Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-001

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Rose Mary Woods

Sunday, December 5, 1971 · 7:09 PM–7:31 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation016-001 on Tape 16 (tape position 00:01:02–00:01:07)StartSunday, December 5, 1971 at 7:09 PMEndSunday, December 5, 1971 at 7:31 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 016-001 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417191251 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to facilitate a telephone connection. The primary purpose of this brief exchange was to place a call to his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods. The conversation served solely as a logistical request for administrative assistance.

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:09 pm and 7:31 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 16-1

Date: December 5, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:09 pm and 7:31 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for a call to Rose Mary Woods

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Words please.
Thank you.

Also recorded on December 5, 1971

  • 016-002 7:31 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 7:31 pm to 7:39 pm.
  • 016-003 7:39 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:39 pm and 7:50 pm.
  • 016-004 7:50 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Strom Thurmond talked on the telephone from 7:50 pm to 7:52 pm.
  • 016-005 7:52 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:52 pm and 7:56 pm.
  • 016-006 7:56 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 7:56 pm to 8:03 pm.
  • 016-007 8:03 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:03 pm and 8:12 pm.
  • 016-008 8:03 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:03 pm and 8:12 pm.
  • 016-009 8:03 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:03 pm and 8:12 pm.

All 10 conversations from December 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 016-001, December 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417191251). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-001 (accessed November 1, 2026).