Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 21 › Conversation 021-060
Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Busing and ITT scandal
Monday, March 13, 1972 · 6:22 PM–6:28 PM ET · White House Telephone
AI Summary
President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler coordinated messaging strategies for upcoming press briefings, specifically regarding contentious political issues like school busing and the ongoing ITT controversy. They analyzed the political implications of the ITT scandal, including potential connections to Peter M. Flanigan and the role of campaign contributions in the broader debate. Additionally, they touched upon the public reception of a book by James Keogh and addressed logistical details concerning the arrival of pandas at the National Zoo.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 71.1 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 02:13:36 into the tape and ends around 02:20:12.
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 March 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 6:22 pm to 6:28 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-060 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 21-60
Date: March 13, 1972
Time: 6:22 pm - 6:28 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.
[See Conversation No. 323-12]
Press briefing
-Busing
-Ziegler’s responses
-Florida primary
-National problem
-Message to Congress
-Associated Press [AP]
-White House staff
-William P. Rogers question
-Pandas
-Crosby S. Noyes
-The President’s view
-The National Zoo
-International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT]
-Washington Star article
-Robert Walters
-Peter M. Flanigan
-Dillon Reed
-Circumstances
-Discussion of settlement
-Divestiture
-Grinnel Corporation
-Charles W. Colson
-Walters
-Washington Star
-Colson
-Democrats
-Political issue
-Marlow W. Cook’s statement
-Gerald R. Ford’s statement
-Citizens committee
-Campaign contributions
-Press conference
-Pandas
-Busing
-Timing
-The press
-James Keogh’s book [President Nixon and the Press]
-Reporters questions
-Busing
-Campaign
-White House and Administration
-Reviews of book
-The President’s viewAlso recorded on March 13, 1972
- 021-058 6:12 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 6:12 pm to 6:17 pm.
- 021-059 6:17 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:17 pm and 6:22 pm.
- 323-011 6:17 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:17 pm and 6:22 pm.
- 323-012 6:22 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:22 pm to 6:28 pm.
- 021-061 6:28 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 6:28 pm.
- 323-013 6:28 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 6:28 pm.
- 021-062 6:29 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 6:29 pm to 6:34 pm.
- 323-014 6:29 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:29 pm to 6:34 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 021-060, March 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/021-060 (accessed October 3, 2026).