Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 875 › Conversation 875-004

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Criminal justice reform

Friday, March 9, 1973 · 3:53 PM–11:59 PM ET · Oval Office · 19 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]Conversation875-004 on Tape 875StartFriday, March 9, 1973 at 3:53 PMEndFriday, March 9, 1973 at 11:59 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 875-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon utilized time in the Oval Office to record a video segment for a radio address focused on his proposed revisions to the federal criminal code. His remarks emphasized a hardline stance on law enforcement, advocating for mandatory tougher penalties for drug offenses and the reinstatement of the death penalty for serious crimes like hijacking and terrorism. Following the recording, the President engaged in informal discussions regarding the recent release of prisoner John T. Downey and general administrative logistics.

Criminal justice reform
Drug enforcement
Capital punishment
John T. Downey
Radio address
Video recording

Audio

Download MP3 · 5.4 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Thank you.

Mr. President, Americans have the right to be free from the fear of crime.

I shall soon propose a revision of the entire federal criminal code, which will give us tougher penalties against drugs and against crime.

I will ask for the restoration of the death penalty for hijackers, kidnappers, terrorists, and others convicted of major federal crimes.

I shall propose mandatory

new tough penalties for drug abusers.

I shall continue to oppose efforts to legalize marijuana.

If we fail in the battle against crime, then we fail not only ourselves, but our heritage and the future of our children.

I ask all of you to join with me in the battle against crime in America.

All those great news about Downey and all that, how was it?

I called his brother in.

Thank you.

I don't see these people, but they do.

So many reasons to catch them.

We should come.

Come on, sit.

What's his name?

I don't know.

He looks like a sailor.

So, if it's a graduate, he's like a sailor.

No, he's outside of the factory.

He's got some of it.

Listen, let me tell you.

Anytime you've got to do this, man, hold on.

I've got this stuff.

You know?

Just like when I call a field, I don't know.

I'm in it again.

It's too easy.

You know?

You've got to break it up.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Now, I'm doing the same thing outside.

It looks like it's ridden in a lot.

Well, we're going to go to that place anyway.

Oh, yeah.

That's right.

Listen, if I can do this too, I'm going to do it.

It doesn't mean I can do this, but I'm going to do it.

I'm going to do it.

That's right.

Listen, if anything I can do that, I'm going to holler at you.

Yeah.

I'm going to do it.

You know what it is?

It's outside.

It's coming to tell me something.

I put the shop on it.

I wouldn't mind.

The one I like the most is this.

The black door.

These two.

You know, I'm in this one.

You don't see it that slow.

You don't have any options.

I'm going to come down here.

No, that's good.

I'm going to get all the gear up.

NARA Description

On March 9, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:53 pm and 11:59 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 875-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 875-4

Date: March 9, 1973
Time: Unknown between 3:53 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Oval Office

Unknown people met.

       Arrangements for recording
            -Schedule

The President entered at 4:40 pm.

       Recording arrangements

The President made a video recording of his highlights from "Radio Address About the State of
the Union Message on Law Enforcement and Drug Abuse Prevention" between 4:40 pm and
4:43 pm.

       Federal criminal code
            -Revision
                   -Penalties
                         -Drugs
                         -Capital punishment
                               -Hijacking, kidnapping, terrorists
                         -Maximum penalties
                               -Drug pushers

       Marijuana
            -Criminalization

       Announcement
           -Arrival of helicopter
                                            -10-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                                Conversation No. 875-4 (cont’d)

       John T. Downey
            -Release
                  -President's call to William Downey
                  -Incarceration in People’s Republic of China [PRC] compared to Vietnam
                        -Downey’s release date
                        -Vietnam prisoners of war [POWs] release date
                               -Delay

       Church service
            -Invitation

The President left at 4:43 pm. Unknown people remained.

       [General conversation]

       Protestants compared to Catholics

       Dwight D. Eisenhower

       Offer of assistance

       Gear

The recording was cut off at an unknown time before 11:59 pm.

Also recorded on March 9, 1973

037-073 2:46 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:46 pm.
037-074 2:46 PM · 2 min — Henry A. Kissinger and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:46 pm and 2:53 pm.
037-075 3:00 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas J. Meskill talked on the telephone from 3:00 pm to 3:02 pm.
418-006 3:05 PM · 22 sec — Unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building on an unknown date, sometime between 3:05 pm on March 9, 1973 and 12:46 pm on March 12, 1973.
875-001 3:10 PM · 2 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:10 pm and 3:17 pm.
875-005 3:10 PM · 15 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:10 pm and 3:17 pm.
875-002 3:17 PM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William E. Simon, John T. Dunlop, John D. Ehrlichman, Herbert Stein, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:17 pm to 3:53 pm.
875-003 3:53 PM · 45 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:53 pm and 4:40 pm.

All 54 conversations from March 9, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 875-004, March 9, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/875-004 (accessed October 5, 2026).