Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 22 › Conversation 022-026

Ziegler & Colson on ITT scandal and Dita Beard

Monday, March 27, 1972 · 11:11 AM–12:06 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsZiegler, Ronald L.; Colson, Charles W.Conversation022-026 on Tape 22 (tape position 01:01:17–01:01:56)StartMonday, March 27, 1972 at 11:11 AMEndMonday, March 27, 1972 at 12:06 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 022-026 ↗

AI Summary

Ronald Ziegler and Charles Colson coordinate the White House's public response to the International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) scandal. They agree to maintain a "no comment" position from the administration while tasking William R. Merriam with issuing a denial regarding allegations of inappropriate White House contacts. The pair seeks to confirm whether the improper communications originated from Edward J. Gerrity, Jr. or Merriam so that the appropriate individual can formally refute the claims.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Mr. Coulson's office.
Hi, this is Ron Ziegler.
Could I speak to Chuck a moment, please?
Mr. Ziegler, he's not here.
Oh, where'd he go?
Do you want to speak with Joan?
Can you hold on just a minute?
No, no, I wanted to speak with Chuck.
Well, he's just left for the Hill.
Oh, he's left for the Hill.
Okay.
Can I ask him to call you as soon as he gets back?
Yeah, please do.
Okay, fine.
Well... Mr. Coulson, sir.
Yeah, good.
There you are.
Chuck?
Yes.
Hi, this is Ron.
Yeah, Ron.
Say, listen, uh...
The feeling is that we stay with a no comment, you know, from the White House.
But can Miriam... Yeah, we're going to try to get Miriam to put that out today.
Good.
Okay.
That was the thing.
In other words, the testimony said that Dita Beard called Miriam, or Dita Beard, I mean, that someone from the White House called Garrity or Miriam.
Right, right, Miriam.
We don't know yet whether it's Garrity or Miriam trying to find that.
But once you determine that, then you'll have them deny it from that end.
Yep.
Today.
Well, that's what we're trying to get done.
Okay, good.
Okay, fine.
Right.

NARA Description

On March 27, 1972, Ronald L. Ziegler and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 12:06 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 022-026 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 22-26

Date: March 27, 1972
Time: Unknown between 11:11 am and 12:06 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Ronald L. Ziegler talked with Charles W. Colson.

     Press briefing
           -No comment on International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
           -William R. Merriam
                 -Request for call to Dita D. Beard
           -White House
                 -Request for call to Edward J. Gerrity, Jr.
                 -Request for call to Merriam

Also recorded on March 27, 1972

  • 022-024 10:55 AM · 46 sec — Ronald L. Ziegler, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:55 am and 11:11 am.
  • 327-006 10:55 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:55 am and 2:53 pm.
  • 022-025 11:10 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 11:10 am to 11:11 am.
  • 022-027 11:11 AM · 25 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 12:06 pm.
  • 022-028 11:11 AM · 1 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Robert H. Finch talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 12:06 pm.
  • 022-029 11:11 AM · 4 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Herbert G. Klein talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 12:06 pm.
  • 328-002 11:11 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 12:04 pm.
  • 328-003 12:04 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:04 pm and 12:06 pm.

All 35 conversations from March 27, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 022-026, March 27, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/022-026 (accessed October 1, 2026).