Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 432 › Conversation 432-019

Nixon & Ziegler on Watergate scandal and Public relations

Wednesday, May 2, 1973 · 2:22 PM–2:24 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation432-019 on Tape 432StartWednesday, May 2, 1973 at 2:22 PMEndWednesday, May 2, 1973 at 2:24 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 432-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler met briefly to coordinate their response to intensifying scrutiny regarding the Watergate break-in. They discussed allegations that Nixon withheld information during a recent speech, with the President explicitly denying prior knowledge of the criminal activity. The pair prepared for upcoming inquiries and set a schedule for further discussion later that afternoon.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Survived your conference?
Yeah.
Okay.
Anything new come up that I should know about?
Right.
Yeah.
I think that's the only thing to do on that one, Chief.
The President ordered the break-in.
Uh-huh.
Right, right.
Well, they want to see whether or not I said something in the speech that I should have revealed, whether it was a damn thing.
Well, that's what I mean.
They want to know whether or not in the speech I knew something that I did not reveal.
That's right.
Which, of course, I didn't know anything about.
I knew about the break-in, but I didn't know anything about the, you know, I mentioned the activities, you know what I mean?
Okay.
Okay, fine.
That's right, that's right.
Right, face right through.
Yeah, if you get out here, you're gonna have a good day.
Four o'clock today is fine.
They were mad at me.
All right, fine.
Fine.
All right, fine, Ron.
Thank you.
Fine.
See you later.

NARA Description

On May 2, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 2:24 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 432-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 432-19

Date: May 2, 1973
Time: Unknown between 2:22 pm and 2:24 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 45-146]

Also recorded on May 2, 1973

  • 045-146 2:22 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:22 pm to 2:24 pm.
  • 045-147 2:24 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:24 pm and 2:28 pm.
  • 432-020 2:24 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:24 pm and 2:28 pm.
  • 045-148 2:28 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:28 pm to 2:29 pm.
  • 432-021 2:28 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:28 pm and 2:29 pm.
  • 432-022 2:38 PM · 1 min — 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 2:38 pm and 2:41 pm.
  • 909-027 2:46 PM · 52 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:46 pm and 3:21 pm.
  • 909-031 2:46 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:46 pm and 3:21 pm.

All 82 conversations from May 2, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 432-019, May 2, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/432-019 (accessed October 5, 2026).