{"conversationCode":"044-012","tapeNumber":44,"conversationNumber":12,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-044-012","startDateTime":"1973-03-22T19:26:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-03-22T20:28:00.000Z","startDate":"22-Mar-1973","startTime":"2:26 PM","endDate":"22-Mar-1973","endTime":"3:28 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Dean, John W., III; Ziegler, Ronald L.;","description":"On March 22, 1973, John W. Dean, III and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:26 pm and 3:28 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 044-012 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.4","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part IV","chronReleaseDate":"8-Dec-2010","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 044-012\n\nDate: March 22, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 2:26 pm and 3:28 pm\n\n       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542\n\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nJohn W. Dean, III talked with Ronald Ziegler.\n\n       Preparation for press statement\n            -Watergate investigation","filename":["044-012.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Dean, John W., III","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"044-011","nextCode":"044-013","transcript":[{"start":5.55,"end":6.21,"text":"Ron?"},{"start":6.23,"end":6.45,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":6.77,"end":7.75,"text":"John?"},{"start":7.77,"end":7.87,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":7.89,"end":9.72,"text":"How we doing?"},{"start":9.74,"end":10.06,"text":"Very well."},{"start":10.14,"end":11.72,"text":"We're still trying to sort the thing out."},{"start":13.15,"end":13.25,"text":"Okay."},{"start":13.27,"end":16.41,"text":"It's important that we sort it out before we go running out there, you know."},{"start":16.51,"end":16.87,"text":"I agree."},{"start":17.9,"end":21.48,"text":"We just can't go out there and scream something out here until we have the facts."},{"start":22.47,"end":22.59,"text":"Okay."},{"start":22.61,"end":24.21,"text":"I'll be over when this breaks up."},{"start":24.23,"end":24.67,"text":"Okay."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"John W. Dean III and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler coordinate the White House's public relations strategy regarding the ongoing Watergate investigation. Dean emphasizes the necessity of delaying official statements until the administration has fully verified the facts to avoid premature or inaccurate disclosures. They agree to meet in person to further align their messaging after their respective briefings conclude.","topics":["Watergate scandal","Public relations","Press strategy","John Dean","Ronald Ziegler","Crisis management"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T06:45:19.159Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate-scandal","public-relations","press-strategy","john-dean","ronald-ziegler","crisis-management"],"audioDurationSec":28,"audioFiles":[{"file":"044-012.mp3","bytes":1112064,"durationSec":27.7,"bitrate":321127,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:30.404Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:44.243Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/044-012.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/044-012","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/44/conversation-044-012","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}