President Nixon consulted with the White House operator to facilitate an outgoing connection. The interaction was purely administrative, serving as the necessary logistical step to place a telephone call to an external party. No substantive policy discussions or executive decisions occurred during this brief exchange.
On May 5, 1971, 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 1:16 pm and 3:00 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 252-031 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 252-31 Date: May 5, 1971 Time: Unknown between 1:16 pm and 3:00 pm Location: Executive Office Building The President talked with the White House operator [See Conversation No. 42-87]
No transcript is available for this conversation. The audio may not contain audible speech, or the recording may not yet have been processed.