On January 26, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:36 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 843-004 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
I don't think we'll have sound.
Unless you feel that you... We don't want to have a stand-up mic, but we could have the directional mic thing that I wanted to raise up with you.
I wouldn't have
If you're going to say something, I wouldn't have it.
Well, I'm not going to say much except that I haven't said it previously to the greatest people in the world.
But I was like, but I think the place for it is the leaders of our community.
That's what we're doing.
Right.
But I think you're saying you can do that and have that another role.
Yeah.
We'll take the press in the far end, the far side, the fireplace end, and have a writing pool press there.
Have a writing pool press and the cameras with the shoulder harness with those directional mics that can pick that up.
Okay?
I'd like to get your permission, Mr. President, to have Jerry talk to Time Magazine to put them straight on a story that relates to a fellow by the name of Angelo DiCarlo, who you can get at his sentencing of six months to live.
And there's a
that he's tied in with Frank Sinatra and the vice president and all this.
It's not a...
I understand.
But his sentence was commuted because he has six months to live.
And it was commuted.
I just talked to John about it.
I strictly understood it because of compassionate reasons.
And the vice president, Frank Sinatra, no one talked to anyone about it.
And I'd like to get that word... Why do we have to advise him?
Why do you say that?
Well, OK, we can do that.
See, they have a query in the ear.
From the White House standpoint, because you didn't commute the sentence, I'd like to get the quote out.
It was recommended by the pardon attorney and the attorney
And there was no knowledge, whatever, of any interest, quite frankly.
Right.
Not to the Vice President or anybody else.
I'd just like to put that pressure against him, but I didn't want to do it until I checked with you.
Just on this one thing, and I'll let you know.
Are you up for an accessory to having police in Henry?
Good.
I think very good.
He talked at work, sir.
How is he?
He's, he's, uh, Bernie Wordsman is a funny guy.
Bernie Wordsman, if he feels secure in the information he has and knows he has, you know, a good, good relationship, he'll play ball.
Where Bernie Wordsman has gone, Bernie Wordsman is basically a good newsman whore.
And if he, he'll play any, he'll play anything.
He's not, he's not philosophically hung up.
Like most of those types of people.
What did Henry get to him, they say?
He snuck it out.
See, Bernie Burtman, when he calls in...
The only thing that I see is that it was the Times, of course, that was going way out on the line.
Henry did the whole thing, all that sort of thing, and I was thinking that may have been a result of his talk with Burtman.
Henry doesn't deliver the credit, but what he does is the way he talks.
Of course, I...
to florida on a plane henry has about three tv requests from all three networks one way to get henry locked into a straight story is let him do one of these because he's not about to go on nationwide television in an interview and say i did it all and once he does that publicly in that type of setting well but the the breaking over the eos
It was, you know, the people were wondering about the protocols and all that type of thing.
Can we ever get him to say the right thing?
I think we can.
He knows it, but you're not.
I think we can.
Well, then can we get somebody to get like, I would do it with Howard Smith.
Howard Smith.
Ask the right question.
We have three requests.
Which I'm going to ask you.
No, no, no.
This is all part of time.
Who?
Howard K. Smith wants to do a 15-minute interview.
Barbara Walters wants to do an interview with him, which she would use in a special.
But CBS, ironically enough, has offered the best time.
They've offered prime time, hour, or half an hour, whichever we would agree to, for an interview with Henry.
Now, one of the things, one of the advantages of CBS... Well, this is the thing.
Cal was doing it.
Barbara and Cal were doing it.
Now... Well, but I don't...
Here's the thing.
When Henry is up against what he feels to be a strong, you know, adversary, I think Henry would perform better.
And I also think that up against that type of setting, he would be forced through those responses to get the right line.
Oh, I'm trying to get into the questions, I'm afraid.
Well, is he called by the government?
I just don't know if that's behind him.
Yeah.
Cal would come at him with those things, but I think Henry could not.
Why not try to defend himself rather than trying to build what he should do to roll the president?
That's what's really got to be done here, as you understand.
Absolutely.
That's the only thing.
Well, that's what we're gearing up this weekend now to do that on all the shows.
Sullivan's doing it out of Paris.
We're going to be in touch with Sullivan out of Paris on Meet the Press.
We've got... Well, at least there's some positive...
Oh, absolutely.
Sure.
Well, we can, well, I don't like to say