Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 899 › Conversation 899-002

Nixon & Ziegler on Watergate scandal and Press relations

Tuesday, April 17, 1973 · 4:35 PM–4:41 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation899-002 on Tape 899StartTuesday, April 17, 1973 at 4:35 PMEndTuesday, April 17, 1973 at 4:41 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 899-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler coordinate the administration's public messaging regarding the ongoing Watergate investigation. They discuss how to address press inquiries concerning John Dean's role and the validity of Nixon's previous August 29th statement about White House staff involvement. Nixon instructs Ziegler to emphasize that the President is managing the matter directly with Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen and to avoid further commentary that could interfere with the judicial process.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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They got to have a perfect charge for bringing in, but bringing in a page, she's got to see it on that.

She must.

Do you have some?

Do you have a question?

She has types of things.

Does John raise with you a couple of questions about that?

He is?

You should take any questions.

No.

No, no, I mean, in terms of the next day or so.

And afterwards, I'll say, is Dean still in charge of the, uh, investigation?

Johnson, do you want me to say no?

No, that's right.

No, we, uh, we've discussed it, but no, uh, that, uh, the, uh, that the president is, uh, that the president is dealing directly in this matter, that the, uh, that the assistant attorney general, Mr. Peterson, is in charge of the investigation.

Right.

Secondly, they'll say, does the president stand by the August 29th statement, no one presently employed in the White House?

And the base of the report made at that time.

And we're not going to...

This is the operative statement now?

And the facts will determine whether that statement is correct or not.

And now it would be in agreement with the judicial process to comment further, right?

That the facts go up.

But that was the statement made at that time.

I wouldn't say that... Because then you'd be commenting on whatever evidence we got.

That's correct.

I'll just say this is the operative statement now that was the statement.

They're in the presence.

You're not going to answer questions today, are you?

No, no.

But, guys, no.

But, I mean, if I walk through the press room, they'll be pounding on my door.

Of course.

Go ahead.

Don't press on me.

No, I'm not going to.

I'm just saying, no, that he is...

I'll try and avoid it altogether, but I just want to get guidance in.

I couldn't give the wires to that crowd about how aggressively and how much time you've spent on this for the last three weeks.

So where can I do a little of that?

NARA Description

On April 17, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 4:41 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 899-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 899-2

Date: April 17, 1973
Time: Unknown between 4:35 pm and 4:41 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was initially prepared for the
Watergate Special Prosecution Force (WSPF) and can be found in Record Group (RG) 460, Box
174, “Transcript of a Recording of a Meeting among the President, John Ehrlichman, Ronald
Ziegler, and H. R. Haldeman, in the Oval Office on April 17, 1973, from 3:50 to 4:35 p.m.,”
pages 26-28. The Nixon Presidential Materials Staff reviewed the transcript and made changes
as necessary. This transcript has been reviewed under the provisions of the Presidential
Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 (PRMPA). The National Archives does not
guarantee its accuracy.]

[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was also prepared Richard Nixon’s
Special White House Counsel for Watergate Matters and submitted to the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives. This transcript can be found in Submission of
Recorded Presidential Conversations (SRPC), pages 1115 - 1133 (18-19). Please refer to the
RG 460 transcript.]
                                              -3-

                      NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                           Conversation No. 899-2 (cont’d)

[Begin transcribed portion]

[End of transcribed portion]

Ziegler left at an unknown time before 4:41 pm.

Also recorded on April 17, 1973

038-087 3:50 PM · 48 sec — John D. Ehrlichman and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:50 pm and 4:35 pm.
899-003 4:35 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 4:41 pm.
899-005 4:35 PM · 15 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 4:41 pm.
899-004 4:48 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:48 pm to 5:03 pm.
038-089 5:03 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and 6:17 pm.
899-006 5:03 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents, Manolo Sanchez, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 5:03 pm on April 17, 1973 and 7:58 am on April 18, 1973.
429-001 5:09 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:09 pm and 5:15 pm.
429-002 5:15 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:15 pm to 5:16 pm.

All 53 conversations from April 17, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 899-002, April 17, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/899-002 (accessed October 12, 2026).