Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 273 › Conversation 273-014

Nixon & Ziegler on Busing and Press Relations

Thursday, August 12, 1971 · 5:05 PM–5:07 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation273-014 on Tape 273 (tape position 01:53:19–01:55:17)StartThursday, August 12, 1971 at 5:05 PMEndThursday, August 12, 1971 at 5:07 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 273-014 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler consulted regarding an upcoming press briefing, specifically addressing the administration's messaging on court-ordered busing. The discussion centered on coordinating the President's recent guidance from John D. Ehrlichman with the handling of inquiries from journalists Herbert Kaplow and Donald Oberdorfer. Nixon emphasized the necessity of clarifying the administration's legal stance on the issue to ensure a consistent public narrative.

Audio

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Position in tape: 01:53:19 – 01:55:17

part A, 1:53:20

273a.mp3

273b.mp3

273c.mp3

NARA Description

On August 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:05 pm to 5:07 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 273-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 273-14

Date: August 12, 1971
Time: 5:05 pm - 5:07 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Ziegler's press briefing
          -Busing case
                 -President’s recent conversation with John D. Ehrlichman
                       -Court order
                 -Herbert E. Kaplow
                 -Donald Oberdorfer, Jr.
                 -John N. Mitchell

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Gal, did you survive?

Are you...

I talked to her, and he says that we really don't know whether it's a court order or whether it's something else.

And actually, we just shouldn't comment on it under those circumstances.

Thank you for watching this, but we are signing off.

Thank you for having me.

I really appreciate it.

Who was it who pushed the capitol over one of the main ones at this time?

Over to our...

Just about, just about, just about.

It's all right.

I don't know how big I was next time.

Yeah, yeah.

And, uh... Yeah, probably.

Sure.

What was it you did?

I don't know.

Also recorded on August 12, 1971

273-010 4:51 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
273-011 4:51 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
273-012 4:51 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
273-013 4:51 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:51 pm and 5:05 pm.
273-015 5:07 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 5:16 pm.
273-016 5:07 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 5:16 pm.
273-017 5:16 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:16 pm to 5:20 pm.
273-018 5:20 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:20 pm and 5:27 pm.

All 33 conversations from August 12, 1971 →

Nixon, Richardson & Kleindienst on Busing and Legislative Moratorium March 17, 1972 · 1 hr 47 min
Nixon alone in his EOB office on Busing March 13, 1972 · 13 min
Nixon alone in his EOB office on School Busing March 16, 1972 · 12 min
Nixon, Ehrlichman & Morgan on Busing and Higher Education Bill June 20, 1972 · 55 min
Nixon, Haldeman & Mitchell on Supreme Court decision and school busing April 20, 1971 · 51 min
Nixon, Eberle & Haldeman on Lockheed Corporation and School Busing July 29, 1971 · 1 hr 53 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 273-014, August 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/273-014 (accessed November 2, 2026).