{"conversationCode":"046-149","tapeNumber":46,"conversationNumber":149,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-046-149","startDateTime":"1973-05-22T18:52:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-05-22T18:53:00.000Z","startDate":"22-May-1973","startTime":"2:52 PM","endDate":"22-May-1973","endTime":"2:53 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.;","description":"On May 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:52 pm to 2:53 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-149 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. 46-149\n\nDate: May 22, 1973\nTime: 2:52 pm - 2:53 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 440-7]\n\n     Watergate\n          -Ziegler’s schedule\n                -President\n                -Press briefing\n                      -Leonard Garment and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.\n                -Forthcoming White House statement on Watergate\n                      -President’s veracity","filename":["046-149.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"046-148","nextCode":"046-150","transcript":[{"start":0.82,"end":14,"text":"Ron, I don't want to take you away from anything that's getting us out of it, but as soon as you have maybe five minutes, you know, that you can come over, I want to just run over two or three things with you in terms of how we implement this son of a bitch."},{"start":14.66,"end":16.75,"text":"Okay, we're preparing for the briefing now."},{"start":16.77,"end":18.69,"text":"Do you want to see me before we brief her after?"},{"start":18.71,"end":19.91,"text":"Oh, you're going to brief what?"},{"start":20.39,"end":24.54,"text":"Well, we're going to hand this out, and then we're going to go out and just, you know, handle it in a positive way."},{"start":24.56,"end":25.68,"text":"You're going to brief the press?"},{"start":25.7,"end":26.02,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":26.42,"end":27.18,"text":"Oh, the hell with it."},{"start":27.22,"end":28.14,"text":"No, no, no, no, no."},{"start":28.18,"end":29.11,"text":"When do you brief the press?"},{"start":29.23,"end":30.01,"text":"Well, we're getting ready."},{"start":30.11,"end":31.95,"text":"We're doing the mechanics and getting it all organized."},{"start":31.97,"end":33.59,"text":"Are you going to brief it, or who's going to brief it?"},{"start":33.61,"end":35.19,"text":"No, Garment and Lozart and I are going out."},{"start":35.87,"end":38.08,"text":"Just to show a relaxed, you know, positive tone."},{"start":38.34,"end":39.18,"text":"Good, good, good."},{"start":39.2,"end":40.18,"text":"I won't bother you about it."},{"start":40.22,"end":40.98,"text":"What time will you finish?"},{"start":41,"end":43.26,"text":"I'll be over at about 0415."},{"start":43.3,"end":43.94,"text":"Is that okay, sir?"},{"start":44.54,"end":47.83,"text":"I'll come over now if you'd like, but I just wanted to... No, no, no, no."},{"start":47.89,"end":48.73,"text":"Prepare for the briefing."},{"start":50.07,"end":50.33,"text":"Right, right."},{"start":50.35,"end":53.81,"text":"But remember, Joe, I mean, lend spirit as good as it..."},{"start":54.1,"end":55.36,"text":"best, quite frankly."},{"start":55.38,"end":58.18,"text":"And Mozart's up for it."},{"start":58.28,"end":58.78,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":58.82,"end":60.45,"text":"He's worked his ass off, all of you have."},{"start":61.67,"end":66.45,"text":"And the main thing that the three of you have got to know is that, by God, this is the truth."},{"start":66.73,"end":76.68,"text":"You know, I mean, I don't care what... And you and I have got to understand this, because you've got to go out there and brief, and you've gotten a lot of crap from people, you know, but..."},{"start":76.7,"end":77.46,"text":"There's no question about it."},{"start":77.48,"end":79.89,"text":"As you well know, this is..."},{"start":80.15,"end":81.24,"text":"that I know about this."},{"start":81.26,"end":81.8,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":81.84,"end":82.22,"text":"I know that."},{"start":82.24,"end":85.87,"text":"In fact, even more than I really ought to admit."},{"start":85.89,"end":86.29,"text":"I've done it."},{"start":87.73,"end":90.9,"text":"Well, I know that better than anyone does."},{"start":91.3,"end":91.58,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":91.94,"end":92.26,"text":"All right."},{"start":92.42,"end":92.68,"text":"Fine."},{"start":92.7,"end":94.03,"text":"Well, then come over at 4.30."},{"start":94.05,"end":94.25,"text":"Okay."},{"start":94.43,"end":97.23,"text":"Good, sir."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler coordinate the rollout of an upcoming White House statement regarding the Watergate scandal. The discussion focuses on the strategy for a press briefing, which will include Leonard Garment and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr., intended to project a relaxed and positive image. Nixon emphasizes that the staff must maintain a firm conviction in the truthfulness of the forthcoming statement before scheduling a follow-up meeting to finalize implementation details.","topics":["Watergate scandal","Press relations","Public relations strategy","Leonard Garment","J. Fred Buzhardt Jr.","White House statement"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T07:34:22.823Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate-scandal","press-relations","public-relations-strategy","leonard-garment","j-fred-buzhardt-jr","white-house-statement"],"audioDurationSec":102,"audioFiles":[{"file":"046-149.mp3","bytes":3272704,"durationSec":102.16,"bitrate":256280,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:04.103Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/046-149.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-149","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/46/conversation-046-149","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}