{"conversationCode":"617-002","tapeNumber":617,"conversationNumber":2,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-617-002","startDateTime":"1971-11-12T20:59:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-11-12T21:02:00.000Z","startDate":"12-Nov-1971","startTime":"3:59 PM","endDate":"12-Nov-1971","endTime":"4:02 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.;","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 617-002 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":2,"chronRelease":"Second Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"26-Oct-2000","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 617-002\n\nDate: November 12, 1971\nTime: Unknown after 3:59 pm until 4:02 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.\n\n     The President's forthcoming troop withdrawal announcement\n          -Duration\n\n       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542\n\n                 -Cutoff\n                      -Frank Cormier\n\n     Henry A. Kissinger\n\nThe President and Ziegler left at 4:02 pm.","filename":["617-002.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:03:34","tapeEnd":"00:03:58","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"617-001","nextCode":"617-003","transcript":[{"start":0.03,"end":11.68,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":11.7,"end":11.89,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":11.91,"end":12.12,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":12.14,"end":12.34,"text":"Thank you."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler consulted regarding the logistical details of an upcoming presidential announcement concerning troop withdrawals. The discussion focused on establishing the duration of the withdrawal process and setting a definitive cutoff date for the initiative. They also addressed how to manage media inquiries from journalists, specifically citing Frank Cormier, alongside brief mentions of Henry Kissinger's role in the planning.","topics":["Troop withdrawals","Press strategy","Vietnam War","White House communications","Henry Kissinger"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T00:51:44.565Z"},"topicSlugs":["troop-withdrawals","press-strategy","vietnam-war","white-house-communications","henry-kissinger"],"audioDurationSec":17,"audioFiles":[{"file":"617-002.mp3","bytes":688128,"durationSec":17.08,"bitrate":322239,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:51.995Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:08.175Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/617-002.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/617-002","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/617/conversation-617-002","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}