Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 20 › Conversation 020-010

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on H. R. Haldeman

Monday, January 31, 1972 · 6:06 PM–7:26 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation020-010 on Tape 20 (tape position 00:13:50–00:13:55)StartMonday, January 31, 1972 at 6:06 PMEndMonday, January 31, 1972 at 7:26 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 020-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to facilitate an urgent communication with his Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman. This brief administrative interaction served as a logistical step to initiate a direct line of contact between the President and his top aide. No substantive policy discussions occurred during this operator-assisted connection.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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How many, buddy?

NARA Description

On January 31, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:06 pm and 7:26 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 020-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 20-10

Date: January 31, 1972
Time: Unknown between 6:06 pm and 7:26 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator

     Request for a call to H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

Also recorded on January 31, 1972

  • 020-009 4:04 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stewart B. McKinney talked on the telephone from 4:04 pm to 4:06 pm.
  • 661-009 4:04 PM · 1 hr 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stewart B. McKinney, John D. Ehrlichman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:04 pm to 5:05 pm.
  • 661-010 5:05 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 5:13 pm.
  • 661-011 5:05 PM · 41 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 5:49 pm.
  • 661-012 5:49 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:49 pm to 6:00 pm.
  • 661-013 6:00 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:06 pm.
  • 661-014 6:00 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:06 pm.
  • 661-015 6:00 PM · 1 min — Alexander P. Butterfield and United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 11:59 pm.

All 32 conversations from January 31, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 020-010, January 31, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/020-010 (accessed October 12, 2026).