{"conversationCode":"721-004","tapeNumber":721,"conversationNumber":4,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-721-004","startDateTime":"1972-05-08T12:54:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-05-08T12:56:00.000Z","startDate":"8-May-1972","startTime":"8:54 AM","endDate":"8-May-1972","endTime":"8:56 AM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.;","description":"On May 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:54 am to 8:56 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 721-004 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":3,"chronRelease":"Third Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"28-Feb-2002","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 721-4\n\nDate: May 8, 1972\nTime: 8:54 am - 8:56 am\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.\n\n     Press briefings\n          -National Security Council [NSC] meeting\n                 -Time\n                 -Henry A. Kissinger\n                 -Ziegler's presence\n          -Forthcoming speech\n                 -Text\n                       -Timing\n\nZiegler left at 8:56 am.","filename":["721-004.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:17:18","tapeEnd":"00:18:48","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"721-003","nextCode":"721-005","transcript":[{"start":5.85,"end":31.09,"text":"at this point but uh uh the nfc's nine with an outstatement at nine sure according to henry um sorry if you want to sit in that uh sure follow it from the beginning okay"},{"start":34.5,"end":38.47,"text":"I haven't discussed any of this with anyone."},{"start":38.52,"end":41.69,"text":"I have a problem with that."},{"start":42.25,"end":50.07,"text":"I had purposely just stayed away from the Queen on this person, but I thought I'd be sorry if you'd like to start picking up on it this morning."},{"start":52.16,"end":54.12,"text":"I agree with another."},{"start":54.2,"end":56.58,"text":"I won't have to raise it with you again."},{"start":56.66,"end":57.2,"text":"Yes, we have."},{"start":57.22,"end":58.06,"text":"We decided that."},{"start":58.16,"end":58.66,"text":"So, yes, sir."},{"start":59.36,"end":61.9,"text":"And no reason for our answer."},{"start":61.92,"end":62.42,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":62.48,"end":67.19,"text":"We all know he hasn't time and we haven't decided yet."},{"start":67.25,"end":68.61,"text":"You see, we're not going to ask for it."},{"start":68.65,"end":70.33,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":70.35,"end":70.55,"text":"Okay."},{"start":72.37,"end":73.75,"text":"I haven't gotten into those details."},{"start":73.83,"end":76.89,"text":"I'm going to go about it again, but I'll proceed on that basis."},{"start":76.93,"end":77.25,"text":"Good."},{"start":77.27,"end":77.63,"text":"Okay, sir."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon met with Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler to coordinate administrative messaging and press strategy regarding upcoming national security matters. They discussed Ziegler's inclusion in a National Security Council meeting and the timing for an imminent presidential speech. The brief exchange served to align the White House communications team on the disclosure of sensitive policy details.","topics":["Press briefings","National Security Council","Public relations","Presidential speech","Communication strategy"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T03:17:43.655Z"},"topicSlugs":["press-briefings","national-security-council","public-relations","presidential-speech","communication-strategy"],"audioDurationSec":78,"audioFiles":[{"file":"721-004.mp3","bytes":3141795,"durationSec":78.42,"bitrate":320520,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:57.687Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:22.526Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/721-004.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/721-004","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/721/conversation-721-004","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}