Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 5 › Conversation 005-120

Nixon phone call with Colson on Lyndon B. Johnson and Bryce N. Harlow

Thursday, June 17, 1971 · 8:10 PM–8:11 PM ET · White House Telephone · 49 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation005-120 on Tape 5 (tape position 03:40:11–03:41:01)StartThursday, June 17, 1971 at 8:10 PMEndThursday, June 17, 1971 at 8:11 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 005-120 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss efforts to coordinate outreach to former President Lyndon B. Johnson and Walt W. Rostow, facilitated by Bryce Harlow. The primary objective is to deliver a specific message to Johnson, but the team encounters delays in reaching him. They decide to wait until the following morning to establish direct contact, ensuring the message is delivered by someone with the appropriate standing.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Mr. Colson.
I thought I should report, Mr. President, Bryce is sitting with me.
He has thus far been unable to reach LBJ.
He's out for the evening and won't be back until 1130.
We've decided best that he not talk to anyone else until he can get him personally.
And Henry's trying to reach Rostow, which will be another front to hit it on.
Well, we'll see what they want to do, but... Well, Bryce has the message very well.
Yeah, well, we just do the best we can, and if they want to play, we understand we'll have to do what we have to do.
Well, the reason for my call back to you, we won't be able to get back to you tonight.
I think it was 11.30 that...
I understand.
But first thing in the morning, we should be able to report back on his reaction.
Yeah.
All right, fine.
Fine.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:10 pm to 8:11 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 005-120 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 5-120

Date: June 17, 1971
Time: 8:10 pm - 8:11 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

     Lyndon B. Johnson's location
         -Bryce N. Harlow

     Henry A. Kissinger's attempt to call Walt W. Rostow

Also recorded on June 18, 1971

  • 005-118 8:00 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:00 pm.
  • 005-119 8:00 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:00 pm and 8:10 pm.
  • 005-121 8:21 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone from 8:21 pm to 8:24 pm.
  • 005-122 8:24 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:24 pm.
  • 005-123 8:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and F. Edward Hébert talked on the telephone from 8:25 pm to 8:28 pm.
  • 005-124 8:46 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:46 pm to 8:48 pm.
  • 005-125 8:48 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:48 pm and 9:28 pm.
  • 005-126 9:28 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:28 pm.

All 18 conversations from June 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 005-120, June 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/005-120 (accessed October 12, 2026).