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:40 pm to 2:57 pm.
  • 517-023 2:58 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:58 pm to 3:04 pm.
  • 517-024 3:04 PM · 19 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:11 pm.
  • 517-025 3:11 PM · 58 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, White House operator, Stephen B. Bull, and Elliot L. Richardson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:11 pm to 4:11 pm.
  • 005-007 4:08 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 4:09 pm.
  • 005-009 4:59 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:59 pm and 5:16 pm.
  • 005-010 5:16 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:16 pm to 5:18 pm.

All 34 conversations from June 11, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 005-008, June 11, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/005-008 (accessed October 12, 2026).