Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 658 › Conversation 658-016

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Diplomacy

Thursday, January 27, 1972 · 2:17 PM–2:20 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation658-016 on Tape 658 (tape position 04:14:59–04:16:39)StartThursday, January 27, 1972 at 2:17 PMEndThursday, January 27, 1972 at 2:20 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 658-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon discusses the risks of releasing records of secret negotiations, emphasizing the need to protect sensitive diplomatic communications to maintain the possibility of future private talks. He explains his strategic decision to disclose only the facts of the discussions rather than full transcripts to safeguard national security interests. Additionally, Nixon touches upon the administration's delicate efforts to manage relationships with China and the Soviet Union regarding ongoing international issues.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 131.3 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 04:14:59 into the tape and ends around 04:16:39.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
4:15:03No, sir.
4:15:04Well, they need, uh, it seems he got the, I don't know if they were going in there, he said, sir, this was the only risk of letting this out.
4:15:11As I saw it, I had a long soul-searching talk with both the Rockies and Henry Corbin on this plan.
4:15:18I said, well, now if we put this out, it just means they will not talk secretly again.
4:15:23We do not actually believe it.
4:15:26That's one of the reasons that I have not left.
4:15:29I've said, I do not put out a whole record of conversations.
4:15:35All you need to do is to put out the fact.
4:15:38The fact of what we are and what they can tell.
4:15:42Because both sides said things in those conversations that went further than that you might well get to see.
4:15:50And so we're protecting that top of the shelf, because in the final analysis, these types of things are usually, are usually, you know, well, they are centralized here, as well as other things, but there's definitely, you remember World War I, World War II, everything, there's always, so we've got it open.
4:16:08I want a couple other things for your own information, you should know them.
4:16:13We're in a very close touch, and we would deny it if we set the Chinese on the situation.
4:16:20We are in a very close touch with the Russians on it.
4:16:23Now, I am of course praying that it will not be an issue with the time we get to toward Russia.
4:16:32I am convinced that it is.
4:16:35They have not been helpful at this point.
4:16:38But my mind is, that's awful late, but I must say that on this proposal, we informed the district, but it also informed, we informed both the Russians.

NARA Description

On January 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:17 pm and 2:20 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 658-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 658-16

Date: January 27, 1972
Time: Unknown between 2:17 pm and 2:20 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 19-135]

Also recorded on January 27, 1972

  • 019-135 2:17 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:17 pm and 2:20 pm.
  • 019-136 2:20 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:20 pm.
  • 019-137 2:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:20 pm and 2:23 pm.
  • 658-017 2:20 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 2:20 pm.
  • 658-018 2:20 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:20 pm and 2:23 pm.
  • 658-019 2:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:20 pm and 2:23 pm.
  • 019-138 2:23 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Jerry V. Wilson talked on the telephone from 2:23 pm to 2:24 pm.
  • 658-020 2:23 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Jerry V. Wilson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:23 pm to 2:24 pm.

All 57 conversations from January 27, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 658-016, January 27, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/658-016 (accessed October 12, 2026).