Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 326 › Conversation 326-002
Nixon & Ehrlichman on White House discipline and Staff management
Friday, March 24, 1972 · 9:20 AM–9:38 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the administration's struggle with internal discipline and the tendency of staff members to speak publicly without authorization. Frustrated by the lack of message control, Nixon directs Ehrlichman to instruct an unidentified subordinate to remain silent regarding sensitive issues. The pair briefly touch upon concerns regarding personnel resignations and potential inquiries they might face during an upcoming press conference.
- White House discipline
- Staff management
- Public relations
- Message control
- Press conference preparation
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 61.1 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 00:44:26 into the tape and ends around 00:45:47.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On March 24, 1972, 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 9:20 am and 9:38 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 326-002 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 326-2
Date: March 24, 1972
Time: Unknown between 9:20 am and 9:38 am
Location: Executive Office Building
The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.
News summary
-Unknown person
-Resignation
-Possible press conference question
-Elliot Richardson
-Unknown manAlso recorded on March 24, 1972
- 022-010 9:18 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:18 am and 9:38 am.
- 326-003 9:20 AM · 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 9:20 am and 9:38 am.
- 022-011 9:38 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 9:38 am to 9:45 am.
- 326-004 9:38 AM · 5 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 9:38 am to 9:45 am.
- 022-012 9:45 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:45 am and 12:54 pm.
- 326-005 9:45 AM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:45 am and 9:50 am.
- 326-006 9:45 AM · 11 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 9:45 am and 9:50 am.
- 326-007 9:45 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:45 am and 9:50 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 326-002, March 24, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/326-002 (accessed October 2, 2026).