Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 5 › Conversation 005-163

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Oval Office and Billy Graham

Sunday, June 27, 1971 · 7:44 PM–8:13 PM ET · White House Telephone ·30 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation005-163 onTape 5 (tape position 04:52:26–04:52:57)StartSunday, June 27, 1971 at 7:44 PMEndSunday, June 27, 1971 at 8:13 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 005-163 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger coordinate a brief, in-person meeting at the Oval Office. During this exchange, the President instructs the White House operator to delay a pending call to Billy Graham in favor of speaking with Kissinger. The discussion concludes with an agreement for Kissinger to arrive at the office shortly.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Mr. Kissinger calling you, Mr. President.

Hello.

Mr. Kissinger calling you, sir.

Yeah.

Would you, hello, operator, would you hold that call to Graham?

I just placed one to Graham.

Would you hold that?

Sure.

Yes, sir.

Fine.

Okay, fine.

And you'll speak with Mr. Kissinger?

Yes.

Yeah.

Operator, what's going on?

Mr. President?

Yeah, hello, Henry.

You in your office?

Yeah, I just got back.

I'm over at the Oval Office.

All right.

Do you want me to come by?

Sure.

Yeah.

NARA Description

On June 27, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:44 pm and 8:13 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 005-163 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 5-163

Date: June 27, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:44 pm and 8:13 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     Call from Henry A. Kissinger

     Call to William F. (“Billy”) Graham

Kissinger talked with the President between 8:13 and 8:14 pm.

     Kissinger's schedule
          -President

Also recorded on June 27, 1971

005-159 7:09 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:09 pm and 7:11 pm.
005-160 7:11 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:11 pm.
005-161 7:11 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:11 pm and 7:44 pm.
005-162 7:44 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:44 pm and 8:13 pm.
529-005 7:44 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:44 pm and 7:52 pm.
529-006 7:44 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:44 pm and 7:52 pm.
529-007 7:53 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:53 pm and 8:02 pm.
529-008 7:53 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:53 pm and 8:02 pm.

Cite this conversation

Conversation 005-163, June 27, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/005-163 (accessed September 18, 2026).