Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-151

Nixon phone call with Timmons on Watergate and Congressional relations

Tuesday, May 22, 1973 · 3:00 PM–3:04 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Timmons, William E.Conversation046-151 on Tape 46StartTuesday, May 22, 1973 at 3:00 PMEndTuesday, May 22, 1973 at 3:04 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 046-151 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and William E. Timmons coordinate a meeting with Congressional leaders to discuss the administration's ongoing Watergate strategy and a proposed White House statement. The President decides to host the group, including Hugh Scott, Gerald Ford, and others, for dinner aboard the Sequoia to facilitate a more informal discussion. Nixon emphasizes that Congressional leaders must take a more proactive role in defending the administration, comparing their current expectations for presidential intervention unfavorably to the independent leadership displayed by figures like Everett Dirksen during the Eisenhower era.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Hello.
Mr. President, Bill.
We have the meeting at 6 o'clock tonight.
I understand they have a vote.
At 5 o'clock, yes, sir.
5.
We think it'll be over by 6.
Yes, sir.
I'm reasonably certain it'll be over by 5.
Plenty of time to get down.
This is only for the purpose of the leaders.
Let me ask you this.
It would be helpful.
How about just inviting them to come with me rather than just meeting here and having dinner on the Sequoia, you know, and letting them, you know.
Yeah.
You...
for the leaders, and I'd have Al Haig there.
Okay.
I think that'd be great, Mr. President.
They would really...
I'm assuming they have no other conflicts tonight that they can't get out of.
All right, you check it out, and you see who else should be there.
Because, you know, somebody that can explain this goddamn paper, let's see.
Well, Al can.
Al knows the whole thing.
Mm-hmm.
Bryce?
Yes.
Well, Bryce would be fine.
Because, you know, we're...
Our thought is to get Bryce back on a part-time basis as a counselor again, which would be great, you know, to help you enormously.
That's right, and the members would like that, too.
Fine, invite Bryce.
And, uh... Bazaar, do you think, or... Or Bazaar, or...
If they're not garment.
No, but because basically they don't know him, but Bazaar they know.
Yes, I'd have him.
Okay.
You see, we've got to have a... You see, we can only take care of about ten on there, but...
We foregather at around 6 o'clock.
Check the leaders to see if they could have dinner with me on the Sequoia.
Okay.
And then we'll all meet there at around 6 o'clock.
Okay, now this was Scott Griffin, Ford Ahrens, and George Bush that were going to come down here, so that's a pretty good group, I think.
Right.
Do you want to add anybody to it, like a Goldwater, for example?
The only thing is, those five specifically requested to meet with you, and I think if we march it, they might, you know.
Yeah, I know.
They want to meet with me to discuss Watergate, right?
Well, and how they can help.
They really want to meet you.
I hope they've got a little, I mean, these guys are going to get their tails up a little.
Jesus Christ, I mean, we're taking a bad rap here.
I know, and we went over, Bryce and I went over the draft statement this morning with them, and they're encouraged by that.
And you've already discussed the statement with them?
Roughly, yes, sir, and got their comments.
So they've consulted, and so they know that it's coming.
All of the final details they didn't know about.
Right.
So they're encouraged about this.
You see, the difficulty is that here, this is something that we have to recognize, is that when we moved in Harlem and Erlichman, they said that was great.
And then the...
And after we got that over with, when I went down to the Republican fundraising there, they said that was great, you know.
So now they say, President, say something now.
You can't say something every day about this.
That's the thing they've got to realize.
And, you know, as long as you're in this building or anybody else, you're never going to be able to satisfy members of Congress.
They're just going to keep it up.
It's the nature of the animal, I guess.
But, you see, my point is that in terms of trying to do something and say something,
weak.
If we do it, we'll keep, they'll kill us.
Sure.
They've got to understand this, that they've got to stand up a little too, you know.
That's right.
They're the leaders, you know.
That's right.
God damn, I remember the Eisenhower years.
I mean, he didn't have this kind of thing, but he had other things that were pretty tough.
But Jesus Christ, uh,
The leaders always went out and spoke.
They never expected him to do a goddamn thing.
I know.
He never.
Dirksen was tough, you know.
Dirksen would step out and do something.
I don't know.
Our leaders always come in and say, what the Christ is the president going to do?
Yeah.
We understand.
I'll check, and if they're free, we'll leave it.
If they're free, then call me back, will you?
All right, sir.
Bye.

NARA Description

On May 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons talked on the telephone from 3:00 pm to 3:04 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-151 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 46-151

Date: May 22, 1973
                                             -91-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Time: 3:00 pm - 3:04 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with William E. Timmons.

[See also Conversation No. 440-9]

     Watergate
          -White House statement on Watergate
          -Congressional leaders
               -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
               -Bryce N. Harlow
               -J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.
               -Leonard Garment
               -Hugh Scott, Robert P. Griffin, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends and George
                      H. W. Bush
                      -Barry M. Goldwater
               -Removal of H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman
               -Dwight D. Eisenhower
               -Everett M. Dirksen

Also recorded on May 22, 1973

  • 046-149 2:52 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:52 pm to 2:53 pm.
  • 046-150 2:53 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:53 pm and 3:00 pm.
  • 440-008 2:53 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 2:53 pm and 3:00 pm.
  • 440-009 3:00 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:00 pm to 3:04 pm.
  • 046-152 3:04 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 4:40 pm.
  • 440-010 3:04 PM · 15 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 3:04 pm and 4:15 pm.
  • 440-011 3:04 PM · 13 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 3:04 pm and 4:15 pm.
  • 440-012 3:04 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 3:04 pm and 4:40 pm.

All 80 conversations from May 22, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 046-151, May 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-151 (accessed October 12, 2026).