Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 11 › Conversation 011-161

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Presidential operations

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 10:35 AM–2:23 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation011-161 on Tape 11 (tape position 05:11:17–05:11:22)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 10:35 AMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 2:23 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 011-161 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon was involved in an attempted telephone call facilitated by a White House operator. The connection failed to reach the intended party, resulting in no substantive dialogue or action items. Consequently, the brief interaction remains unrecorded in terms of policy or political developments.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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NARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:35 am and 2:23 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 011-161 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 011-161

 Date: October 20, 1971
 Time: Unknown between 10:35 am and 2:23 pm
 Location: White House Telephone

 The White House operator attempted to reach the President; connection was not completed.

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

  • 011-156 9:05 AM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Frederic V. Malek, Alexander P. Butterfield, and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 9:05 am to 9:19 am.
  • 597-002 9:17 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Frederic V. Malek, and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:17 am to 9:25 am.
  • 011-157 9:19 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 9:19 am to 9:25 am.
  • 011-158 9:25 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:25 am and 10:23 am.
  • 597-003 9:28 AM · 2 hr 41 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Bryce N. Harlow, Ronald L. Ziegler, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:28 am to 12:20 pm.
  • 011-159 10:23 AM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Bryce N. Harlow talked on the telephone from 10:23 am to 10:35 am.
  • 011-160 10:35 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:35 am and 2:23 pm.
  • 011-162 10:35 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:35 am and 2:23 pm.

All 83 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 011-161, October 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/011-161 (accessed September 28, 2026).