Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 19 › Conversation 019-182

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Richard E. Berlin

Thursday, January 20, 1972 · 5:22 PM–6:06 PM ET · White House Telephone · 20 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation019-182 on Tape 19StartThursday, January 20, 1972 at 5:22 PMEndThursday, January 20, 1972 at 6:06 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 019-182 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon attempted to reach Richard E. Berlin via telephone to discuss an unspecified matter. After the operator reported that Berlin was unavailable, the President instructed the operator to discontinue the current effort but expressed an intent to retry the call later. No substantive policy discussions occurred during this brief administrative 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Hello?
Mr. Berlin doesn't answer, sir.
Could I keep you after it?
He doesn't answer now, huh?
No.
Okay.
Well, I guess you can't make it then, but we'll try to see if we can do it again.
Surely.

NARA Description

On January 20, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 6:06 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 019-182 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 19-182

Date: January 20, 1972
Time: Unknown between 5:22 pm and 6:06 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked to the President.

     Status of call placed to Richard E. Berlin

Also recorded on January 20, 1972

  • 019-035 4:52 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:52 pm and 5:22 pm.
  • 652-013 4:52 PM · 1 hr 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Terence Cardinal Cooke, Theodore E. McCarrick, Peter M. Flanigan, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Stephen B. Bull, White House photographer, unknown person(s), White House operator, Gen. William Westmoreland, and Melvin R. Laird met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:52 pm to 5:59 pm.
  • 019-036 5:22 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:22 pm.
  • 652-014 5:59 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:59 pm and 6:00 pm.
  • 019-037 6:00 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:06 pm.
  • 652-015 6:00 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, White House operator, and Robert H. Finch met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:00 pm to 6:08 pm.
  • 019-038 6:06 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Robert H. Finch talked on the telephone from 6:06 pm to 6:08 pm.
  • 652-016 6:08 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:08 pm and 6:12 pm.

All 39 conversations from January 20, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 019-182, January 20, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/019-182 (accessed October 12, 2026).