Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-168

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Watergate and White House documents

Wednesday, May 9, 1973 · 12:31 PM–12:34 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation045-168 on Tape 45StartWednesday, May 9, 1973 at 12:31 PMEndWednesday, May 9, 1973 at 12:34 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-168 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler reviewed Ziegler's recent press briefing regarding the Watergate scandal, specifically focusing on the administration's legal claim to White House documents held by John Dean, H.R. Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman. Ziegler briefed the President on his defense of Nixon's role in the Daniel Ellsberg case and his efforts to publicly highlight pro-administration support via telegram counts and recent polling data. The two concluded that the briefing was successful in maintaining a firm stance and effectively demonstrating public support for the President's continuation in office.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes sir, survive your briefing?
Oh yes I did.
You know, we went around on the Dean thing and I said, we want our papers back.
That's basically the line I said, not because of the content, but because they belong to the White House.
They said, do we know that the Haldeman and Ehrlichman don't have papers?
I said, we have no reason to believe that they do.
Then we went along the line of, of course, the Haldeman and Ehrlichman papers, whatever they are, well, their own papers are available, but actually to, well, their own, if they don't have to do with me, I mean, they can do what they're goddamn pleased with them, but basically,
Everybody in the White House produces papers for the president.
They belong to the president.
That's right.
The only problem we got with Dean's papers, Ron, is that if this is a self-serving document, he's going to get it out anyway.
That's right.
So therefore, we would treat that differently.
But we must never give an inch on Haldeman-Ehrlichman's papers.
Don't you agree?
Well, no.
The fact of the matter is Haldeman-Ehrlichman's papers are all under supervision at their request.
So there can be no question.
They're personal papers and also the presidential papers.
After this is over, we'll handle it.
Right, right.
So then we went around that.
Then we went a little bit around the publisher, the Nashville Banner, urged today that the president get rid of his press secretary.
So we went through that a little bit.
Jimmy Stallman?
No, not Stallman.
Stallman's call-in said the paper's going to hell.
Wayne Sargent, who's the editor down there.
Oh, screw it.
And so we went through that, and I said,
Well, that's diversionary, that's fine.
Then on the court thing in California, I simply made the very direct, stern statement that the fact of the matter is that the material was provided to the court at the direction of the president.
right on that.
Bob Pierpoint was, I sucked Pierpoint in a little bit.
He's been sucking around saying, you know, we want to know what the telegram count is and all the rest.
It's last made.
I had Jerry pull the telegram count out.
I let him go on with his little speech about why we could get them in the past, why can't we get them today.
I'd like to ask on the public record why we can't get them and what the figures are.
So I said, well, based upon the year
request on the record here, let me give you the figures.
Telegrams in favor, 4,950.
which was a good way to get out the fact that the telegrams are—and then I said— Not a one of these has been simulated.
I made that point.
And then I said, in terms of letters, they're running about 700 a day on this subject, and they're running, although it has not been broken out yet, a good three and a half, you know.
Then I said in terms of phone calls, the many phone calls that we receive in my office as a part of, you know, taking some of the calls, the vast majority of them are supportive of the president, what he's done in the last four years, what they want him to continue to do.
So I think that line, you know, get the support.
Did the Harris Bowl get any play with the one you mentioned?
Yes, it did.
Oh, yes, sir.
It got a play on TV last night.
It got a good play.
Did it?
Of course, they had some negative stuff, but did they get across that point that they didn't want the president to resign?
Yes, sir.
Absolutely, yes, sir.
And that 5931 thought that he ought to continue the work?
Right.
Okay.
We survived, and we're going to continue to?
Damn right.
Okay.
Okay, sir.

NARA Description

On May 9, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 12:31 pm to 12:34 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-168 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-168

Date: May 9, 1973
Time: 12:31 pm - 12:34 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See also Conversation No. 432-31]

     Watergate
          -Ziegler’s previous press briefing
                -Ownership of John W. Dean, III’s papers
                                            -108-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                           Conversation No. 45-168 (cont’d)

                 -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman’s and John D. Ehrlichman’s papers
                        -Ownership
           -Dean’s papers
           -Haldeman and Ehrlichman’s papers
                 -Status
           -Ziegler’s previous press briefing
                 -Publisher of Nashville Banner
                        -Ziegler
                        -James Stallman
                        -Wayne Sargent (Editor of National Banner)
                 -Daniel Ellsberg case
                        -President’s role
                 -Robert Pierpoint’s question
                 -Gerald L. Warren’s telegram count
                        -Figures
                 -Letters
                 -Telephone calls
           -Harris poll
                 -President’s resignation

Also recorded on May 9, 1973

  • 432-027 12:03 PM · 17 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 12:03 pm and 12:22 pm.
  • 432-028 12:03 PM · 9 min — 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 12:03 pm and 12:22 pm.
  • 045-167 12:05 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:05 pm and 12:31 pm.
  • 432-031 12:31 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:31 pm to 12:34 pm.
  • 432-032 12:31 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:31 pm and 2:24 pm.
  • 432-033 12:31 PM · 11 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 12:31 pm and 2:24 pm.
  • 432-034 12:31 PM · 12 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 12:31 pm and 2:24 pm.
  • 045-169 12:34 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:34 pm and 2:24 pm.

All 62 conversations from May 9, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-168, May 9, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-168 (accessed October 5, 2026).