Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-042

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Charles W. Colson

Friday, October 13, 1972 · 7:17 PM–7:24 PM ET · White House Telephone · 11 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation031-042 on Tape 31StartFriday, October 13, 1972 at 7:17 PMEndFriday, October 13, 1972 at 7:24 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-042 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to place an urgent call to his Special Counsel, Charles W. Colson. The brief exchange served solely as a functional request to initiate this communication channel. No substantive policy matters or tactical discussions occurred during this short interaction.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Mr. Coulson, please.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On October 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:17 pm and 7:24 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-042 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-42

Date: October 13, 1972
Time: Unknown between 7:17 pm and 7:24 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

        Request for a call to Charles W. Colson

Also recorded on October 13, 1972

  • 797-032 6:11 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:11 pm to 6:15 pm.
  • 797-033 6:15 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:15 pm to 6:22 pm.
  • 797-035 6:22 PM · 12 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:22 pm to 6:25 pm.
  • 031-038 6:45 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 7:07 pm.
  • 031-039 7:07 PM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 7:07 pm to 7:08 pm.
  • 031-040 7:08 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 7:08 pm to 7:14 pm.
  • 031-041 7:14 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:14 pm to 7:17 pm.
  • 031-043 7:24 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 7:24 pm to 7:28 pm.

All 50 conversations from October 13, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-042, October 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-042 (accessed October 10, 2026).