Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-038

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Henry Kissinger

Tuesday, December 7, 1971 · 11:41 PM–11:45 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation016-038 on Tape 16 (tape position 01:21:27–01:21:33)StartTuesday, December 7, 1971 at 11:41 PMEndTuesday, December 7, 1971 at 11:45 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 016-038 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to request a telephone connection with his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger. This brief interaction served solely as an administrative coordination to facilitate direct communication between the President and Kissinger. No further substantive discussions occurred during this 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Dr. Kessinger, please.

NARA Description

On December 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:41 pm and 11:45 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-038 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 16-38

Date: December 7, 1971
Time: Unknown between 11:41 pm and 11:45 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for a call to Henry A. Kissinger

Also recorded on December 8, 1971

  • 631-012 7:04 PM · 19 sec — Stephen B. Bull and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:04 pm and 7:07 pm.
  • 016-037 11:31 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 11:31 pm to 11:41 pm.
  • 016-039 11:45 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 11:45 pm to 11:46 pm.
  • 016-040 11:52 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 11:52 pm to 11:54 pm.
  • 632-012 12:30 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:30 am and 12:34 pm.
  • 632-013 12:34 AM · 34 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:34 am and 11:59 pm.
  • 632-001 9:19 AM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:19 am to 9:20 am.
  • 632-002 9:25 AM · 53 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:25 am to 10:18 am.

All 76 conversations from December 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 016-038, December 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-038 (accessed October 12, 2026).