Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 869 › Conversation 869-005

Nixon, Timmons & Ehrlichman on Congressional relations

Tuesday, March 6, 1973 · 8:25 AM–8:30 AM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Timmons, William E.; Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation869-005 on Tape 869StartTuesday, March 6, 1973 at 8:25 AMEndTuesday, March 6, 1973 at 8:30 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 869-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with John Ehrlichman and William Timmons to coordinate upcoming interactions with Republican congressional leadership, specifically Senators Hugh Scott and Gerald Ford. The discussion centered on managing legislative relations, assessing the loyalty of Republican senators, and addressing potential conflicts regarding presidential visits to the Senate. Additionally, the President directed that a strategic analysis of Democratic political reforms be outsourced to external consultants rather than conducted in-house to maintain a degree of separation.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
And he will come in with also a lot of stupidest thing I heard.
I'm really surprised I came in here was the idea that I would consider going down to the Senate policy.
Well, let's not raise it, Bill.
I will raise it.
Oh, he's not going to raise it.
I'm not going to raise it.
I'm going to say fine.
That's all I'm going to do is say fine.
I'm going to fight it out.
Well, I did last time, and maybe too bluntly, I don't know.
Because he's got 53%.
We've got a separate officer.
We ask you to do everything.
What's the matter with you?
Well, he's a semi-neurotic up there.
Like him, like Stevens, there are a bunch of them.
Well, I'm sorry.
No, that's very good.
But, uh, it's a, it's a,
I don't want to get out.
That analysis.
Don't have it done by you.
Have it done outside, let it close to us.
Outside group management.
Because that's a gradient analysis.
It's just like the convention, that it's a fundamental change in the whole... Well, I'm going to treat this very partly like boo-boos here.

NARA Description

On March 6, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, William E. Timmons, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:25 am to 8:30 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 869-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 869-5

Date: March 6, 1973
Time: 8:25 am - 8:30 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with John D. Ehrlichman and William E. Timmons.

       Congressional relations
            -Ehrlichman's meeting with Hugh Scott and Gerald R. Ford
                   -Ehrlichman's briefing
                   -Ford
                   -Scott
                                      -4-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                               Tape Subject Log
                                (rev. May-2010)
                                                      Conversation No. 869-5 (cont’d)



                   -Attitude

     -President's visit to Congress
            -Senate policy lunch
                  -Scott
            -Scheduling conflict
                  -Democratic study group

     -Ehrlichman's meeting with Scott and Ford
           -Republican senators’ support for President
                 -Responsibility for tax increase
     -Presidential veto
            -Support in Senate, House
                 -Ford
     -Senate
            -Carl T. Curtis's visits to White House
                 -1972 election results
            -Ehrlichman's evaluation of Republican Senators
                 -Curtis
                 -Ted Stevens

Republican leaders
     -Ford
            -Positive feedback
     -Scott
            -Subjects of discussion
     -Meeting with Ehrlichman

Press relations
      -Democratic reforms
             -Analysis
                  -Conservative columnists
                  -Charles W. Colson
                       -Compared with 1972 campaign, convention

President's meeting with Scott and Ford
      -Arrival
                                               -5-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                       Tape Subject Log
                                        (rev. May-2010)
                                                             Conversation No. 869-5 (cont’d)



Ehrlichman and Timmons left at 8:30 am.

Also recorded on March 6, 1973

  • 869-001 8:06 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:06 am and 8:20 am.
  • 869-002 8:06 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:06 am and 8:20 am.
  • 869-003 8:06 AM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:06 am and 8:20 am.
  • 869-004 8:20 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:20 am and 8:24 am.
  • 869-006 8:30 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:30 am and 8:35 am.
  • 116-003 8:35 AM — a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 8:35 am and 10:00 am.
  • 116-010 8:35 AM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 8:35 am and 10:00 am.
  • 869-007 8:35 AM · 1 hr 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Hugh Scott, Gerald R. Ford, Roy L. Ash, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Thomas C. Korologos, Richard K. Cook, William E. Timmons, John D. Ehrlichman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:35 am to 9:57 am.

All 45 conversations from March 6, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 869-005, March 6, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/869-005 (accessed October 1, 2026).