Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 24 › Conversation 024-012

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Henry Kissinger

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 4:36 PM–4:55 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation024-012 on Tape 24 (tape position 00:10:20–00:10:24)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 4:36 PMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 4:55 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 024-012 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to facilitate an urgent communication with his National Security Advisor, Henry A. Kissinger. This brief administrative interaction served as the necessary logistical step to establish a direct line between the President and Kissinger. No further policy discussions or substantive deliberations were recorded during this brief bridge of the telephone connection.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On May 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:36 pm and 4:55 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 024-012 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 24-12

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 4:36 pm and 4:55 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for a call to Henry A. Kissinger

Also recorded on May 8, 1972

  • 024-010 4:25 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:25 pm.
  • 336-024 4:25 PM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 4:25 pm.
  • 336-025 4:25 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:25 pm and 4:35 pm.
  • 336-026 4:25 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:25 pm and 4:35 pm.
  • 024-011 4:35 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 4:35 pm to 4:36 pm.
  • 336-028 4:35 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 4:36 pm.
  • 336-029 4:36 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:36 pm and 4:50 pm.
  • 336-030 4:36 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:36 pm and 4:50 pm.

All 94 conversations from May 8, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 024-012, May 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/024-012 (accessed October 9, 2026).