{"conversationCode":"046-132","tapeNumber":46,"conversationNumber":132,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-046-132","startDateTime":"1973-05-21T21:28:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-05-21T21:29:00.000Z","startDate":"21-May-1973","startTime":"5:28 PM","endDate":"21-May-1973","endTime":"5:29 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.;","description":"On May 21, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 5:28 pm to 5:29 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-132 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.5","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part V","chronReleaseDate":"21-Aug-2013","aogpRelease":"Abuse of Governmental Power Release","aogpSegment":"Segment 0","lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 46-132\n\nDate: May 21, 1973\nTime: 5:28 pm - 5:29 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 439-26]\n\n     Watergate\n          -Forthcoming White House statement\n                -Wording\n                     -Patrick J. Buchanan\n                -Henry A. Kissinger’s comment to editors","filename":["046-132.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"046-131","nextCode":"046-133","transcript":[{"start":0.98,"end":1.92,"text":"Thank you, sir."},{"start":1.94,"end":2.24,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":2.58,"end":7.45,"text":"Ron, you're editing just one other point that's related on your first page."},{"start":7.46,"end":8.85,"text":"Uh-huh."},{"start":8.87,"end":11.79,"text":"You noticed I had said these charges are if unanswered."},{"start":11.81,"end":12.49,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":12.73,"end":15.86,"text":"And I think it's very important that the first sentence also be changed."},{"start":15.88,"end":23.11,"text":"Everything on mine, you see, allegations surrounding the rioting event have so escalated recently as to impugn the dignity of the president."},{"start":23.21,"end":27.47,"text":"I don't think we should ever, I think allegations surrounding the rioting event have so escalated"},{"start":27.67,"end":32.42,"text":"I believe a presidential statement on the whole matter is now required or something like that."},{"start":32.44,"end":33.12,"text":"Okay, yes, I agree."},{"start":33.14,"end":33.7,"text":"You see the point."},{"start":34,"end":48.68,"text":"The moment, you know enough, and you and Buchanan have got to look at this, about what the newsies pick out, and I don't want them to pick out things like that to say, like Henry's comment, you know, when he spoke to the editors up there, they made the big lead."},{"start":48.7,"end":51.48,"text":"Watergate impairs our foreign policy or something like that."},{"start":52.15,"end":52.87,"text":"Great."},{"start":52.89,"end":53.65,"text":"Okay, fine."},{"start":56.33,"end":56.53,"text":"All right."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler coordinate the precise wording of an upcoming White House statement regarding the Watergate scandal. Nixon emphasizes the need to avoid phrasing that could be exploited by the press, specifically instructing Ziegler and Patrick Buchanan to ensure the language does not imply that Watergate is damaging his foreign policy initiatives. This directive follows concerns over recent negative media coverage sparked by remarks made by Henry Kissinger.","topics":["Watergate","White House press strategy","Richard Nixon","Ronald Ziegler","media relations","foreign policy"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T07:32:50.601Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","white-house-press-strategy","richard-nixon","ronald-ziegler","media-relations","foreign-policy"],"audioDurationSec":62,"audioFiles":[{"file":"046-132.mp3","bytes":1980416,"durationSec":61.76,"bitrate":256530,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:04.103Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/046-132.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-132","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/46/conversation-046-132","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}