{"conversationCode":"420-017","tapeNumber":420,"conversationNumber":17,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-420-017","startDateTime":"1973-03-19T18:28:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-03-19T18:31:00.000Z","startDate":"19-Mar-1973","startTime":"1:28 PM","endDate":"19-Mar-1973","endTime":"1:31 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.;","description":"On March 19, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:28 pm to 1:31 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 420-017 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":"5.4","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part IV","chronReleaseDate":"8-Dec-2010","aogpRelease":"Abuse of Governmental Power Release","aogpSegment":"Segment 0","lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 420-17\n\nDate: March 19, 1973\nTime: 1:28 pm - 1:31 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.\n\n[See Conversation No. 37-154]","filename":["420-017.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"420-016","nextCode":"420-018","transcript":[{"start":0.57,"end":13.41,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":13.43,"end":14.17,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":24.05,"end":24.25,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":32.03,"end":50.75,"text":"I don't know why that's in the cross."},{"start":50.77,"end":55.04,"text":"I don't know why that's in the cross."},{"start":55.06,"end":57.4,"text":"I don't know why that's in the cross."},{"start":57.42,"end":60.14,"text":"I don't know why that's in the cross."},{"start":66.52,"end":86.4,"text":"The dean needed to get off the plane."},{"start":86.42,"end":89.99,"text":"The dean is the lawyer, and now they've heard no charge about the, uh, missing driver."},{"start":90.01,"end":90.11,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":90.13,"end":91.01,"text":"The judge was against him in the Adams case."},{"start":91.03,"end":91.55,"text":"He was the central figure."},{"start":91.57,"end":92.83,"text":"He was the second, basically, in this case, in the Jordan case."},{"start":93.6,"end":115.86,"text":"Do they know something about the charge?"},{"start":115.88,"end":119.08,"text":"Well, I'm glad that you have to handle it."},{"start":119.1,"end":120.3,"text":"Okay, fine, thank you."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler held a brief, fragmented discussion regarding legal developments and pending charges involving individuals connected to the ongoing Watergate investigations. The participants specifically referenced the involvement of White House Counsel John Dean and a judge’s unfavorable prior rulings in the Adams and Jordan cases. The exchange reflects the administration's concern over unfolding legal complications and the associated public relations challenges.","topics":["Watergate scandal","John Dean","legal proceedings","Ronald Ziegler","White House press relations"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T19:07:57.864Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate-scandal","john-dean","legal-proceedings","ronald-ziegler","white-house-press-relations"],"audioDurationSec":126,"audioFiles":[{"file":"420-017.mp3","bytes":817152,"durationSec":125.68,"bitrate":52014,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:46.738Z","transcriptGapSeconds":61,"transcriptGapShare":0.48,"transcriptQuality":"incomplete","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/420-017.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/420-017","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/420/conversation-420-017","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}