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

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

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 4:21 PM–4:44 PM ET · White House Telephone ·7 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  White House operatorConversation012-012 onTape 12 (tape position 00:23:23–00:23:29)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 4:21 PMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 4:44 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 012-012 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a brief telephone request to the White House operator to be connected with Attorney General John N. Mitchell. The call serves as an administrative bridge to facilitate direct communication between the President and the head of the Department of Justice. No further dialogue or policy discussion is captured in this brief 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Attorney General, please.

NARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:21 pm and 4:44 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-012 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 12-12

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: Unknown between 4:21 pm and 4:44 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 282-26A]

     Request for call to John N. Mitchell

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

  • 012-009 4:13 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:13 pm and 4:18 pm.
  • 282-022 4:13 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:13 pm to 4:18 pm.
  • 012-010 4:18 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:18 pm and 4:20 pm.
  • 282-023 4:18 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 4:18 pm and 4:20 pm.
  • 012-011 4:20 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard A. Moore talked on the telephone from 4:20 pm to 4:21 pm.
  • 282-024 4:20 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard A. Moore met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:20 pm to 4:21 pm.
  • 282-025 4:21 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:21 pm and 4:23 pm.
  • 282-026 4:23 PM · 49 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Richard A. Moore, White House operator, John N. Mitchell, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:23 pm to 5:16 pm.

All 83 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 012-012, 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/012-012 (accessed September 18, 2026).