Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 556 › Conversation 556-017

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on telecommunications

Friday, August 6, 1971 · 12:17 PM–12:20 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation556-017 on Tape 556 (tape position 02:05:24–02:05:51)StartFriday, August 6, 1971 at 12:17 PMEndFriday, August 6, 1971 at 12:20 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 556-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with the White House operator to facilitate an urgent communication. The brief exchange was initiated to connect the President to a specific party, indicating an immediate need for outreach. No further policy-related deliberations occurred during this brief logistical coordination.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 29.8 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 02:05:24 into the tape and ends around 02:05:51.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:05:36Mae'n bwysig.

NARA Description

On August 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 556-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 556-17

Date: August 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm
Location: Oval Office

The White House operator talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 7-69]

Also recorded on August 6, 1971

  • 007-066 12:16 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Wright Patman talked on the telephone from 12:16 pm to 12:17 pm.
  • 007-067 12:17 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 007-068 12:17 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 007-069 12:17 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 007-162 12:17 PM · 3 sec — the White House operator and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 556-014 12:17 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 556-015 12:17 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 556-016 12:17 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.

All 35 conversations from August 6, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 556-017, August 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/556-017 (accessed October 9, 2026).