Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 11 › Conversation 011-162

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on White House operator

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 10:35 AM–2:23 PM ET · White House Telephone · 7 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation011-162 on Tape 11 (tape position 05:11:22–05:11:28)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 10:35 AMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 2:23 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 011-162 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a request to the White House operator to place a telephone call to his special counsel, Charles W. Colson. The exchange serves solely as a brief administrative interaction to facilitate this direct communication. No substantive policy discussions or decisions are recorded during this brief technical request.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 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 011-162 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 011-162

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

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

 The President talked with the White House operator.

 [See Conversation No. 282-7]

        Request for call to Charles W. Colson

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.
  • 011-161 10:35 AM · 4 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 011-162, 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/011-162 (accessed September 28, 2026).