Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 352 › Conversation 352-009

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Gun control and Saturday night specials

Wednesday, July 26, 1972 · 5:21 PM–5:29 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation352-009 on Tape 352StartWednesday, July 26, 1972 at 5:21 PMEndWednesday, July 26, 1972 at 5:29 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 352-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the administration's stance on gun control legislation, specifically focusing on policies regarding 'Saturday night specials.' The conversation addresses potential public statements concerning the FBI and Director L. Patrick Gray's previous remarks on the issue. They deliberate on the extent of the administration's involvement in current legislative proposals and the strategic messaging required to handle the matter.

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Yeah.
What do you want me to say about that?
Even if the mother isn't working.
Yeah.
I don't know the situation.
Let's see if we have handguns.
What, apparently Pat Gray had said something.
Do we want to go further than we've gone on?
Saturday night specials to the mountain.
What did it say?
Yeah, because they didn't provide the other .
Yeah, but not .
Oh, yeah, you made it.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On July 26, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:21 pm to 5:29 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 352-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 352-9

Date: July 26, 1972
Time: 5:21 pm - 5:29 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

[See Conversation No. 27-92]

Also recorded on July 26, 1972

  • 027-089 5:01 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:01 pm and 5:10 pm.
  • 027-091 5:10 PM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 5:10 pm to 5:20 pm.
  • 352-007 5:10 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 5:10 pm.
  • 352-008 5:10 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:10 pm to 5:20 pm.
  • 027-092 5:20 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:20 pm and 5:29 pm.
  • 352-010 5:29 PM · 7 sec — 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 5:29 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 352-011 5:29 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:29 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 352-012 5:35 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Patrick J. Buchanan, Alexander P. Butterfield, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:35 pm to 5:55 pm.

All 81 conversations from July 26, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 352-009, July 26, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/352-009 (accessed October 1, 2026).