Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-037

Ziegler & Higby on Watergate and H. R. Haldeman

Monday, May 14, 1973 · 7:27 PM–8:15 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsZiegler, Ronald L.; Higby, Lawrence M.Conversation046-037 on Tape 46StartMonday, May 14, 1973 at 7:27 PMEndMonday, May 14, 1973 at 8:15 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 046-037 ↗

AI Summary

Ronald Ziegler and Lawrence Higby discuss H. R. Haldeman’s recent grand jury testimony regarding the Watergate scandal, specifically his interactions with the CIA and General Vernon Walters. Higby conveys Haldeman’s account of the testimony and his current mood, while noting that Alexander Haig and J. Fred Buzhardt are coordinating efforts to verify Walters’s statements. The two also agree to shield the President from involvement in issues surrounding the Nixon Foundation and Robert Finch.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Hi, Ron.
Hi, Larry.
Yeah.
The president, he was interested to know how Bob did today.
Bob felt fine.
He felt fine?
Yeah, five and a half hours worth, he said.
And he said they felt they had plenty to indict him or that they were just giving up and he wasn't sure which.
What did they get into?
Everything.
They covered the full range of things, including apparently somehow they got a news report in on the Symington thing and they asked...
Oh, and he was able to knock that out?
Well, he said, my entire involvement with the CIA consisted of one meeting with General Walters.
That's the only meeting I ever had.
And he said, I can't get into it because it was national security, primarily.
And it simply left it at that.
As I understand it.
And Bob's in good spirits.
He doesn't know if he'll have to go back or not.
Was he yelling at you the other year?
That's right.
And he talked about some other things, and he said that he's very concerned, and we have Haig now finding out specifically what Walter said.
Yeah.
You can tell him that's underway right now.
Haig and Bazzard have got Walter's in the office there.
Right.
He knows that.
Okay.
Bob thought it went well.
He thought it went well.
He couldn't get a reading on it.
You know, he said that half the grand jury was asleep and Lanzer was jumping all over the place and Silbert was just kind of shaking his head.
All of the blacks, huh?
Most definitely.
Okay.
Okay?
All right.
Any other topics other than that?
I don't know.
Did Haig get into the Finch Foundation thing?
Well, Al, let me talk to you about that one.
Okay, because there's a way, and there's plenty of ways out of that.
The president shouldn't even be bothered with working.
Yeah, he's not.
He's not at all.
Okay, good.
He's not going to be.
Well, Bob, there's very... No, that's something that I wouldn't even raise with the president.
You know, it's something he shouldn't.
Good.
Okay, fine.

NARA Description

On May 14, 1973, Ronald L. Ziegler and Lawrence M. Higby 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 046-037 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 46-37
                                             -22-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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

Ronald L. Ziegler talked with Lawrence M. Higby.

[See also Conversation No. 436-15D]

     Watergate
          -Higby’s conversation with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
               -Haldeman’s grand jury testimony, May 15
                     - [William] Stuart Symington report
                           -Haldeman’s meeting with Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters
               -Haldeman’s mood
               -Walters
                     -Meeting with Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr., May 15
               -Higby’s conversation with Haldeman
                     -Haldeman’s grand jury testimony
                           -Earl J. Silbert and Seymour Glanzer
               -Nixon Foundation
                     -Robert H. Finch
                           -Haig
                     -President’s knowledge

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.
  • 046-034 7:27 PM · 44 sec — Ronald L. Ziegler and Leonard Garment talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:27 pm and 8:15 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.
  • 046-038 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 102 conversations from May 14, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 046-037, 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/046-037 (accessed October 1, 2026).