Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-092

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Howard K. Smith and Wiretapping

Thursday, May 17, 1973 · 1:32 PM–1:33 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation046-092 on Tape 46StartThursday, May 17, 1973 at 1:32 PMEndThursday, May 17, 1973 at 1:33 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 046-092 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler coordinated an upcoming telephone conversation with journalist Howard K. Smith to express appreciation for Smith's recent editorial coverage. Nixon specifically sought to thank Smith for his balanced commentary regarding the history of national security wiretapping, which drew comparisons to the Roosevelt administration. They agreed that while the President remains open to speaking with Smith, such contact should be deferred until the active grand jury processes have concluded.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Were you able ever to get to Smith by any chance?
He has a call in to me now, a return call, and I'm going to talk to him this afternoon.
He sleeps late in the morning, so I might talk to him.
And when you do, you could just say that the president was deeply grateful for his thing, wants him to call him as he sees him, and be glad to talk to him, you know, but which should be after the, you know, grand jury processes are completed.
He had a good one last night.
Is that what you're referring to?
I didn't see that, no.
No, he had a good editorial last night.
What did he say?
He said, let's not get all of this mixed up.
He said, on this matter of wiretapping, I'm paraphrasing, of course, this has been going on since Roosevelt's period in the interest of, you know, the national security.
Right.
And went a little bit to the climate and so forth.
He's a balanced guy.
Well, and we want it balanced.
Okay.
Okay, sir.

NARA Description

On May 17, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:32 pm to 1:33 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-092 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 46-92

Date: May 17, 1973
Time: 1:32 pm - 1:33 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See also Conversation No. 438-4]

     Ziegler’s forthcoming conversation with Howard K. Smith
           -Timing
           -President’s reaction to Smith’s remarks
                 -Grand jury process

     Smith’s remarks
          -History of wiretapping
                -Franklin D. Roosevelt
                -National security

Also recorded on May 17, 1973

  • 921-022 1:25 PM · 21 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 046-091 1:27 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:27 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 438-001 1:27 PM · 20 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 1:27 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 438-002 1:27 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:27 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 438-003 1:27 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:27 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 438-004 1:32 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:32 pm to 1:33 pm.
  • 046-093 1:33 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:33 pm and 1:46 pm.
  • 438-005 1:33 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:33 pm and 1:46 pm.

All 70 conversations from May 17, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 046-092, May 17, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-092 (accessed October 12, 2026).