Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 21 › Conversation 021-132

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

Wednesday, March 22, 1972 · 1:30 PM–3:24 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  White House operatorConversation021-132 onTape 21 (tape position 05:12:39–05:12:47)StartWednesday, March 22, 1972 at 1:30 PMEndWednesday, March 22, 1972 at 3:24 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 021-132 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to initiate a telephone call to his special counsel, Charles W. Colson. The interaction served as a routine administrative request to facilitate direct communication between the President and a key advisor. The call was successfully placed, connecting Nixon with Colson for a private consultation.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 71.1 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 05:12:39 into the tape and ends around 05:12:47.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

3:16:06Hello, Mr. Coulson, please.
3:16:07Yes, Mr. President.
3:16:12Hello.
3:16:13Mr. Coulson, sir.

NARA Description

On March 22, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:30 pm and 3:24 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-132 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 21-132

Date: March 22, 1972
Time: Unknown between 1:30 pm and 3:24 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 324-32]

     Request for a call to Charles W. Colson

Also recorded on March 22, 1972

  • 324-023 12:47 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:47 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 324-024 12:47 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:47 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 021-131 1:12 PM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 1:12 pm to 1:30 pm.
  • 324-025 1:12 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:12 pm to 1:30 pm.
  • 324-026 1:30 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:30 pm and 2:55 pm.
  • 324-027 1:30 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:30 pm and 2:55 pm.
  • 324-028 1:30 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:30 pm and 2:55 pm.
  • 324-029 1:30 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:30 pm and 2:55 pm.

All 41 conversations from March 22, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 021-132, March 22, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/021-132 (accessed September 18, 2026).