Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 859 › Conversation 859-004

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on White House switchboard

Wednesday, February 21, 1973 · 9:23 AM–9:27 AM ET · Oval Office · 16 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation859-004 on Tape 859StartWednesday, February 21, 1973 at 9:23 AMEndWednesday, February 21, 1973 at 9:27 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 859-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon interacts with a White House operator to facilitate communication through the executive switchboard. This brief exchange serves a routine administrative purpose related to the President's immediate telephonic needs. No substantive policy matters or historical developments are recorded during this brief encounter.

Audio

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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 February 21, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:23 am and 9:27 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 859-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 859-4

Date: February 21, 1973
Time: Unknown between 9:23 am and 9:27 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 43-136]

Also recorded on February 21, 1973

  • 043-135 9:06 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 9:06 am to 9:23 am.
  • 859-003 9:06 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:06 am to 9:23 am.
  • 043-136 9:23 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:23 am and 9:27 am.
  • 859-005 9:23 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:23 am and 9:27 am.
  • 043-137 9:27 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Benjamin Freeman talked on the telephone from 9:27 am to 9:30 am.
  • 859-006 9:27 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Linda Freeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:27 am to 9:30 am.
  • 859-007 9:31 AM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:31 am to 9:43 am.
  • 859-008 9:43 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:43 am to 9:44 am.

All 88 conversations from February 21, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 859-004, February 21, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/859-004 (accessed October 11, 2026).