Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-174

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Elliot L. Richardson

Wednesday, May 23, 1973 · 4:01 PM–4:05 PM ET · White House Telephone · 12 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation046-174 on Tape 46StartWednesday, May 23, 1973 at 4:01 PMEndWednesday, May 23, 1973 at 4:05 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 046-174 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a brief telephone call to the White House operator to be connected with Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson. The primary purpose of this contact is to facilitate direct communication with the recently confirmed head of the Department of Justice. No further substantive policy matters or specific instructions are captured in this brief exchange.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.4 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Attorney General Richardson, please.
Yes, thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On May 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:01 pm and 4:05 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-174 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 46-174

Date: May 23, 1973
Time: Unknown between 4:01 pm and 4:05 pm
Location: White House Telephone
                                              -103-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See also Conversation No. 439-47A]

     Telephone call to Elliot L. Richardson

Also recorded on May 23, 1973

  • 046-172 3:39 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:39 pm and 3:58 pm.
  • 439-045 3:39 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:39 pm and 3:58 pm.
  • 046-173 3:58 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 3:58 pm to 4:01 pm.
  • 439-046 3:58 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:58 pm to 4:01 pm.
  • 046-175 4:04 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone from 4:04 pm to 4:08 pm.
  • 439-047 4:05 PM · 47 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., White House operator, Elliot L. Richardson, and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:05 pm to 4:58 pm.
  • 046-176 4:08 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 4:24 pm.
  • 046-177 4:24 PM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 4:24 pm to 4:26 pm.

All 56 conversations from May 23, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 046-174, May 23, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-174 (accessed October 12, 2026).