Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-113

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Communications management

Saturday, December 18, 1971 · 2:45 PM ET · White House Telephone · 13 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation016-113 on Tape 16 (tape position 03:54:39–03:54:52)StartSaturday, December 18, 1971 at 2:45 PMEndSaturday, December 18, 1971 at 2:45 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 016-113 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with the White House operator to facilitate a phone call with Muriel L. Hartley. Upon learning that Mrs. Hartley was unavailable at her current location, the President instructed the operator to attempt the connection again in one hour. The brief exchange served as a logistical coordination to manage the President's personal or professional communications.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.3 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Hello.
Mr. President, Mrs. Hartley is at the hairdresser's and her son was to pick her up at 2, but there's a little delay.
Can I have her return the call?
I'll try her again in about an hour.
Okay, fine.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On December 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:45 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-113 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 16-113

Date: December 18, 1971
Time: 2:45 pm

Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 310-9]

     Muriel L. Hartley’s location

Also recorded on December 18, 1971

  • 310-001 2:32 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 310-002 2:32 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 310-003 2:32 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 310-004 2:32 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 310-005 2:32 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 310-006 2:32 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 310-007 2:32 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 310-009 2:45 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 2:45 pm.

All 52 conversations from December 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 016-113, December 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-113 (accessed October 10, 2026).