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Conversation 037-109

TapeTape 37StartWednesday, March 14, 1973 at 4:34 PMEndWednesday, March 14, 1973 at 4:36 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Dean, John W., III;  Ziegler, Ronald L.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon, John Dean, and Ron Ziegler discuss the administration's policy regarding Congressional access to raw FBI files amidst the Watergate investigation. Dean clarifies that while historical precedents exist for allowing committee members like Senators Eastland and McClellan to view sensitive files informally for investigative purposes, these materials were never officially surrendered or made public. The President decides to leverage J. Edgar Hoover’s legacy of strict security to justify denying formal access to current committees while maintaining pressure on executive agencies to improve their responsiveness.

WatergateFBI raw filesCongressional oversightJ. Edgar HooverExecutive privilege
AudioNARA Description

On March 14, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, John W. Dean, III, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 4:34 pm to 4:36 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 037-109 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 37-109
                                            - 79 -

                            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

                                        (rev. Sept-09)

Date: March 14, 1973
Time: 4:34 pm-4:36 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John W. Dean, III. The President and Ronald L. Ziegler conferred
during the conversation.

[See Conversation No. 419-34C]

       Watergate
             -Comments on agencies' responsiveness
             -Congressional access to Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] raw files
                   -James O. Eastland
                           -Judicial hearings
                   -John J. McClellan
                           -Joseph Valachi case
                   -Harry Dexter White case
                   -J. Edgar Hoover's policy
                           -Public statement by the administration
Transcript (AI-Generated)

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 Do not cite this transcript as authoritative.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.

You can get action around here if you kick him in the ass.
This business, you know, these agencies, taking two or three days to get a response to a simple little question like that.
Now they know what the answer is.
Shake him up a little.
Mr. Dean, sir.
Okay.
Unless I get a counter information upon further checking, the answer is no.
There have been no formal submissions of FBI material like this ever before.
They have, however, been informal.
In other words, what they mean is that they have never formally turned over raw files to a committee.
Informally, they have taken the files up and shown them
Jim Eastland.
That's correct.
When he, for example, is conducting a judge.
That I understand.
And they have let McClellan and his investigative committee come down and look at, for example, the Valachi case.
That's right.
They can look at files informally.
Apparently so.
Or the Harry Dexter White case.
Files available at that time.
Turning over at this instance.
And so, in other words, we have been, Mr. Dean has been very forthcoming in turning over the information of this type to a committee.
And the committee really shouldn't use it then, should it?
It shouldn't put it on.
No, it shouldn't.
That's the point.
What I'm getting at is this.
I'm going to say that it was always Mr. Hoover's practice never to turn over formally to a committee because he knew this, and he would only do it on a basis of total security for the purpose of conducting investigations and so forth.
And there has never been a leak?
And there's never been a leak of those things before.
That's right.
And therefore, we think that this should be evaluated in terms of that.
Mm-hmm.
We'll keep them scared over there.
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