Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 439 › Conversation 439-046

Nixon & Ziegler on Elliot Richardson and Congressional relations

Wednesday, May 23, 1973 · 3:58 PM–4:01 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation439-046 on Tape 439StartWednesday, May 23, 1973 at 3:58 PMEndWednesday, May 23, 1973 at 4:01 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 439-046 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler briefly coordinate on an upcoming meeting with Congress regarding a veto and the involvement of Elliot Richardson. They discuss the strategic necessity of managing ongoing political developments amid significant confusion within the administration. The conversation concludes with administrative arrangements regarding Ziegler’s schedule and future marketing work.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
Hi, Ron.
I am going to go over to Clare Ellison, you know, for a meeting with Congress.
I don't believe in that.
I think it would be all right if I say so.
Oh, yeah, yeah, we went to the veto and, uh, got Richardson to the committee, right?
Yeah.
Okay.
What did he say?
He said the court will hear him.
Who is old?
Well, yeah, but not now.
I see.
Well, anyway, there's a couple of other lines going on.
All we know is that there are things that are part of the setting of this meeting.
But what happens?
Well, I'm glad you came through on that.
What was that about?
After this thing, the ninth run, I'm just going to take a quick break.
I can't say the name of the race.
The bus is the bus.
We've got to hurry.
We've got to have a chance.
After that, we're going to have to go.
We're going to have to go long.
So you're going to be working through the marketing tomorrow.
And another reason I'm going to do this, there's so much confusion in the way I was going to do it.
I hope you have a good night's sleep when I get you up at night time.
All right, thank you guys, thank you.

NARA Description

On May 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:58 pm to 4:01 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 439-046 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 439-46

Date: May 23, 1973
Time: 3:58 pm - 4:01 pm
Location: Old Executive Office Building

President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 46-173]

Also recorded on May 23, 1973

  • 439-044 3:36 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Nellie L. Yates, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:36 pm and 3:58 pm.
  • 046-172 3:39 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:39 pm and 3:58 pm.
  • 439-045 3:39 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 3:39 pm and 3:58 pm.
  • 046-173 3:58 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 3:58 pm to 4:01 pm.
  • 046-174 4:01 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:01 pm and 4:05 pm.
  • 046-175 4:04 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone from 4:04 pm to 4:08 pm.
  • 439-047 4:05 PM · 47 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., White House operator, Elliot L. Richardson, and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:05 pm to 4:58 pm.
  • 046-176 4:08 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 4:24 pm.

All 56 conversations from May 23, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 439-046, May 23, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/439-046 (accessed October 12, 2026).