Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 339 › Conversation 339-013

Nixon & Colson on George Wallace and Assassination attempt

Monday, May 15, 1972 · 9:23 PM–9:24 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation339-013 on Tape 339 (tape position 02:40:51–02:42:44)StartMonday, May 15, 1972 at 9:23 PMEndMonday, May 15, 1972 at 9:24 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 339-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson briefly discussed the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Governor George Wallace, which had occurred earlier that same day. They exchanged remarks regarding the governor's medical condition and physical injuries, as well as the initial response to the incident. No major policy decisions were made during this short, informal check-in regarding the shooting.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 108.1 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 02:40:51 into the tape and ends around 02:42:44.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
2:40:49But I'm glad we came.
2:40:49I'm glad I came over and did that.
2:40:50Because, you know, I had to get back here to see him first.
2:40:52And I think Kevin, putting on the first lady, I think he's got a good deal.
2:40:55Yeah, so far, yeah.
2:40:56I can't even tell you.
2:41:17Oh, his arm, his upper chest and lower chest.
2:41:19Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
2:41:20Chest and lower chest.
2:41:20There people did it.
2:41:53So we'll know, we'll know.
2:41:54I didn't check the date.
2:41:55You were right.
2:41:55You were right, but I didn't come over.
2:41:56Because the other one looked at me and thought the man was dead, but he wasn't dead.
2:41:58I talked to her, which was good, and I'm home.

NARA Description

On May 15, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:23 pm to 9:24 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 339-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 339-13

Date: May 15, 1972
Time: 9:23-9:24 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 24-124]

Also recorded on May 16, 1972

  • 024-122 9:19 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:19 pm and 9:23 pm.
  • 024-123 9:19 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:19 pm and 9:23 pm.
  • 339-011 9:19 PM · 35 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 9:19 pm and 9:23 pm.
  • 339-012 9:19 PM · 13 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 9:19 pm and 9:23 pm.
  • 024-124 9:23 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 9:23 pm to 9:24 pm.
  • 024-125 9:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 9:25 pm to 9:27 pm.
  • 339-014 9:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:25 pm to 9:27 pm.
  • 024-126 9:29 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 9:29 pm to 9:35 pm.

All 113 conversations from May 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 339-013, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/339-013 (accessed October 9, 2026).