Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-007

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on John N. Mitchell

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 3:42 PM–3:43 PM ET · White House Telephone · 7 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation012-007 on Tape 12 (tape position 00:16:45–00:16:52)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 3:42 PMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 3:43 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 012-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiated a brief telephone call to Attorney General John N. Mitchell through the White House operator. The primary purpose of the communication was to establish contact with the Attorney General for an unspecified discussion. This interaction served as a logistical administrative step to facilitate a direct conversation between the President and the head of the Department of Justice.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Okay.
Attorney General Mitchell, please.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:42 pm and 3:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 012-007

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:42 pm and 3:43 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 282-15]

     Request for call to John N. Mitchell

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

  • 012-005 3:39 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:39 pm and 3:40 pm.
  • 012-006 3:40 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 3:40 pm to 3:42 pm.
  • 282-015 3:42 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:42 pm to 3:43 pm.
  • 012-008 3:43 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:43 pm.
  • 282-016 3:43 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:43 pm.
  • 282-017 3:43 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:43 pm and 4:05 pm.
  • 282-018 3:43 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:43 pm to 4:05 pm.
  • 282-019 3:43 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:43 pm and 4:05 pm.

All 83 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 012-007, 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/012-007 (accessed September 28, 2026).