Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 725 › Conversation 725-005

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on George Wallace

Tuesday, May 16, 1972 · 8:03 AM–8:11 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation725-005 on Tape 725 (tape position 00:15:18–00:16:07)StartTuesday, May 16, 1972 at 8:03 AMEndTuesday, May 16, 1972 at 8:11 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 725-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to contact Dr. Lukacs regarding the medical status of George Wallace, who was recently hospitalized following an assassination attempt. During the call, Nixon also inquired about the whereabouts of Henry Kissinger to determine if he was available or currently occupied in a staff meeting. The exchange served primarily to facilitate urgent communication regarding the aftermath of the Wallace shooting and to coordinate the President's internal schedule.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 100.2 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 00:15:18 into the tape and ends around 00:16:07.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

14:56Okay.
15:44We do have Dr. Lukacs come over, but if he's out of the hospital with Wallace, get him on the phone for me.
15:52You know who he is?
15:54Lukacs is one of our doctors.
16:02Yeah.
16:02Yeah.
16:03Al, is Henry in a staff meeting here?
16:04Is he not here yet?

NARA Description

On May 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:03 am and 8:11 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 725-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 725-5

Date: May 16, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:03 am and 8:11 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with the White House operator.

       [See Conversation No. 24-137]

Also recorded on May 16, 1972

  • 725-002 7:57 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:57 am to 8:03 am.
  • 024-137 8:03 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:03 am and 8:11 am.
  • 024-138 8:03 AM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:03 am and 8:11 am.
  • 725-003 8:03 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:03 am and 8:11 am.
  • 725-004 8:03 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:03 am and 8:11 am.
  • 725-006 8:03 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:03 am and 8:11 am.
  • 725-007 8:03 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:03 am and 8:12 am.
  • 024-140 8:10 AM · 6 min — William M. Lukash, President Richard M. Nixon, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 8:10 am to 8:25 am.

All 113 conversations from May 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 725-005, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/725-005 (accessed October 9, 2026).