Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 11 › Conversation 011-121

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on H.R. Haldeman

Monday, October 18, 1971 · 5:40 PM–5:54 PM ET · White House Telephone · 11 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation011-121 on Tape 11 (tape position 03:26:38–03:26:49)StartMonday, October 18, 1971 at 5:40 PMEndMonday, October 18, 1971 at 5:54 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 011-121 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiated a phone call to his Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman, through the White House operator. Upon learning that Haldeman was currently unavailable, the President instructed the operator to have him return the call as soon as he returned to his office. No policy or substantive matters were discussed during this brief administrative exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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, Mr. Haldeman is out of his office, but he'll be back shortly.
Could he call you?
Sure.
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 5:40 pm and 5:54 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 011-121 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 011-121

 Date: October 18, 1971
 Time: Unknown between 5:40 pm and 5:54 pm
 Location: White House Telephone

 The President talked with the White House operator.

 [See Conversation No. 291-21]

        Request for call to H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

Also recorded on October 18, 1971

  • 011-118 5:25 PM · 6 sec — 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.
  • 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.
  • 291-019 5:32 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:32 pm to 5:40 pm.
  • 011-120 5:40 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:40 pm and 5:54 pm.
  • 291-020 5:45 PM · 8 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 5:45 pm and 5:54 pm.
  • 291-021 5:45 PM · 12 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 5:45 pm and 5:54 pm.
  • 011-122 5:54 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:54 pm to 5:58 pm.
  • 291-022 5:54 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:54 pm to 5:58 pm.

All 46 conversations from October 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 011-121, 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/011-121 (accessed September 28, 2026).