Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-020
Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on H.R. Haldeman
Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 6:08 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 sec
AI Summary
The White House operator facilitated a brief telephone call between President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman. The exchange served as a routine administrative connection to initiate a conversation between the two men. No substantive policy matters or specific decisions were discussed during this initial contact phase.
Audio
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 6:08 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-020 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 012-020
Date: October 20, 1971
Time: 6:08 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The White House operator talked with the President.
Telephone call from H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
[This is the original beginning of conversation No. 012-021, which has been merged with
conversation 012-020.]
H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the President.
[See Conversation No. 282-36]
The President's schedule
-Forthcoming Presidential announcement
-Supreme Court nomination
-George H. W. Bush
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542Also recorded on October 20, 1971
- 012-019 6:05 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard A. Moore talked on the telephone from 6:05 pm to 6:07 pm.
- 012-021 6:08 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 6:08 pm to 6:09 pm.
- 282-036 6:08 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:08 pm to 6:09 pm.
- 012-022 6:09 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:09 pm and 6:10 pm.
- 282-037 6:09 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:09 pm to 6:10 pm.
- 012-023 6:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:10 pm to 6:11 pm.
- 282-038 6:10 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:10 pm.
- 282-039 6:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:10 pm to 6:11 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 012-020, 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/012-020 (accessed September 28, 2026).