Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-066

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Frank B. Rackley

Saturday, December 25, 1971 · 9:58 AM–10:01 AM ET · White House Telephone · 20 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation017-066 on Tape 17 (tape position 02:48:37–02:48:57)StartSaturday, December 25, 1971 at 9:58 AMEndSaturday, December 25, 1971 at 10:01 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-066 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place outgoing telephone calls to Frank B. Rackley in Washington, Pennsylvania, and Robert K. Gray, a former Eisenhower administration official. The primary purpose of the brief interaction was to facilitate these personal or professional communications on Christmas Day. No substantive policy discussions occurred during this logistics-focused 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes, please.
Operator, I have a couple of other calls.
Mr. Frank Rackley in Washington, Pennsylvania, and Mr. Robert Gray, who was the former secretary to the cabinet in Eisenhower's administration.
He's here in Washington.

NARA Description

On December 25, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:58 am and 10:01 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-066 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-66

Date: December 25, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:58 am and 10:01 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for calls to Frank B. Rackley and Robert K. Gray

Also recorded on December 25, 1971

  • 017-063 9:45 AM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 9:45 am to 9:50 am.
  • 017-064 9:53 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lenore L. Romney, and George W. Romney talked on the telephone from 9:53 am to 9:56 am.
  • 017-065 9:57 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William F. ("Billy") Graham talked on the telephone from 9:57 am to 9:58 am.
  • 017-067 10:01 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Earl L. Butz talked on the telephone from 10:01 am to 10:02 am.
  • 017-068 10:06 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Claudia A. Johnson talked on the telephone from 10:06 am to 10:08 am.
  • 017-069 10:06 AM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:06 am and 10:08 am.
  • 017-070 10:14 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Frank B. Rackley, and Marguerite Rackley talked on the telephone from 10:14 am to 10:16 am.
  • 017-071 10:16 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:16 am and 10:29 am.

All 57 conversations from December 25, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-066, December 25, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-066 (accessed October 12, 2026).