Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 407 › Conversation 407-004
Nixon & Ziegler on Public Relations and Confidentiality
Tuesday, January 23, 1973 · 4:09 PM–4:10 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 42 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler held a brief meeting to coordinate messaging and ensure mutual understanding regarding sensitive information. The conversation centered on the management of specific inquiries and the necessity of keeping communications restricted to a limited circle of individuals. Nixon emphasized the importance of total discretion as they aligned their strategy for handling forthcoming public or internal inquiries.
Audio
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
Each line starts with a timestamp button; press it to play the audio from that point.
NARA Description
On January 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:09 pm to 4:10 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 407-004 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 407-4 Date: January 23, 1973 Time: 4:09 pm and 4:10 pm Location: Executive Office Building The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler. [See Conversation No. 36-86]
Also recorded on January 23, 1973
- 036-086 4:09 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:09 pm and 4:10 pm.
- 407-003 4:09 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 4:09 pm.
- 407-005 4:10 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:14 pm.
- 407-006 4:10 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:14 pm.
- 407-007 4:14 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:14 pm to 4:34 pm.
- 407-008 4:55 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:55 pm and 5:24 pm.
- 407-009 5:24 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:24 pm to 5:29 pm.
- 407-010 5:29 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:29 pm and 6:19 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 407-004, January 23, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/407-004 (accessed October 8, 2026).