Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 11 › Conversation 011-118

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

Monday, October 18, 1971 · 5:25 PM–5:32 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation011-118 on Tape 11 (tape position 03:17:54–03:18:04)StartMonday, October 18, 1971 at 5:25 PMEndMonday, October 18, 1971 at 5:32 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 011-118 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a brief telephone call through the White House operator to contact special counsel Charles W. Colson. The exchange serves exclusively as a logistical step to facilitate direct communication between the President and his aide. No substantive policy matters or tactical decisions are discussed during this brief request for a connection.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Colson, please.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On October 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:25 pm and 5:32 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 011-118 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 011-118

 Date: October 18, 1971
 Time: Unknown between 5:25 pm and 5:32 pm
 Location: White House Telephone

 The President talked with the White House operator.

 [See Conversation No. 291-18]

        Request for call to Charles W. Colson

Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Also recorded on October 18, 1971

  • 011-115 5:19 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Chet Holifield talked on the telephone from 5:19 pm to 5:21 pm.
  • 011-116 5:21 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:21 pm and 5:24 pm.
  • 291-015 5:21 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:21 pm and 5:24 pm.
  • 291-016 5:21 PM · 13 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 5:21 pm and 5:24 pm.
  • 011-117 5:24 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:24 pm to 5:25 pm.
  • 291-017 5:24 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:24 pm to 5:25 pm.
  • 291-018 5:25 PM · 4 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 5:25 pm and 5:32 pm.
  • 011-119 5:32 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 5:32 pm to 5:40 pm.

All 46 conversations from October 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 011-118, October 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/011-118 (accessed September 28, 2026).