Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 35 › Conversation 035-016

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

Wednesday, December 27, 1972 · 7:53 PM–8:14 PM ET · White House Telephone · 12 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation035-016 on Tape 35StartWednesday, December 27, 1972 at 7:53 PMEndWednesday, December 27, 1972 at 8:14 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 035-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to initiate a telephone call to his special counsel, Charles W. Colson. The brief exchange served solely as a logistical request to establish a line of communication with Colson. No further policy discussions or substantive developments occurred during this interaction.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.3 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Yes, please.
You try Mr. Coulson, please?
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On December 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:53 pm and 8:14 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 035-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 35-16

Date: December 27, 1972
Time: Unknown between 7:53 pm and 8:14 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

       Request for call to Charles W. Colson
                                               -18-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Also recorded on December 28, 1972

  • 035-012 7:15 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and 7:41 pm.
  • 035-013 7:41 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 7:41 pm to 7:43 pm.
  • 035-014 7:43 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:43 pm and 7:52 pm.
  • 035-015 7:52 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 7:52 pm to 7:53 pm.
  • 035-017 8:14 PM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:14 pm to 8:33 pm.
  • 035-018 8:33 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:33 pm and 8:39 pm.
  • 035-019 8:39 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:39 pm to 8:45 pm.
  • 035-020 8:45 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:45 pm and 8:49 pm.

All 76 conversations from December 28, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 035-016, December 28, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/035-016 (accessed October 11, 2026).