{"conversationCode":"246-011","tapeNumber":246,"conversationNumber":11,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-246-011","startDateTime":"1971-04-07T19:07:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-04-07T19:11:00.000Z","startDate":"7-Apr-1971","startTime":"2:07 PM","endDate":"7-Apr-1971","endTime":"2:11 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.;","description":"On April 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:07 pm to 2:11 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 246-011 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":1,"chronRelease":"First Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"5-Oct-1999","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 246-011\n\nDate: April 7, 1971\nTime: 2:07 pm - 2:11 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler\n\n     Lieutenant William L. Calley, Jr.\n           -President’s policy\n                -Prosecutor, Captain Aubrey M. Daniel, III\n\n     President’s schedule\n           -Forthcoming speech April 7, 1971","filename":["246-011.mp3"],"tapeStart":"03:16:28","tapeEnd":"03:19:47","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"246-010","nextCode":"246-012","transcript":[{"start":0.03,"end":2.12,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":3.24,"end":5.26,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":5.29,"end":5.55,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":5.57,"end":7.63,"text":"Be sure you've got that tablet thing."},{"start":7.65,"end":10.8,"text":"How'd it go?"},{"start":10.82,"end":15.69,"text":"I guess we'll get to the point where we come down to the side of the property."},{"start":16.18,"end":28.64,"text":"We don't want to say that we're, you know, that's very bad."},{"start":28.66,"end":30.43,"text":"It's the grace of the court, the grace of the prosecutor, the rest of us."},{"start":30.45,"end":30.93,"text":"I don't want to do that."},{"start":30.95,"end":33.59,"text":"I'm not going to do that."},{"start":33.61,"end":34.13,"text":"I'm not going to do that."},{"start":34.27,"end":35.99,"text":"I'm not going to do that."},{"start":35.98,"end":50.94,"text":"And when I finish the broadcast, Ron, I want to cut the time down to the oldest part, which is 50 seconds."},{"start":51.22,"end":52.68,"text":"And then take a picture that I'm on, and send it everywhere."},{"start":52.7,"end":54.65,"text":"And then you just cut them off and go and smash the bottom up."},{"start":54.67,"end":55.69,"text":"They're that long."},{"start":55.71,"end":55.93,"text":"Screw them."},{"start":55.95,"end":56.65,"text":"And then the broadcast is the same."},{"start":56.67,"end":57.03,"text":"I'll see you then."},{"start":57.05,"end":57.29,"text":"Thank you."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler coordinated the messaging strategy regarding Lieutenant William L. Calley, Jr., specifically emphasizing the need to distance the administration from the prosecutor, Captain Aubrey M. Daniel, III. Nixon directed Ziegler to finalize technical preparations for his upcoming televised address, including strict instructions to edit the broadcast length to exactly 50 seconds. The President emphasized a concise media rollout, instructing Ziegler to prioritize visual impact and strictly manage the dissemination of the speech.","topics":["William L. Calley Jr.","Public relations","Aubrey M. Daniel III","Television address","Media strategy","Executive authority"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T11:32:36.111Z"},"topicSlugs":["william-l-calley-jr","public-relations","aubrey-m-daniel-iii","television-address","media-strategy","executive-authority"],"audioDurationSec":57,"audioFiles":[{"file":"246-011.mp3","bytes":2300656,"durationSec":57.38,"bitrate":320745,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:36.481Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/246-011.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/246-011","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/246/conversation-246-011","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}