Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 433 › Conversation 433-056

Nixon & Baroody on Watergate scandal and Public support

Tuesday, May 1, 1973 · 7:15 PM–7:19 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 8 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Baroody, William J., Jr.; White House operatorConversation433-056 on Tape 433StartTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 7:15 PMEndTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 7:19 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 433-056 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with William J. Baroody, Jr. to discuss the administration's internal morale and efforts to cultivate public support following recent Watergate-related pressures. They evaluated the potential departure of staff members connected to the scandal and reviewed positive public reactions to the President's recent televised address, including feedback from ethnic leaders and business groups. Additionally, they touched upon the political implications of a Senate resolution calling for a special prosecutor, with the President advising a cautious, discreet approach toward managing staff personnel and future investigations.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 4 minutes of this recording (about 52% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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Come in, though.
How's your morale, boy?
It's, uh, very good, sir.
Thank you.
Good.
Uh, what about your team?
You got them up?
Uh, yes, sir.
I think so.
It's, uh, not a very large team.
I don't know.
I don't know.
You had to cut it back.
That's right.
Cut it back.
Yes, sir.
Uh, I did talk to the...
Indicators that, to Nick Howard's point, I think he's come to the conclusion that it might be wise to overdo it.
I mean, if he's going to go there, he'll just be charged.
Right, and he tied in with Chuck, with Chuck and the whole operation.
I was going off to talk to Chuck about this.
It's a tough deal, but you understand.
I want him to go.
I want him to go.
I'm afraid of my people right now.
You've got no problem.
Thank God you came.
You generated some support.
What the hell is wrong with that?
We've got them out here.
That's our job.
As you know, that's it.
Well, I do have a problem because I, as you know, didn't work with Chuck for some extent.
He was in the medicine for sure.
I mean, and it's all about, I mean, it's just that, or I, you know, I'll make a case, I think, any time.
It's making information where I can develop an account, you know, to be strong and all the rest.
You know, you're a fighter, as a fighter, you're a fighter, you've got to be a fighter.
Any, um, already, uh,
I don't say it critically.
You've been able to get some reactions to the talk and so forth from your colleagues.
You don't want to generate, you know, like, do I?
No, we generated wires.
We're good enough anyway.
But, no, that's what I thought.
I have done...
Your ethics, to the ethics, in fact, Mayor Rizzo, I just want to give a very strong statement.
We expect the Democrats, the governors, the Republicans, not trying to pick up their smarty pants.
Just keep the Rizzo's and the rest fighting for us.
Anybody like that should be alright.
Yes, sir.
The various, uh, I have to admit, there's been some, I think, several statements from you over the next several days.
Uh, I talked to my friends over at the Jamie on this conference.
They mentioned that, you know, they wrote their, uh, all of the state dinners, you know, last night, and they, and several of them, they, uh, wrote the program with you on TV, and then, you know, there's several reports I got, they all, you know, standing away from me.
Oh, no.
Let it go.
I'll call it tomorrow.
All right.
Thank you.
On that specific point in terms of the chamber of law.
Yes, sir.
That's good.
In fact, I got that also in talking to the National Committee and getting some requests from around the country.
Yeah, Jan Johnson went down to Buckle's house, put in Jan Johnson, and in particular, Buckle shouldn't say anything.
They broke up.
She held out her speech.
They watched, and that was the immediate reaction.
Following that with, I'm sure you saw the commentary afterwards.
So, I'm getting some mixed, if you're not familiar with me, quite honestly, that's a weak, quite bad company.
But we're getting some, it's not just the presser, Carl Curtis, up there today, and Buckley on their resolution with a special presser too.
Buckley's for a resolution for special prosecution.
Well, more than Buckley.
He was one of the original sponsors.
I think Barry was too, but kind of shook me a little bit.
I mean, you know, coming that strong right after that.
Right.
There was a thought that I kind of cranked in through Dave over the past couple weeks that the possibility of swearing is one way of getting additional evidence and so on.
As if we had swearing in certain ways.
for like some appropriate, uh, rewards.
Uh, anything of all these, of all these people?
Not right now.
I think, I think right now it would look like we were reaching.
I, I, at a later time, maybe, uh, maybe, maybe, I'm not sure, but let's, let's not reach at the moment.
This is the time, you know, to sit there and get this standing and don't think Washington's going to quit their country, uh, theater, or whatever.
Especially across the country.
How many were on it?
Uh, originally there were about 15 senators, I guess so.
That's right, that's right.
What do you mean by that?
It did pass.
It passed the Senate.
The Senate of the Senate of the Revolution, I'm not talking about the Senate of the Senate of the Senate of the Senate of the Senate of the Senate of the Senate of the Senate of the Senate of the
It's a very delicate thing in terms of our going out and talking to, we've done this today, we've talked to specific people that we know we can, I've had Colin Moore, my brother, I'm checking in with him now, he's a very fine guy, he just happened to be elected.
To re-elect him, he turned out to be the first white outstaffed man when he was called for a candidacy.
He was there when the lady came and went up and I couldn't see the place.
He's apparently in good shape the whole time.
Yeah.
I think there should be no problem.
I just want to check that out.
We have to move anybody but the very discreetly and quietly and so forth.
Not with the new plan there.
Not a great number of people.
Other than that.
Uh.
Right.

NARA Description

On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, William J. Baroody, Jr., and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 433-056 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 433-56

Date: May 1, 1973
Time: Unknown between 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with William J. Baroody, Jr.

     Baroody’s staff
          -Morale
          -Size

     Watergate
          -Baroody’s conversation with Dick Howard
          -Howard’s possible departure
               -Involvement
               -John D. Ehrlichman [?]
               -Charges
               -Charles W. Colson
                     -Operations to generate support
          -Baroody’s conversation with Colson
               -“Tough deal”
               -President’s affection for Colson
          -Baroody’s role
               -Operation to generate support
               -Colson

     Need for spirit
          -Baroody
                                             -33-

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

           -Colson

     President’s speech
           -Reaction
                 -Generation of support
                       -President’s opposition
                       -Telegrams
                 -Ethnics
                       -Frank L. Rizzo
                             -Statement
                       -Democrats
                             -Governors
                             -Ethnic newspapers
                       -Unknown person’s conversation with Baroody
                             -Chamber of Commerce [?] convention
                                   -State dinner
                                         -President’s televised address

The White House operator talked with the President at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and
7:19 pm.

[Conversation No. 433-56A]

[Begin telephone conversation]

[See Conversation No. 45-116]

[End telephone conversation]

     President’s speech
           -Reaction
                 -Chamber of Commerce
                 -Republican National Committee [RNC]
                 -Janet Johnson
                       -William D. Ruckleshaus
                 -Carl T. Curtis

     Special Prosecutor
          -Senate resolution
                 -James L. Buckley
                                               -34-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                 -Barry M. Goldwater
                 -Charles H. Percy
                 -Elliot L. Richardson
                 -Public opinion
                 -Sponsors

     Baroody’s staff
          -Powell Moore
                -Connection with Baroody
                      -Chicago
                -Richard B. Russell
                -Committee to Re-elect the President [CRP]
                -Watergate
                      -Grand Jury testimony
                            -G[eorge] Gordon Liddy
                                 -Richard Kleindienst
                -Baroody investigation
          -Dismissal
                -Discretion

     Senate resolution

Baroody left at an unknown time before 7:19 pm.

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 045-115 7:15 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:15 pm.
  • 045-116 7:15 PM · 18 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 045-117 7:15 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 045-118 7:15 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 433-057 7:15 PM · 10 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 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 433-058 7:15 PM · 11 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 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 045-119 7:19 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 7:19 pm to 7:22 pm.
  • 433-059 7:19 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:19 pm to 7:22 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 433-056, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/433-056 (accessed October 5, 2026).