{"conversationCode":"046-151","tapeNumber":46,"conversationNumber":151,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-046-151","startDateTime":"1973-05-22T19:00:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-05-22T19:04:00.000Z","startDate":"22-May-1973","startTime":"3:00 PM","endDate":"22-May-1973","endTime":"3:04 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Timmons, William E.;","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.","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. 46-151\n\nDate: May 22, 1973\n\f                                             -91-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\nTime: 3:00 pm - 3:04 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with William E. Timmons.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 440-9]\n\n     Watergate\n          -White House statement on Watergate\n          -Congressional leaders\n               -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.\n               -Bryce N. Harlow\n               -J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.\n               -Leonard Garment\n               -Hugh Scott, Robert P. Griffin, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends and George\n                      H. W. Bush\n                      -Barry M. Goldwater\n               -Removal of H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman\n               -Dwight D. Eisenhower\n               -Everett M. Dirksen","filename":["046-151.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Timmons, William E."],"prevCode":"046-150","nextCode":"046-152","transcript":[{"start":0.88,"end":1.54,"text":"Hello."},{"start":1.56,"end":2.36,"text":"Mr. President, Bill."},{"start":2.88,"end":6.32,"text":"We have the meeting at 6 o'clock tonight."},{"start":6.36,"end":8.08,"text":"I understand they have a vote."},{"start":8.16,"end":9.45,"text":"At 5 o'clock, yes, sir."},{"start":9.51,"end":9.81,"text":"5."},{"start":9.87,"end":11.39,"text":"We think it'll be over by 6."},{"start":11.67,"end":12.55,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":12.57,"end":14.61,"text":"I'm reasonably certain it'll be over by 5."},{"start":14.65,"end":15.63,"text":"Plenty of time to get down."},{"start":15.67,"end":17.22,"text":"This is only for the purpose of the leaders."},{"start":17.7,"end":18.54,"text":"Let me ask you this."},{"start":18.98,"end":20.86,"text":"It would be helpful."},{"start":21.84,"end":29.43,"text":"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."},{"start":29.69,"end":30.01,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":30.27,"end":30.81,"text":"You..."},{"start":30.93,"end":34.22,"text":"for the leaders, and I'd have Al Haig there."},{"start":34.26,"end":35.64,"text":"Okay."},{"start":35.76,"end":37.6,"text":"I think that'd be great, Mr. President."},{"start":37.62,"end":38.36,"text":"They would really..."},{"start":38.64,"end":41.57,"text":"I'm assuming they have no other conflicts tonight that they can't get out of."},{"start":41.59,"end":44.97,"text":"All right, you check it out, and you see who else should be there."},{"start":45.43,"end":50.06,"text":"Because, you know, somebody that can explain this goddamn paper, let's see."},{"start":50.08,"end":50.94,"text":"Well, Al can."},{"start":50.98,"end":51.74,"text":"Al knows the whole thing."},{"start":52.38,"end":52.53,"text":"Mm-hmm."},{"start":52.55,"end":52.75,"text":"Bryce?"},{"start":53.71,"end":54.21,"text":"Yes."},{"start":54.25,"end":55.65,"text":"Well, Bryce would be fine."},{"start":56.21,"end":56.95,"text":"Because, you know, we're..."},{"start":57.32,"end":64.07,"text":"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."},{"start":64.09,"end":66.59,"text":"That's right, and the members would like that, too."},{"start":66.69,"end":67.78,"text":"Fine, invite Bryce."},{"start":69,"end":73.02,"text":"And, uh... Bazaar, do you think, or... Or Bazaar, or..."},{"start":73.04,"end":73.81,"text":"If they're not garment."},{"start":73.84,"end":77.17,"text":"No, but because basically they don't know him, but Bazaar they know."},{"start":77.63,"end":78.51,"text":"Yes, I'd have him."},{"start":78.85,"end":79.57,"text":"Okay."},{"start":79.59,"end":83.6,"text":"You see, we've got to have a... You see, we can only take care of about ten on there, but..."},{"start":83.9,"end":87.73,"text":"We foregather at around 6 o'clock."},{"start":87.75,"end":90.47,"text":"Check the leaders to see if they could have dinner with me on the Sequoia."},{"start":90.6,"end":91.02,"text":"Okay."},{"start":91.2,"end":94.61,"text":"And then we'll all meet there at around 6 o'clock."},{"start":94.69,"end":101.22,"text":"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."},{"start":101.56,"end":101.94,"text":"Right."},{"start":102.33,"end":104.75,"text":"Do you want to add anybody to it, like a Goldwater, for example?"},{"start":105.57,"end":111.58,"text":"The only thing is, those five specifically requested to meet with you, and I think if we march it, they might, you know."},{"start":111.6,"end":112.04,"text":"Yeah, I know."},{"start":113.72,"end":115.73,"text":"They want to meet with me to discuss Watergate, right?"},{"start":115.81,"end":117.53,"text":"Well, and how they can help."},{"start":117.55,"end":118.99,"text":"They really want to meet you."},{"start":119.01,"end":123.44,"text":"I hope they've got a little, I mean, these guys are going to get their tails up a little."},{"start":123.68,"end":125.86,"text":"Jesus Christ, I mean, we're taking a bad rap here."},{"start":126.02,"end":131.81,"text":"I know, and we went over, Bryce and I went over the draft statement this morning with them, and they're encouraged by that."},{"start":132.06,"end":134.93,"text":"And you've already discussed the statement with them?"},{"start":134.94,"end":136.61,"text":"Roughly, yes, sir, and got their comments."},{"start":136.63,"end":139.55,"text":"So they've consulted, and so they know that it's coming."},{"start":140.01,"end":142.66,"text":"All of the final details they didn't know about."},{"start":142.7,"end":143.92,"text":"Right."},{"start":144.02,"end":145.42,"text":"So they're encouraged about this."},{"start":145.74,"end":156.39,"text":"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."},{"start":156.41,"end":159.74,"text":"And then the..."},{"start":160.58,"end":166.61,"text":"And after we got that over with, when I went down to the Republican fundraising there, they said that was great, you know."},{"start":166.63,"end":169.85,"text":"So now they say, President, say something now."},{"start":171.04,"end":172.84,"text":"You can't say something every day about this."},{"start":172.86,"end":174.52,"text":"That's the thing they've got to realize."},{"start":174.58,"end":179.33,"text":"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."},{"start":179.53,"end":180.93,"text":"They're just going to keep it up."},{"start":181.01,"end":182.67,"text":"It's the nature of the animal, I guess."},{"start":182.69,"end":188.34,"text":"But, you see, my point is that in terms of trying to do something and say something,"},{"start":188.71,"end":189.01,"text":"weak."},{"start":189.17,"end":191.25,"text":"If we do it, we'll keep, they'll kill us."},{"start":191.51,"end":191.91,"text":"Sure."},{"start":191.94,"end":195.1,"text":"They've got to understand this, that they've got to stand up a little too, you know."},{"start":195.18,"end":195.44,"text":"That's right."},{"start":195.46,"end":197.18,"text":"They're the leaders, you know."},{"start":197.4,"end":197.88,"text":"That's right."},{"start":198.28,"end":199.99,"text":"God damn, I remember the Eisenhower years."},{"start":200.05,"end":204.63,"text":"I mean, he didn't have this kind of thing, but he had other things that were pretty tough."},{"start":205.44,"end":206.62,"text":"But Jesus Christ, uh,"},{"start":207.07,"end":208.71,"text":"The leaders always went out and spoke."},{"start":208.73,"end":211.22,"text":"They never expected him to do a goddamn thing."},{"start":211.24,"end":211.64,"text":"I know."},{"start":212.42,"end":212.86,"text":"He never."},{"start":213.1,"end":215.27,"text":"Dirksen was tough, you know."},{"start":215.29,"end":217.17,"text":"Dirksen would step out and do something."},{"start":217.57,"end":218.77,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":218.79,"end":221.6,"text":"Our leaders always come in and say, what the Christ is the president going to do?"},{"start":221.98,"end":223.08,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":223.1,"end":223.72,"text":"We understand."},{"start":224.06,"end":225.79,"text":"I'll check, and if they're free, we'll leave it."},{"start":225.81,"end":227.55,"text":"If they're free, then call me back, will you?"},{"start":227.57,"end":229.11,"text":"All right, sir."},{"start":229.13,"end":229.21,"text":"Bye."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"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.","topics":["Watergate","Congressional relations","White House statement","Sequoia","Leadership strategy","Public relations"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T07:34:33.981Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","congressional-relations","white-house-statement","sequoia","leadership-strategy","public-relations"],"audioDurationSec":235,"audioFiles":[{"file":"046-151.mp3","bytes":7532544,"durationSec":235.31,"bitrate":256092,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:04.104Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:45.006Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/046-151.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/046-151","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/46/conversation-046-151","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}