Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 26 › Conversation 026-043

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Richard M. Helms

Saturday, July 1, 1972 · 1:00 PM–1:02 PM ET · White House Telephone · 18 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation026-043 on Tape 26 (tape position 03:18:10–03:18:26)StartSaturday, July 1, 1972 at 1:00 PMEndSaturday, July 1, 1972 at 1:02 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 026-043 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to facilitate communication with high-level intelligence officials during a brief telephone exchange. After failing to reach CIA Director Richard M. Helms, the President directed the operator to place a call to Lieutenant General Vernon A. Walters instead. This interaction reflects the President's urgent effort to establish contact with intelligence leadership to address ongoing administrative or security matters.

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 03:18:10 – 03:18:26

026a.mp3
026b.mp3

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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. Helms is out of the country until the 13th of July.
Okay, thank you.
You're welcome.
Oh, hello.
Yes, sir.
Get me General Walters, then, the Deputy Director of FBI.
General Walters.
The CIA.
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On July 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 1:00 pm to 1:02 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 026-043 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 26-43

Date: July 1, 1972
Time: 1:00-1:02 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 746-17D]

     Unable to reach Richard M. Helms

     Request for a call to Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters

Also recorded on July 1, 1972

  • 026-040 12:16 PM · 12 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:16 pm and 1:02 pm.
  • 026-041 12:16 PM · 57 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:16 pm and 1:02 pm.
  • 026-042 12:16 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:16 pm and 1:02 pm.
  • 026-044 1:02 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Vernon A. Walters talked on the telephone from 1:02 pm to 1:05 pm.
  • 746-018 1:02 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Vernon A. Walters met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:02 pm to 1:05 pm.
  • 026-058 1:05 PM · 41 min — the recording device engaged at an unknown time between 1:05 pm and 11:59 pm, but the conversation appears to be blank.
  • 746-019 1:05 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Bruce A. Kehrli met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:05 pm and 1:08 pm.
  • 746-020 1:08 PM · 12 sec — Unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 1:08 pm on July 1, 1972 and 9:06 am on July 19, 1972.

All 43 conversations from July 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 026-043, July 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/026-043 (accessed October 2, 2026).