Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-026
Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Monday, December 6, 1971 · 1:05 PM–6:44 PM ET · White House Telephone · 15 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon directed the White House operator to place a call to Lewis F. Powell, Jr. following the Senate's confirmation of Powell as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The President intended to personally congratulate the new justice on his appointment. This conversation serves as a brief logistical step in the administration's outreach to key judicial appointees.
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Supreme Court confirmation
- White House communications
- Judicial appointments
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 December 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:05 pm and 6:44 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-026 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 16-26
Date: December 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:05 pm and 6:44 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with the White House operator.
[See Conversation No. 630-22A]
Peter M. Flanigan
Request for a call to Lewis F. Powell, Jr.Also recorded on December 6, 1971
- 630-004 12:32 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:35 pm.
- 630-006 12:35 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:35 pm to 12:39 pm.
- 630-007 12:39 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, White House operator, Alexander P. Butterfield, Milton R. Young, Stephen B. Bull, Willard Edwards, the White House photographer, and unknown person(s) from a National Broadcasting Channel (NBC) film crew met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:39 pm to 12:59 pm.
- 016-023 12:49 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Milton R. Young talked on the telephone from 12:49 pm to 12:50 pm.
- 016-024 12:50 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:50 pm and 1:05 pm.
- 630-008 12:59 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, White House operator, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:59 pm to 1:11 pm.
- 016-025 1:05 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone at 1:05 pm.
- 630-009 1:11 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:11 pm and 3:04 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 016-026, December 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-026 (accessed October 11, 2026).