Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 38 › Conversation 038-089

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Ronald L. Ziegler

Tuesday, April 17, 1973 · 5:03 PM–6:17 PM ET · White House Telephone · 11 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation038-089 on Tape 38StartTuesday, April 17, 1973 at 5:03 PMEndTuesday, April 17, 1973 at 6:17 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 038-089 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon utilized the White House operator to place a telephone call to Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler. The brief interaction served as a logistical bridge to initiate direct communication with his primary spokesperson during a period of intense public scrutiny. No further substantive policy matters were discussed in this exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Yes, ma'am.

NARA Description

On April 17, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and 6:17 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-089 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 38-89

Date: April 17, 1973
Time: Unknown between 5:03 pm and 6:17 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Telephone call to Ronald L. Ziegler

Also recorded on April 17, 1973

  • 899-002 4:35 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 4:41 pm.
  • 899-003 4:35 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 4:41 pm.
  • 899-005 4:35 PM · 15 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 4:41 pm.
  • 899-004 4:48 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:48 pm to 5:03 pm.
  • 899-006 5:03 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents, Manolo Sanchez, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 5:03 pm on April 17, 1973 and 7:58 am on April 18, 1973.
  • 429-001 5:09 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:09 pm and 5:15 pm.
  • 429-002 5:15 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:15 pm to 5:16 pm.
  • 429-003 5:20 PM · 1 hr 33 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:20 pm and 7:14 pm.

All 53 conversations from April 17, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 038-089, April 17, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/038-089 (accessed September 30, 2026).