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
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
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 67.9 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:53:19 into the tape and ends around 01:55:17.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
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. MitchellAlso 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 · 15 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 · 20 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 · 42 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.
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 September 18, 2026).