Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 292 › Conversation 292-012

Nixon with unidentified visitors in his EOB office on Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Tuesday, October 19, 1971 · 5:08 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation292-012 on Tape 292 (tape position 02:15:02–02:15:55)StartTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 5:08 PMEndTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 5:08 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 292-012 ↗

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place a call to Lewis F. Powell, Jr. during a brief administrative interaction. Following the request, Nixon engaged in a spontaneous critique of political opposition, specifically disparaging the Kennedy family's influence on the Vietnam War and their perceived efforts to rehabilitate the legacy of John F. Kennedy in the media. No further official actions were taken during this exchange.

Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 67.0 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 02:15:02 into the tape and ends around 02:15:55.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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2:15:03It don't happen.
2:15:05But it's not easy to end.
2:15:08It's a great irony that the sons of bitches have got us in.
2:15:11Harrod and the rest have got us in.
2:15:14The Kennedy clan and tribes have sabotaged every hecker for us to get us out.
2:15:19Every goddamn hecker.
2:15:20There's an interesting effort in the New York Times this morning to rehabilitate J.F.
2:15:27Kennedy.
2:15:30There are all these Latter-day Carpers who are now running down, and he's really a far sighted man.
2:15:46He was going to get rid of Rusk.
2:15:48He was going to get rid of his advisers.
2:15:52He was going to lead us out of the war mess.
2:15:54He was going to have a Russian summit, and he was going to have a summit in Japan, and he was going to solve all problems in the Far East if he's going to live.

On October 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 5:08 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 292-012 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 292-12

Date: October 19, 1971
Time: 5:08 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 11-139]

     Request for a call to Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
  • 011-139 5:08 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:08 pm.
  • 011-140 5:08 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:08 pm and 5:09 pm.
  • 292-013 5:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:08 pm and 5:09 pm.
  • 292-014 5:08 PM · 14 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 5:08 pm and 5:09 pm.
  • 011-141 5:09 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 5:09 pm to 5:27 pm.
  • 292-015 5:09 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:09 pm to 5:27 pm.
  • 011-142 5:27 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:27 pm and 5:38 pm.
  • 292-016 5:27 PM · 59 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:27 pm to 5:38 pm.

Conversation 292-012, October 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/292-012 (accessed September 28, 2026).