Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-080

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Spiro T. Agnew

Monday, October 16, 1972 · 5:44 PM–5:59 PM ET · White House Telephone · 9 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation031-080 on Tape 31StartMonday, October 16, 1972 at 5:44 PMEndMonday, October 16, 1972 at 5:59 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-080 ↗

President Nixon initiates a brief telephone call to Vice President Spiro T. Agnew through the White House operator. The primary objective of the communication is to establish a direct line of contact with the Vice President. No substantive policy matters or further developments were recorded in this short exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Please.
The Vice President, please.
Thank you.

On October 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:44 pm and 5:59 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-080 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 31-80

Date: October 16, 1972
Time: Unknown between 5:44 pm and 5:59 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 800-5B]

        Request for a call to Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
  • 031-077 5:14 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Robert W. Galvin talked on the telephone from 5:14 pm to 5:16 pm.
  • 031-078 5:16 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Martin S. Hayden talked on the telephone from 5:16 pm to 5:21 pm.
  • 800-003 5:26 PM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:26 pm and 5:34 pm.
  • 800-004 5:26 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:26 pm and 5:34 pm.
  • 800-005 5:34 PM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Joseph J. Staszak, White House operator, and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:34 pm to 6:16 pm.
  • 031-079 5:42 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Joseph J. Staszak talked on the telephone from 5:42 pm to 5:44 pm.
  • 031-081 5:59 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew talked on the telephone from 5:59 pm to 6:08 pm.
  • 800-006 6:16 PM · 19 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 6:16 pm on October 16, 1972 and 7:54 am on October 17, 1972.

Conversation 031-080, October 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/031-080 (accessed September 25, 2026).