President Nixon and his secretary, Rose Mary Woods, reviewed correspondence and reports concerning the public and political reaction to the President's April 30, 1973, televised address regarding the Watergate scandal. They discussed various supporters and critics, specifically noting concerns about Senator Charles Percy’s advocacy for a special prosecutor and the supportive messages received from family and political allies. The discussion served as an informal status update on the administration's political standing and the incoming volume of communications during the crisis.
On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:40 pm to 12:49 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 908-016 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 908-16
Date: May 1, 1973
Time: 12:40 pm - 12:49 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Rose Mary Woods.
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[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]
Watergate
-Reaction to President’s previous speech, April 30
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Tricia Nixon Cox
-Note to President
-Telephone calls from supports
[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
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Watergate
-Reaction to President’s previous speech, April 30
-Ronald W. Reagan
-Nelson A. Rockefeller, Spiro T. Agnew
-David Rockefeller
-Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Previous note to President
-Agnew
-Charles H. Percy, Jr.
-Special Prosecutor
-Teapot Dome Scandal
-Preston Wolfe
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. October-2012)
Conversation No. 908-16 (cont’d)
-Percy
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Telephone calls
-Wolfe’s call [?]
-Public support
-Charles W. Colson
-John B. Connally, Elliot L. Richardson, William P. Rogers, Adm.
Thomas H. Moorer, Kissinger, Joe Lewis [?], Alexander M. Haig,
Jr., Leonard Garment, Anne L. Armstrong, Claude S. Brinegar,
Colson, and Don [Last name unknown]
-Robert H. Abplanalp, [Unintelligible name], and H. R. (“Bob”)
Haldeman
-Lawrene Nixon
-President’s family
-Backlog
-Adela Rogers S[ain]t Johns [?]
-Percy
-Special Prosecutor
-Hobart D. (“Hobe”) Lewis
-Meeting with Woods
-Gerald R. Ford
-Barry M. Goldwater, Sr.
-Telegram
-Telephone calls
-Friend of Henry J. Tasca, Tom Tasca [?]
-Delayed response
-Agnew [?]
-Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Burned telegrams
-Lucy Arnold [?]
The President and Woods left at 12:49 pm.
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. October-2012)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.