Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-065

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Watergate and John W. Dean III

Tuesday, May 15, 1973 · 4:19 PM–4:20 PM ET · White House Telephone · 41 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation046-065 on Tape 46StartTuesday, May 15, 1973 at 4:19 PMEndTuesday, May 15, 1973 at 4:20 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 046-065 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler discuss the status of materials related to John W. Dean III held in a secure container. The President expresses impatience regarding the delayed inspection of these documents and instructs Ziegler to verify their current accessibility. Ziegler commits to immediately checking the progress of the review and reporting back to the President.

Audio

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NARA Description

On May 15, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 4:19 pm to 4:20 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-065 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 46-65

Date: May 15, 1973
Time: 4:19 pm - 4:20 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See also Conversation No. 435-34]

      Watergate
           -John W. Dean, III’s documents
                 -Release

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Yes, sir.
Hi, Ron.
I'm sorry.
I was out of the office when you called.
That's all right.
That's all right.
Any developments on the box yet?
Not yet.
No, sir.
I wonder if you could check to see if they are finally getting at the damn stuff and when we'll have the dope.
Yes, I will immediately.
Somebody's over there.
Is that right?
I don't know.
Apparently they were going to open it at 4 or something like that, right?
Right.
Check immediately and get right back to you.
Thank you very much.
Okay, sir.

Also recorded on May 15, 1973

  • 046-059 3:36 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 3:36 pm to 3:37 pm.
  • 046-060 3:37 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:37 pm and 3:38 pm.
  • 046-061 3:38 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 3:38 pm to 3:42 pm.
  • 046-062 3:42 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:42 pm and 3:44 pm.
  • 046-063 3:44 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 3:44 pm to 3:51 pm.
  • 046-064 3:51 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:51 pm and 4:19 pm.
  • 046-066 5:01 PM · 8 min — Ronald L. Ziegler and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:01 pm to 5:08 pm.
  • 046-067 5:21 PM · 14 sec — J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:21 pm and 5:45 pm.

All 54 conversations from May 15, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 046-065, May 15, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-065 (accessed November 15, 2026).