Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 555 › Conversation 555-019

Nixon & Ziegler on Press briefing and Public relations

Thursday, August 5, 1971 · 12:35 PM–12:36 PM ET · Oval Office ·34 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation555-019 onTape 555 (tape position 00:51:00–00:51:55)StartThursday, August 5, 1971 at 12:35 PMEndThursday, August 5, 1971 at 12:36 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 555-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler met briefly in the Oval Office to coordinate strategy ahead of a forthcoming press briefing. Given the extremely short duration of the recorded segment, the discussion focused on preparing public messaging. No definitive policy decisions were captured before the recording ended.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.3 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Alright.

NARA Description

On August 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:35 pm to 12:36 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 555-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 555-19

Date: August 5, 1971
Time: 12:35 pm - 12:36 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Forthcoming press briefing

The recording was cut off at 12:36 pm.

Also recorded on August 5, 1971

  • 067-011 10:10 AM · 1 hr 47 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, and Cabinet officers, including William P. Rogers, John B. Connally, Melvin R. Laird, John N. Mitchell, J. Philip Campbell, Maurice H. Stans, James D. Hodgson, John G. Veneman, George W. Romney, John A. Volpe, George P. Shultz, Robert H. Finch, Donald H. Rumsfeld, George H. W. Bush, Raymond K. Price, Jr., Herbert G. Klein, Ronald L. Ziegler, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Robert J. Dole, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 10:10 am to 11:55 am.
  • 555-018 10:10 AM · 50 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 11:57 am.
  • 067-013 11:57 AM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for the Spanish Speaking, including Robert H. Finch, Frederic V. Malek, Patricia R. Hitt, Antonio Rodriguez, Louie Cespedes, Clifford M. Hardin, James D. Hodgson, Elliot L. Richardson, George W. Romney, John B. Connally, Frank C. Carlucci, III, Thomas S. Kleppe, William H. Brown, III, Robert E. Hampton, Eugene A. Marin, Edward M. Yturri, Ted F. Martinez, Igncaio E. Lozano, Jr., Edgar A. Buttari, Manuel R. Giberga, Jorge E. Tristani, Manuel A. Gonzalez, Hilda A. Hidalgo, William C. Oldaker, Phillip V. Sanchez, Dr. Henry M. Ramirez, and John N. Mitchell., met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:57 am and 12:35 pm.
  • 555-003 12:00 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for the Spanish Speaking, including, Dr. Henry M. Ramirez, Antonio Rodriguez, Louie Cespedes, Eugene A. Marin, Edward M. Yturri, Ted F. Martinez, Ignacio E. Lozano, Jr., Edgar A. Buttari, Manuel R. Giberga, Jorge E. Tristani, Manuel A. Gonzalez, Hilda A. Hidalgo, William C. Oldaker, Philip Sanchez, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Stephen B. Bull, met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:00 pm to 12:13 pm.
  • 555-004 1:13 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:13 pm and 1:15 pm.
  • 555-005 1:15 PM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles H. Percy, Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins, William Brock, M. A. Henderson, W. R. Davenport, Robert A. Taft, Jr., Alexander P. Butterfield, Zachery Williams, Mrs. John C. Williams, Paul E. Funk, David Gilbert, Morris Semiatin, Charles S. Gubser, Philip Schuyler, Lawrence G. Williams, Mrs. Lawrence G. Williams, Marie A. Boyer, Marie A. Simmonds, Silvio O. Conte, Mrs. Wilfred S. Hitchcock, Mrs. George Voskly, Hugh K. Ferry, Joseph F. Mattis, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:15 pm to 1:46 pm.
  • 555-006 1:46 PM · 54 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, Stephen B. Bull, and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:46 pm to 2:40 pm.
  • 555-007 2:40 PM · 3 min — Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, and President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:40 pm and 3:13 pm.

All 20 conversations from August 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 555-019, August 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/555-019 (accessed September 18, 2026).