Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 899 › Conversation 899-005
Nixon White House recording on Watergate scandal
Tuesday, April 17, 1973 · 4:35 PM–4:41 PM ET · Oval Office · 15 sec
AI Summary
This brief meeting between President Nixon and unidentified participants occurs during the height of the Watergate investigations. While the specific substance of the discussion remains unclear due to the lack of a transcript and minimal archival records, the participants touch upon an inquiry and the concept of smallness. Given the timing, the interaction likely pertains to the ongoing internal assessments or procedural concerns regarding the escalating political scandal.
- Watergate scandal
- Executive internal inquiry
- White House procedures
- Political investigation
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.
NARA Description
On April 17, 1973, unknown person(s) 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 899-005 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 899-5
Date: April 17, 1973
Time: Unknown between 4:35 pm and 4:48 pm
Location: Oval Office
Unknown people met.
Inquiry
Smallness [?]
Unknown people left at an unknown time before 4:48 pm.
-4-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 899-4 (cont’d)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.
- 899-002 4:35 PM · 4 min — 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.
- 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.
- 899-004 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.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 899-005, 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/899-005 (accessed October 12, 2026).