Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-034

Ziegler & Garment on Watergate and Sam Ervin

Monday, May 14, 1973 · 7:27 PM–8:15 PM ET · White House Telephone · 44 sec

ParticipantsZiegler, Ronald L.; Garment, LeonardConversation046-034 on Tape 46StartMonday, May 14, 1973 at 7:27 PMEndMonday, May 14, 1973 at 8:15 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 046-034 ↗

AI Summary

Ronald L. Ziegler and Leonard Garment coordinate a strategy to manage negative press coverage concerning the Watergate investigation. They discuss an individual's attempt to contact Senator Sam Ervin and contemplate demanding a public apology if the critical reports persist. The participants establish a secure communication channel via a specific White House telephone line to finalize their response after further information is gathered.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.3 MB

NARA Description

On May 14, 1973, Ronald L. Ziegler and Leonard Garment talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:27 pm and 8:15 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-034 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 46-34

Date: May 14, 1973
Time: Unknown between 7:27 pm and 8:15 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Ronald L. Ziegler talked with Leonard Garment. The recording began at an unknown time
while the conversation was in progress.

[See also Conversation No. 436-15A]

     Watergate
          -Unknown man
               -Attempts to reach Sam J. Ervin, Jr.
                                             -21-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Call me back in the president's office on 504 when you're finished.
All right.
He's already denied this story, but I'll call you at 504.
Find out what he said, and I think maybe what you're saying is that, you know, if they continue on this basis, we can just call for a public apology tomorrow.
Yeah.
He said he's been trying to reach Irvin.
He probably can't reach him until after 9 tonight.
And then call me back, right?
On aisle 504.
We're on White House line 504.
White House line 504.
Okay, good.

Also recorded on May 14, 1973

  • 046-033 7:19 PM · 2 min — Ronald L. Ziegler, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Leonard Garment talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:19 pm and 7:26 pm.
  • 046-035 7:27 PM · 2 min — Leonard Garment and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:27 pm and 8:15 pm.
  • 046-036 7:27 PM · 11 sec — Ronald L. Ziegler and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:27 pm and 8:15 pm.
  • 046-037 7:27 PM · 2 min — Ronald L. Ziegler and Lawrence M. Higby talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:27 pm and 8:15 pm.
  • 046-038 7:27 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:27 pm and 8:15 pm.
  • 046-039 7:27 PM · 4 min — Ronald L. Ziegler, Leonard Garment, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:27 pm and 8:15 pm.
  • 436-015 7:27 PM · 1 hr 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Leonard Garment, and Lawrence M. Higby met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:27 pm to 8:15 pm.
  • 917-045 7:27 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:27 pm and 8:15 pm.

All 113 conversations from May 14, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 046-034, May 14, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-034 (accessed November 15, 2026).