Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 161 › Conversation 161-001

Camp David Operator phone call on Camp David and Audio recording equipment

Friday, February 2, 1973 · 12:01 AM–3:30 PM ET · Camp David Study Table · 2 min

Participants[Unknown person(s)]; Camp David OperatorConversation161-001 on Tape 161StartFriday, February 2, 1973 at 12:01 AMEndSaturday, March 3, 1973 at 3:30 PMRecording deviceCamp David Study TableSourceNixon Library record for 161-001 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417175821 ↗

AI Summary

An unidentified individual contacts an associate named Douglas to report that a cassette tape, ostensibly brand new and sourced from the official supply, contained pre-recorded music. The two discuss the failure in quality control regarding equipment provided by Sgt. Farrell D. Moreland. Consequently, they agree on the immediate necessity of testing every tape in their inventory to ensure future recordings are clean.

Audio

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NARA Description

Unknown person(s) and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 12:01 am on February 2, 1973 and 3:30 pm on March 3, 1973. The Camp David Study Table taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 161-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 161-1

Date: February 2 or 3, 1973
Time: Unknown between 3:43 pm, February 2, and 3:30 pm, February 3, 1973
Location: Camp David Study Table

Unknown man talked with the Camp David operator.

[See Conversation No. 241-4D]

       Call to Hagerstown

Unknown man talked with [first name unknown] Douglas.

[See Conversation No. 241-4E]

       Tape
              -Type
              -Delivery
              -Sony
              -Content
              -Source
              -Sgt. Farrell D. Moreland
              -Procedures for checking

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello?
Douglas?
Yeah.
You know that tape you gave me to go in that Sony yesterday?
The tape I gave you?
Yeah, you know the cassette?
Yeah.
Okay, let me ask you something.
Did you check that tape before you put it in the machine?
Before I put it in the machine?
I mean before I did, before you give it to me.
No.
That tape shouldn't have anything on it.
Yeah, got news for you.
It did.
Yes.
What was on it?
Music.
Music?
Yeah.
Damn.
That's it.
Now those tapes were sent to us.
I know that.
We got him on the phone now.
Got who on the phone?
Moreland.
So you didn't check it on him?
Yeah.
Pumpkin, okay.
No.
Okay, okay.
That was supposed to be a clean tape, but it was brand new.
I know it, but they ain't brand new.
Okay.
I'll hang on here.
That's all right.
Forget it.
Okay?
Well, what can I say?
That's it.
That's it.
Okay.
They're supposed to be new tapes.
Right.
Right.
I'll let you go.
They come out of that bag with them new tapes.
Yeah.
They weren't new tapes, though.
Well, I guess we have to run through and check all them out.
We've got to check every one of them.
Yeah.
So I'll let you go, okay?
I'll call you a little later tonight.
All righty.
Okay, we'll see you.
Bye-bye.

Also recorded on February 2, 1973

  • 161-002 12:01 AM · 2 min — Frank A. Sisco and Ruth L. Krell talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 12:01 am on February 2, 1973 and 3:30 pm on March 3, 1973.
  • 847-001 8:59 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:59 am and 9:39 am.
  • 847-002 8:59 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:59 am and 9:39 am.
  • 847-003 8:59 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:59 am and 9:39 am.
  • 847-004 8:59 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:59 am and 9:39 am.
  • 847-005 9:39 AM · 54 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:39 am to 10:33 am.
  • 847-006 10:33 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, White House photographer, Edwin L. Harper, and Elizabeth Harper met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:33 am to 10:36 am.
  • 847-007 10:36 AM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:36 am and 10:38 am.

All 33 conversations from February 2, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 161-001, February 2, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417175821). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/161-001 (accessed November 2, 2026).