Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 292 › Conversation 292-017

Nixon with unidentified visitors in his EOB office on John N. Mitchell

Tuesday, October 19, 1971 · 5:27 PM–5:38 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation292-017 on Tape 292 (tape position 02:27:19–02:27:50)StartTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 5:27 PMEndTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 5:38 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 292-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place a phone call to Attorney General John N. Mitchell. The recording consists primarily of fragmented, indistinct remarks that reflect the President's frustration regarding political opposition or hostile rhetoric. No significant policy decisions were finalized during this brief exchange beyond the logistical request for the connection.

Audio

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 02:27:19 into the tape and ends around 02:27:50.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:27:19I mean, you can talk about philosophy and field groups and the rest of it, and they're well-intentioned.
2:27:27They, you know, they're there to do a hell of a lot of harm.
2:27:31Jesus Christ, that kind of a talk in the heart.
2:27:33It sounds just like it, though.
2:27:45I'm bothered by that.
2:27:46It's not...
2:27:54Come back now.
2:28:08Part of the day, okay, part of the year.
2:28:12Well, okay, we'll see what happens.
2:28:17Bye.
2:28:23What is his name?
2:28:24But that's actually.

NARA Description

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 an unknown time between 5:27 pm and 5:38 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 292-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 292-17

Date: October 19, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:27 pm and 5:38 pm

Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 11-142]

     Request for a call to John N. Mitchell

Also recorded on October 19, 1971

  • 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.
  • 011-143 5:38 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 5:38 pm to 5:43 pm.
  • 292-018 5:38 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:38 pm to 5:43 pm.
  • 011-144 5:43 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 5:43 pm to 5:48 pm.
  • 011-145 5:43 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:48 pm.
  • 292-019 5:43 PM · 20 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 5:43 pm and 5:49 pm.
  • 292-020 5:43 PM · 42 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 5:43 pm and 5:49 pm.

All 93 conversations from October 19, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 292-017, 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/292-017 (accessed September 28, 2026).