Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 9 › Conversation 009-047

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Charles W. Colson

Thursday, September 16, 1971 · 9:03 PM ET · White House Telephone · 21 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation009-047 on Tape 9 (tape position 01:34:06–01:34:27)StartThursday, September 16, 1971 at 9:03 PMEndThursday, September 16, 1971 at 9:03 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 009-047 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with the White House operator to coordinate communication with his staff. He sought to reach Charles W. Colson, who was currently aboard the presidential yacht, the Sequoia, and subsequently requested a call to Patrick J. Buchanan. The President opted to defer the conversation with Colson until the latter could call from a more suitable location.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Hello?
Mr. President, he's on the Sequoia, and there's about five minutes before he can talk to you from the dock.
It's an awful noisy line going through the... Oh, no, no, no, no.
No, just tell him that I'll...
He can call me at his convenience.
All right, sir.
All right.
Try Mr. Buchanan, please.
Yes, thank you.

NARA Description

On September 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:03 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 009-047 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 9-47

Date: September 16, 1971
Time: 9:03 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     Charles W. Colson's location
          -Sequoia
          -Return call

     Request for call to Patrick J. Buchanan

Also recorded on September 17, 1971

  • 009-048 9:06 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 9:06 pm to 9:12 pm.
  • 009-049 9:12 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:12 pm.
  • 009-050 9:13 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:13 pm.
  • 009-051 9:13 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:13 pm and 9:17 pm.
  • 009-052 9:17 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 9:17 pm to 9:19 pm.
  • 278-039 9:17 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:17 pm to 9:20 pm.
  • 009-053 9:19 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:19 pm and 9:22 pm.
  • 009-054 9:22 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Maj. Maj. George K. Robinson talked on the telephone from 9:22 pm to 9:23 pm.

All 48 conversations from September 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 009-047, September 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/009-047 (accessed October 12, 2026).