Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 617 › Conversation 617-001
Nixon & Ziegler on Troop withdrawal and Public relations
Friday, November 12, 1971 · 3:59 PM–4:02 PM ET · Oval Office · 48 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler met to coordinate the public communication strategy for an impending troop withdrawal announcement. They discussed the logistics of Nixon’s televised address and the supporting materials, specifically photographs, to be released by the press office. The meeting served to finalize Ziegler’s role in managing the official announcement and ensuring that the media strategy aligned with the President’s planned delivery.
- Troop withdrawal
- Public relations
- Televised address
- White House press operations
- Vietnam War
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 76% 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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NARA Description
On November 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:59 pm and 4:02 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 617-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 617-001
Date: November 12, 1971
Time: 3:59 pm - unknown before 4:02 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.
The President's forthcoming troop withdrawal announcement
-Photographs
-Ziegler's announcement
Ziegler left at an unknown time before 4:02 pm.Also recorded on November 12, 1971
- 617-013 3:33 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:33 pm and 3:36 pm.
- 617-014 3:33 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:33 pm and 3:36 pm.
- 617-015 3:36 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:36 pm and 4:26 pm.
- 617-002 3:59 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:59 pm and 4:02 pm.
- 617-003 4:02 PM · 5 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:02 pm and 4:29 pm.
- 617-004 4:02 PM · 13 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:02 pm and 4:29 pm.
- 617-016 4:26 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:26 pm and 4:30 pm.
- 617-005 4:29 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, Clark MacGregor, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:29 pm and 4:54 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 617-001, November 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/617-001 (accessed October 1, 2026).