Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 6 › Conversation 006-196

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Charles W. Colson

Friday, July 23, 1971 · 9:51 AM–1:55 PM ET · White House Telephone ·7 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  White House operatorConversation006-196 onTape 6 (tape position 04:59:36–04:59:43)StartFriday, July 23, 1971 at 9:51 AMEndFriday, July 23, 1971 at 1:55 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 006-196 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a request to the White House operator to be connected with Charles W. Colson. The brief exchange serves as a logistical step to facilitate direct communication between the President and his special counsel. No substantive policy matters are discussed as the conversation is limited to the procedural task of establishing the phone connection.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.2 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Ted, please.
Coulson, please.
Yes, that's right.

NARA Description

On July 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:51 am and 1:55 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-196 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 6-196

Date: July 23, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:51 am and 1:55 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Call to Charles W. Colson

Also recorded on July 23, 1971

  • 544-001 9:38 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:38 am to 9:40 am.
  • 006-194 9:40 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:40 am and 9:48 am.
  • 544-002 9:40 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:40 am.
  • 544-003 9:40 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:40 am.
  • 544-004 9:40 AM · 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stewart J. O. Alsop, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:40 am to 10:21 am.
  • 006-195 9:48 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stewart J. O. Alsop talked on the telephone from 9:48 am to 9:51 am.
  • 544-005 10:21 AM · 8 sec — Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:21 am and 10:25 am.
  • 544-006 10:21 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:21 am and 10:25 am.

All 20 conversations from July 23, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 006-196, July 23, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-196 (accessed September 18, 2026).