Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 426 › Conversation 426-020

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Congressional relations and Cabinet communication

Thursday, March 29, 1973 · 6:25 PM–6:26 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 46 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation426-020 on Tape 426StartThursday, March 29, 1973 at 6:25 PMEndThursday, March 29, 1973 at 6:26 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 426-020 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the development of a concise, simplified statement intended for distribution to members of Congress and the Cabinet. The President emphasizes the need for a unified, coherent position to avoid political vulnerabilities or inconsistencies. He directs Ehrlichman to further refine the draft to ensure it effectively serves as a standardized communication tool for the administration.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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So I wondered, what I had in mind here is that you did want to simply, something that would be easy and simple, that could be given to all of our congressional people, given to the members of the cabinet, for example, and frankly, that's what I had in mind.
In other words, so that we get some sort of arrival that we can't run into.
I don't know what you come up with, but if you can, you can make a pretty good statement on this one.
Work on it more.

NARA Description

On March 29, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:25 pm to 6:26 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 426-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 426-20

Date: March 29, 1973
Time: 6:25 pm - 6:26 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

[See Conversation No. 44-82]

Also recorded on March 29, 1973

  • 044-081 6:24 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:24 pm and 6:25 pm.
  • 426-018 6:24 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:24 pm.
  • 426-019 6:24 PM · 8 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 6:24 pm and 6:25 pm.
  • 044-082 6:25 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 6:25 pm to 6:26 pm.
  • 044-083 6:26 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:26 pm and 6:30 pm.
  • 426-021 6:26 PM · 8 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 6:26 pm and 6:30 pm.
  • 044-084 6:30 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:30 pm and 6:31 pm.
  • 426-022 6:30 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:30 pm to 6:31 pm.

All 77 conversations from March 29, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 426-020, March 29, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/426-020 (accessed October 1, 2026).