Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 250 › Conversation 250-007

Nixon & Colson on Congressional relations and Political strategy

Friday, April 16, 1971 · 11:06 AM–11:12 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation250-007 on Tape 250 (tape position 01:41:38–01:48:03)StartFriday, April 16, 1971 at 11:06 AMEndFriday, April 16, 1971 at 11:12 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 250-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss strategies for managing legislative relationships within the House and Senate. The conversation touches on the necessity of maintaining firm positions with lawmakers and addresses concerns regarding public or political sentiment. Colson notes his intention to handle specific tasks, including a planned trip to Seattle, as part of the administration's broader outreach and political strategy.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Hello.
How's the battle going on with your senators and congressmen?
No, I haven't done anything.
I haven't done anything at all.
The other way, there's a section you wanted to stay to, I understand.
Yeah.
I think the, go ahead.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I think that the thing right now is the House gets back into the Senate.
I think, too, that I've got to go back to the Senate.
I've got to go back to the Senate.
I've got to go back to the Senate.
I've got to go back to the Senate.
I've got to go back to the Senate.
I've got to go back to the Senate.
I've got to go back to the Senate.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, you've got to get your little heart for the fact that there's a lot of people who want to join from time to time.
But there's a lot of stuff that they're worried about.
You see the March 7th, April 7th, they held the line so firmly.
We can touch those bones even more than the heart.
The heart seems to calm down now.
I haven't been able to tell it.
But technically, I'm going to say, technically, I'm going to do it up in Seattle, and I'm going to do it as quickly as I can.
What about your friend, Harris?
Yeah, I don't know.
And you gave him our results.
That's all right.
That's all right.
Okay, bye.

NARA Description

On April 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:06 am to 11:12 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 250-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 250-7

Date: April 16, 1971
Time: 11:06 am - 11:12 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Charles W. Colson

[See Conversation No. 42-54]

Also recorded on April 16, 1971

  • 042-053 10:30 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:30 am and 11:06 am.
  • 250-006 10:30 AM · 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 10:30 am and 11:06 am.
  • 042-054 11:06 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 11:06 am to 11:12 am.
  • 250-008 11:12 AM · 10 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 11:12 am and 11:20 am.
  • 250-009 11:20 AM · 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:20 am to 11:58 am.
  • 482-001 11:58 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:58 am and 12:07 pm.
  • 482-002 11:58 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Mark I. Goode met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:58 am and 12:07 pm.
  • 482-003 12:07 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Mark I. Goode met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:07 pm to 12:09 pm.

All 51 conversations from April 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 250-007, April 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/250-007 (accessed October 3, 2026).