Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 639 › Conversation 639-002
Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on White House operator
Saturday, December 18, 1971 · 12:37 PM–12:42 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon initiates a brief communication with the White House operator to facilitate an outgoing call. The interaction serves as a routine administrative request to connect the President with an external party. No significant policy discussions or substantive decisions occur during this brief exchange.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.
NARA Description
On December 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 639-002 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 639-002
Date: December 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President talked with the White House operator.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
[See Conversation No. 16-106]Also recorded on December 18, 1971
- 016-106 12:37 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
- 639-001 12:37 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
- 639-003 12:37 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
- 016-107 12:42 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 12:42 pm to 12:43 pm.
- 639-004 12:42 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:42 pm to 12:43 pm.
- 016-108 12:43 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:43 pm.
- 639-005 12:43 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, White House operator, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:43 pm to 12:50 pm.
- 016-109 12:44 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 12:44 pm to 12:45 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 639-002, December 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/639-002 (accessed October 11, 2026).