Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-033

Kissinger phone call on National Security Council and Harold H. Saunders

Monday, December 6, 1971 · 11:12 PM–11:28 PM ET · White House Telephone · 9 sec

ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.; White House operatorConversation016-033 on Tape 16 (tape position 01:06:23–01:06:33)StartMonday, December 6, 1971 at 11:12 PMEndMonday, December 6, 1971 at 11:28 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 016-033 ↗

AI Summary

Henry A. Kissinger contacted the White House operator to request an immediate phone connection with Harold H. Saunders, a member of his National Security Council staff. This interaction served solely as a logistical request to facilitate a direct conversation between Kissinger and Saunders. No further policy discussions or substantive developments occurred during 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Get me Mr. Saunders of my staff, this is Mr. Kissinger.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On December 6, 1971, Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:12 pm and 11:28 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-033 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 16-33

Date: December 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 11:12 pm and 11:28 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with the White House operator.

     Request for a call to Harold H. Saunders

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.
  • 016-032 11:11 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:11 pm and 11:12 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 016-033, 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/016-033 (accessed October 10, 2026).