Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 24 › Conversation 024-129

Nixon phone call with Lukash on George Wallace and Assassination attempt

Monday, May 15, 1972 · 9:40 PM–9:43 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Lukash, William M.Conversation024-129 on Tape 24 (tape position 02:39:48–02:42:21)StartMonday, May 15, 1972 at 9:40 PMEndMonday, May 15, 1972 at 9:43 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 024-129 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with his physician, Dr. William M. Lukash, to receive a medical briefing regarding the condition of Governor George Wallace following an assassination attempt. Lukash provided details on the bullet locations, the status of the governor’s surgery, and the potential risk of paralysis. This exchange served as a crucial intelligence update for the President on the health and prognosis of the wounded presidential candidate.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 28.2 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:39:48 into the tape and ends around 02:42:21.

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 15, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and William M. Lukash talked on the telephone from 9:40 pm to 9:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 024-129 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 24-129

Date: May 15, 1972
Time: 9:40 pm - 9:43 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Dr. William M. Lukash.

[See also Conversation No. 339-18]

     Attack on George C. Wallace
          -Condition
               -Lukash's report
                     -Location of bullets
                     -Surgery
                     -Possibility of paralysis
               -Forthcoming reports

Also recorded on May 16, 1972

  • 024-127 9:35 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:35 pm and 9:36 pm.
  • 339-016 9:35 PM · 10 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 9:35 pm and 9:36 pm.
  • 024-128 9:36 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 9:36 pm to 9:39 pm.
  • 339-017 9:36 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:36 pm to 9:39 pm.
  • 339-018 9:40 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William M. Lukash met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:40 pm to 9:43 pm.
  • 024-130 9:44 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ann Duggan talked on the telephone from 9:44 pm to 9:45 pm.
  • 339-019 9:44 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ann Duggan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:44 pm to 9:45 pm.
  • 339-020 9:45 PM · 5 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 9:45 pm and 9:48 pm.

All 113 conversations from May 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 024-129, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/024-129 (accessed October 9, 2026).