Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-032

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on John B. Connally and William P. Rogers

Monday, December 6, 1971 · 11:11 PM–11:12 PM ET · White House Telephone · 43 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation016-032 on Tape 16 (tape position 01:05:40–01:06:23)StartMonday, December 6, 1971 at 11:11 PMEndMonday, December 6, 1971 at 11:12 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 016-032 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directed Henry Kissinger to contact Treasury Secretary John Connally to gauge his opinion regarding Secretary of State William Rogers’s performance. Nixon aimed to assess Connally's perspective on Rogers through this indirect communication channel. Additionally, Kissinger informed the President that he had received the full text of a recent Soviet diplomatic note, promising a follow-up report after further review.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.

I'd like for you to try something, just a suggestion.

We know so much about these things.

I'd like for you to give Connie a call.

Just to say that, you might say, I was a little concerned.

I just wondered whether he thought that Rogers would...

Do you think you could do that?

Of course, I'll do it this minute.

Call him and call me back.

See if he gets the point.

Right.

I now have the full text of the Soviet note, and now the Soviet minister has brought it by.

I see.

And I'll call you after I've talked to him.

Right.

NARA Description

On December 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:11 pm and 11:12 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-032 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 16-32

Date: December 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 11:11 pm and 11:12 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     Instructions to Kissinger
           -Ronald L. Ziegler
           -Forthcoming call to John B. Connally
                 -William P. Rogers

     Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
          -Note
               -Full text
               -Unknown minister

     Kissinger’s return call to the President
          -Connally

Also recorded on December 7, 1971

016-029 10:56 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 10:56 pm to 10:57 pm.
016-030 10:58 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 10:58 pm to 11:05 pm.
016-031 11:05 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:05 pm and 11:11 pm.
016-033 11:12 PM · 9 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:12 pm and 11:28 pm.
016-034 11:12 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:12 pm and 11:28 pm.
016-134 11:28 PM · 4 sec — Unknown person(s) and the White House operator talked on the telephone on an unknown date, sometime between 11:28 pm on December 6, 1971 and 8:06 am on December 7, 1971.
016-035 8:06 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:06 am and 6:51 pm.
631-001 12:57 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:57 pm and 1:58 pm.

All 20 conversations from December 7, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 016-032, December 7, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-032 (accessed October 10, 2026).