Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 20 › Conversation 020-065

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Earl B. Ruth and Congressman

Tuesday, February 8, 1972 · 2:51 PM–2:54 PM ET · White House Telephone · 18 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation020-065 on Tape 20 (tape position 02:11:36–02:11:54)StartTuesday, February 8, 1972 at 2:51 PMEndTuesday, February 8, 1972 at 2:54 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 020-065 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon attempted to place a telephone call to Congressman Earl B. Ruth through the White House operator. The connection failed, resulting in the accidental disconnection of the Congressman. The operator requested permission to reestablish the call, which the President authorized.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.4 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
I have Congressman Earl Ruth for you, Mr. President.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
I'm sorry, Mr. President.
You got him off, huh?
I did.
Off the hook.
That's all right.
May I call you back?
Sure.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On February 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:51 pm and 2:54 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 020-065 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 20-65

Date: February 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 2:51 pm and 2:54 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 320-23]

     Call to Earl B. Ruth
           -Disconnection

Also recorded on February 8, 1972

  • 020-063 2:49 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Hugh Scott talked on the telephone from 2:49 pm to 2:51 pm.
  • 320-019 2:49 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Hugh Scott met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:49 pm to 2:51 pm.
  • 020-064 2:51 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:51 pm and 2:54 pm.
  • 320-020 2:51 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:51 pm and 2:54 pm.
  • 320-021 2:51 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:51 pm and 2:54 pm.
  • 320-022 2:51 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:51 pm and 2:54 pm.
  • 320-023 2:51 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:51 pm and 2:54 pm.
  • 020-066 2:54 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Earl B. Ruth talked on the telephone from 2:54 pm to 2:56 pm.

All 48 conversations from February 8, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 020-065, February 8, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/020-065 (accessed October 2, 2026).