Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 440 › Conversation 440-007

Nixon & Ziegler on White House Staff and Press Relations

Tuesday, May 22, 1973 · 2:52 PM–2:53 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation440-007 on Tape 440StartTuesday, May 22, 1973 at 2:52 PMEndTuesday, May 22, 1973 at 2:53 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 440-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler held a brief, informal discussion regarding the nature and extent of Ziegler's professional autonomy. The conversation centers on the President clarifying the degree of freedom granted to his press secretary in his official duties. No specific policy decisions were recorded during this brief exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Are you going to break that?
I don't care, but you and I have got to understand this.
You've got a lot of freedom.
You've got a lot of freedom.

NARA Description

On May 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:52 pm to 2:53 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 440-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 440-7

Date: May 22, 1973
Time: 2:52 pm - 2:53 pm
Location: Old Executive Office Building

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.
                                               -4-

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                         Conversation No. 440-7 (cont’d)

[See Conversation No. 46-149]

Also recorded on May 22, 1973

  • 046-146 2:44 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:44 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 046-147 2:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:45 pm to 2:46 pm.
  • 440-005 2:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:45 pm to 2:46 pm.
  • 046-148 2:46 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:46 pm and 2:52 pm.
  • 440-006 2:46 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 2:46 pm and 2:52 pm.
  • 046-149 2:52 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:52 pm to 2:53 pm.
  • 046-150 2:53 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:53 pm and 3:00 pm.
  • 440-008 2:53 PM · 9 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 2:53 pm and 3:00 pm.

All 80 conversations from May 22, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 440-007, May 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/440-007 (accessed October 12, 2026).