{"conversationCode":"250-023","tapeNumber":250,"conversationNumber":23,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-250-023","startDateTime":"1971-04-16T22:30:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-04-16T22:32:00.000Z","startDate":"16-Apr-1971","startTime":"5:30 PM","endDate":"16-Apr-1971","endTime":"5:32 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.;","description":"On April 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:30 pm to 5:32 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 250-023 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":1,"chronRelease":"First Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"5-Oct-1999","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 250-23\n\nDate: April 16, 1971\nTime: 5:30 pm - 5:32 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nHenry A. Kissinger talked with the President\n\n[See Conversation No. 42-55]","filename":["250-023.mp3"],"tapeStart":"03:53:02","tapeEnd":"03:53:56","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Kissinger, Henry A."],"prevCode":"250-022","nextCode":"250-024","transcript":[{"start":0.35,"end":0.53,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":0.55,"end":6.15,"text":"I don't know if you're sure that you have checked that you've covered the skeleton."},{"start":6.23,"end":6.95,"text":"You've covered him?"},{"start":8.29,"end":8.39,"text":"Fine."},{"start":8.45,"end":11.52,"text":"Because when I met him, what was he resting about?"},{"start":11.55,"end":13.94,"text":"He wants to do more or say more or something to me."},{"start":14.52,"end":15.08,"text":"You can't push him."},{"start":15.1,"end":19.56,"text":"You don't want to push him unless you want to say anything about him."},{"start":19.7,"end":20.54,"text":"You know what I mean?"},{"start":20.56,"end":23.08,"text":"Let me get it to you."},{"start":23.16,"end":24.86,"text":"Maybe he doesn't know we're getting it out well enough."},{"start":25,"end":25.54,"text":"You know what I mean?"},{"start":26.69,"end":34.03,"text":"I don't want to say anything more about control at this point."},{"start":34.19,"end":43.58,"text":"As soon as we have your meeting in Paris, then we'll go on to the meeting with the queue."},{"start":43.6,"end":50.8,"text":"Go on with the meeting with the queue and so forth and so on."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss the tactical management of a sensitive diplomatic channel, specifically cautioning against pressuring an unnamed intermediary. The conversation centers on maintaining operational control while ensuring the intermediary is adequately informed of the administration's progress. They align their strategy to prioritize an upcoming meeting in Paris before advancing to subsequent phases of the diplomatic process.","topics":["Diplomacy","Paris Negotiations","Intermediaries","Foreign Policy Strategy","Operational Control"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T11:42:49.579Z"},"topicSlugs":["diplomacy","paris-negotiations","intermediaries","foreign-policy-strategy","operational-control"],"audioDurationSec":55,"audioFiles":[{"file":"250-023.mp3","bytes":2188724,"durationSec":54.57,"bitrate":320856,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:36.695Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/250-023.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/250-023","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/250/conversation-250-023","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}