← 868-019868-021 →

Conversation 868-020

TapeTape 868StartSaturday, March 3, 1973 at 3:27 PMEndSaturday, March 3, 1973 at 3:45 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ziegler, Ronald L.Recording deviceOval Office
AI Summary

President Nixon and Ronald Ziegler discussed press relations, specifically evaluating the effectiveness of recent media coverage and planning the timing of future press conferences. They reviewed positive New York Times editorial support regarding the administration's stance against paying ransom for hostages in Sudan. Furthermore, the two discussed strategies for addressing the ongoing Watergate investigations, with Nixon emphasizing a public commitment to cooperation while maintaining institutional separation of powers.

WatergatePress RelationsTerrorismExecutive PrivilegeWhite House Communications
AudioNARA Description

On March 3, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 3:45 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 868-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 868-20

Date: March 3, 1973
Time: Unknown between 3:27 pm and 3:45 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

       Ronald L. Ziegler's day

       Quadriad meeting
            -News stories
            -Length
            -Meetings with Henry A. Kissinger
            -Press coverage
                  -Arrangements
                  -Local stations

       Peter J. Brennan visit to accident site
             -Apartment building
                                      -59-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                (rev. June-2010)
                                                       Conversation No. 868-20 (cont’d)

     -Coverage

New York Times editorial
     -Support for President’s statement on blackmail, ransom
           -Khartoum, Sudan incident
     -President as example to other world leaders

US acceding to terrorist demands
     -Impact on diplomatic corps
          -Kidnapping

Press relations
      -Television [TV] coverage
             -President’s statements
                   -Press conference
                   -National memorial
                   -Timing
      -Press conferences
             -Location
                   -Press Room, East Room
                   -Advantages
      -TV coverage
             -Networks compared to local stations
                   -Channel 5, Metro Media
                         Extensive coverage, footage
                   -Network commentators

Watergate
     -TV coverage
          -John W. Dean, III
                 -Testimony
          -Administration’s view
                 -Ziegler
                 -Patrick J. Buchanan
                 -William L. Safire
     -Dean’s statement
          -President’s approval
          -Congressional investigation
                 -Past cases
                                              -60-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                       (rev. June-2010)
                                                             Conversation No. 868-20 (cont’d)

                              -Mike Gravel
            -Administration statement
                -Dean’s testifying
                -Cooperation with Congressional committee
                       -Compared to Hiss case
                              -Harry S. Truman
                              -Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
                              -Justice Department
                       -FBI
                       -White House staff
                       -Separation of powers
                -Administration's position
                       -Cooperation

       President's press conference
             -Scheduling
                    -Timing
                          -California trip
                          -Nuygen Van Thieu
             -TV coverage
                    -East Room
                    -Time, date
                    -Troop withdrawals
                          -Completion
             -Alternative dates
                    -California trip
                    -Thieu visit
                    -Problem
                          -Baseball opener
                                 -Pittsburgh
                                 -Roberto Clemente

This conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 3:45 pm.
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.

Yes, sir.
Well, a light day today?
No.
Okay.
We've been very helpful.
Oh, yeah.
Wait, that's the stigma?
Yeah, we have.
So we've got this.
Two hours.
Okay.
We made sure that the press were all covered, and they had labor already, but we double-checked the local stations to get out there and cover it.
The labor guys ran it out.
It's probably free.
You see, he is great.
He's the best we've ever had.
He loves to go out.
He is a hard man.
So he goes out there and looks around.
He's a cool man.
He's a cool man.
Incidentally, did anyone mention the New York Times editorial to you?
No, I mean, because they supported your statement yesterday 100% on the blackmail.
I call it blackmail.
It's not the right term.
It's ransom.
I guess you didn't use blackmail.
Absolutely.
As a matter of fact, the point the New York Times made in their editorial was that if world leaders, other world leaders,
would have had the courage to say what you said yesterday, the whole problem of international terrorism would be solved today if we would not face this problem.
Well, it was the right position.
If anybody thinks, I was thinking, for example, of other ambassadors around the world that are probably petrified at the moment.
But if we had paid blackmail for these guys, they would be paying quite a hundred dollars.
That's exactly right.
That's the reason you have to do it.
Once you pay, you encourage kidnapping, let's face it.
The television last night used your comment, but they used it in a way following your statement
that it was both strong and also it had the concern involved, and I think Clay Burr was in about the statement on the... Well, the flags being lowered and the statement of grief that we put out, because we called it right into the desks of the networks, and they had it on the air, so...
That ran together with your press conference statement.
Then everyone pointed out that your press conference statement had been made prior to the event, but not in a negative way.
In other words, it came off very well.
So no one is drawing any
Well, the Press Junction's got to be, despite that being the biggest church in that area.
Excellent.
Excellent.
It sure shows the wisdom of going out to that press room.
That's the one now.
That's probably the press room.
Or, you know, the Eastern.
The Eastern.
That's all.
And they feel more of this press conference right there, too.
Here they call it an informal meeting of the press.
Plus, it's so much more to...
are advantaged to do it out there.
Because you're showing the radio, the TV, and the TV guys love it.
They get a chance to understand.
Plus, you see, we only look at the TV around often here in Washington, in the White House, too often by what we see on the network.
But if you watch the local shows, for example, I normally watch it in the evening, the 5 o'clock, the Channel 5 local news, which comes on at 10 p.m. Metromedia comes on at 10 p.m.
which gives a pretty good indication of what local stations around the country are using.
I mean, because it's a non-network affiliate.
They used last night, for example, extensive film footage from the press conference.
Well, there are stations all across the country who get the feeds out from UPTDTN and pick up on the networks that use extensive footage of the press conference.
More than we realize is used.
The network used it.
The network used it.
They used some film, and they also used some of the commentaries, because actually they covered most of the story when they were actually there.
It's interesting, they didn't give it a D, Watergate didn't give it a D. I said this afternoon, that Buchanan and Sapphire were kind of critiquing the thing, and all of us thought that the Watergate thing would not be used that way.
It wasn't much of a matter, except sometimes the dean wanted to testify, but I didn't do it.
I have approved the statements, but I don't apparently agree that it indicated that we didn't want to.
I don't know what the answer is.
Well, dean is checking one thing.
There's a line on just as congressional staffs are protected, he wants to check one other case before
That particular section is locked in.
Oh, yeah.
You're sure that's correct?
Gravel, when he read that.
Oh, yeah.
The papers, his staff was protected.
Yeah.
But there was one other case of John, one of the two, to review.
Well, you know, the Dean question was, the only way that could be handled was to just say, why the first one, John?
Would you leave?
Yes.
Why did you leave?
But we will furnish the information, and that's the line.
And you should say, Mr. Stingridge, what I ran to with the his case, I'm trying to make sure that there would be no cooperation at all with the committee, and that's what we did.
And the FBI refused to furnish any information to us.
The Justice Department refused to furnish any information to us.
We are doing exactly the opposite.
We're saying we will cooperate.
Thank you.
to the appearance of White House staff members before Congressional committees and formal sessions that would be a violation of the Constitution.
Can we just stick around with that?
So we get in a position, basically what we want to do here is to be in a position where we're not covering up.
We should constantly say, we're ready to cooperate, but we cannot cooperate on their terms.
We're not withholding, we're not covering up.
We're ready to, if they want to ask anything, ask it.
But it's not going to be in that, because it's sort of not built the other way.
And that's a great departure.
I was thinking that they might try to take another one of these in terms of time, about two weeks, because I wouldn't be able to stay with them, maybe.
This was the second.
Two to three weeks, I think.
This time it would be four weeks.
If you do it in three weeks, it's a week just before you would go toward the end of the last week in March to California prior to the two thing, which would be...
The only problem with that is if I do that in then, I don't want to go on the national.
Because I'm trying to think of one of the best times to do the, to do the follow-up.
The Eastern.
And my thought is that probably as good a time as that would be, maybe the 29th.
That's the, well, let's see, the final date when all the troops are up is the 27th, I think.
Yeah.
So we could go with 29th or 30th.
and then go off to California.
That's your stay.
Now, if we do that, we might want to get another one of these on the way before they come.
So I'd shut that at 15.
On other losses, I believe we'd be able to do this in 20 seconds and wait and do one in California, California.
I don't know.
It would be actually better from your standpoint to do it
the 15th or the 29th, because after the two thing, then that would give you at least 45 days of.
Yeah, we may not have that, because I'm tentatively thinking of coming back and do the baseball over there.
I have two days on there.
The baseball over there is in Pittsburgh.
I should do it once, perhaps.
It's not that I'd rather go on that day.
See, I'm trying to think what the best time is to do the, to do the follow-up.
The Eastern.
My thought is that probably as good a time as that would be, maybe the 29th.
That's the, well, let's see, what, the final date when all the troops are up is the 27th, I think.
Yeah.
So we could go the 29th, the 30th, huh?
and then go off to California.
That's your stay.
Now, if we do that, we might want to get another one of these on the way before we get another one.
So that would shut that out of the game.
Another lawsuit, I believe, would be to do this in 20 seconds and wait to do one in California.
I don't know.
It would be actually better from your standpoint to do it
15th or the 29th, because after the two thing, then that would give you at least 45 days of... Yeah, we may not have that, because I'm tentatively thinking of coming back and do the baseball over there.
I have two days on there.
The baseball over there is in Pittsburgh.
I might be in opportunity to go in there.
I should do it once, perhaps.
It's not that I'd rather go on that day.
I don't know.
← 868-019868-021 →