Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-075

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Charles W. Colson

Thursday, December 9, 1971 · 2:48 PM–7:42 PM ET · White House Telephone · 12 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation016-075 on Tape 16 (tape position 02:32:57–02:33:08)StartThursday, December 9, 1971 at 2:48 PMEndThursday, December 9, 1971 at 7:42 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 016-075 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to facilitate an outgoing call to Charles W. Colson. The brief exchange served as a logistical step to initiate communication with a key staff member. No substantive political or policy discussions occurred during this brief interaction.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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NARA Description

On December 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:48 pm and 7:42 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-075 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 16-75

Date: December 9, 1971
Time: Unknown between 2:48 pm and 7:42 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for a call to Charles W. Colson

Also recorded on December 9, 1971

  • 016-072 2:38 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Wilbur D. Mills talked on the telephone from 2:38 pm to 2:39 pm.
  • 634-003 2:38 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Wilbur D. Mills met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:38 pm to 2:39 pm.
  • 016-073 2:39 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:39 pm and 2:46 pm.
  • 634-004 2:39 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:39 pm and 2:43 pm.
  • 634-005 2:43 PM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John W. Byrnes, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:43 pm to 2:59 pm.
  • 016-074 2:46 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John W. Byrnes talked on the telephone from 2:46 pm to 2:48 pm.
  • 634-006 2:59 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:59 pm to 3:00 pm.
  • 634-007 3:00 PM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Hubert Maga, Sophia K. Porson, White House photographer, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:00 pm to 3:29 pm.

All 44 conversations from December 9, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 016-075, December 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-075 (accessed October 12, 2026).