Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-039

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on John B. Connally

Friday, December 24, 1971 · 5:43 PM ET · White House Telephone · 26 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation017-039 on Tape 17 (tape position 01:50:09–01:52:28)StartFriday, December 24, 1971 at 5:43 PMEndFriday, December 24, 1971 at 5:43 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-039 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place a call to his brother, F. Donald Nixon, in California. During the exchange, the operator informed the President that Secretary John B. Connally and John A. Mulcahy had both returned his previous calls. Nixon directed the operator to prioritize the call to his brother before addressing the other two individuals.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Would you please try Don Nixon in California, please?

All right, thank you.

And Mr. President, at the same time, Secretary Conley returned your call, and Mr. John Mulcahy also returned your call.

Yeah.

Okay, I'll take the...

I'll get Don Nixon first, and I'll take the other two.

Okay, fine.

Thank you.

NARA Description

On December 24, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-039 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-39

Date: December 24, 1971
Time: 5:43 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for call to F. Donald Nixon

     Return call from John B. Connally

     Return call from John A. (“Jack”) Mulcahy

Also recorded on December 24, 1971

017-031 5:18 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Ralph H. Cake talked on the telephone from 5:18 pm to 5:19 pm.
017-032 5:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 5:20 pm to 5:22 pm.
017-033 5:22 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Stewart J. O. Alsop talked on the telephone from 5:22 pm to 5:24 pm.
017-034 5:25 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Peter M. Flanigan talked on the telephone from 5:25 pm to 5:28 pm.
017-035 5:29 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone from 5:29 pm to 5:32 pm.
017-036 5:32 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:32 pm.
017-037 5:33 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 5:33 pm to 5:39 pm.
017-038 5:40 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Maurice H. Stans talked on the telephone from 5:40 pm to 5:42 pm.

All 54 conversations from December 24, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-039, December 24, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-039 (accessed October 12, 2026).