Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 917 › Conversation 917-006

Nixon & Woods on Watergate and John D. Ehrlichman

Monday, May 14, 1973 · 11:10 AM–11:25 AM ET · Oval Office · 8 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation917-006 on Tape 917StartMonday, May 14, 1973 at 11:10 AMEndMonday, May 14, 1973 at 11:25 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 917-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, to discuss the management and security of sensitive documents, specifically memos and John D. Ehrlichman's diaries related to the ongoing Watergate investigation. Nixon instructed Woods to verify the contents of their files and retrieve certain personal dictated notes to ensure they were kept separate from official records. The conversation also touched upon the climate of the administration, with Woods offering personal support and encouragement to the President as he navigated the mounting political crisis.

Audio

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NARA Description

On May 14, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:10 am and 11:25 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 917-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 917-006

Date: May 14, 1973
Time: Unknown between 11:10 am and 11:25 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

       Watergate
             -President’s memoranda [memos]
                    -John W. Dean III
             -President’s diary tapes
                    -Date span
             -Woods’s files
                    -President’s conversation with John D. Ehrlichman
                    -Ehrlichman’s diaries
                            -Location
                            -Woods’s conversation with Marjorie P. Acker
                            -Jane Hruska
                            -Size of package
                            -Timing of delivery to Woods
                            -Location
             -Telephone call to Woods from Arnold Hutschnecker
                    -Expression of support for the President
             -Public reaction
             -White House reaction
             -Jeane L. Dixon’s prediction
             -Prayers for the President
             -Ehrlichman and Haldeman
             -Dean
                    -Conversations with Ronald L. Ziegler
                    -Role in investigation
                    -White House reliance on Dean as counsel

       President’s memos
              -Ehrlichman

Woods left at an unknown time before 11:25 am

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).

Do you, have I, in anything that I've ever done, I mean, I've read only since the 27th of February, 27th of February, have I ever written any memorandum of the day that you would call me?
I don't even remember you're writing now, James.
I don't think we ever did.
I don't think we ever did.
There's nothing in charge of that sort of thing, but I just want to be sure that we know what all of our files do show.
Would you go check that for me?
Sure.
Another thing, too, if you would, you know the page that I used to dictate recollections, and I said they're not to be transcribed pages.
If you would pick those up, I don't want the big ones.
28th and 15th.
Just the one of those.
The 28th of February and the 15th of January.
Just the ones that have the...
The small ones that you... Yeah, I mean, we do have some dates on them.
Yes.
Yeah, I did those.
Not the big summit.
The big summit ones are just basically practically the IRS and the others are just sometimes we cover.
And there's going to be more direction.
We've got to get right in the future and do the restraints and all that.
but also the coverage.
I was conducting an investigation, and so I want to just check my memory a little bit, and I can check that it wasn't really a heart attack.
But that's worth your money at all.
You don't, you say that there was never, that they never did deliver to you, John, or any of you, a lot of happiness stuff, because he told me that he had delivered happiness stuff.
Now, if you're talking about his diaries, a little pack, a bag, he sent out, but he had those bags.
Well, these are his bags.
Like they were talking about the other day.
You know where they found them?
Yeah, I know where those are, yeah.
He never delivered those to me.
I never, I never saw them or heard of them.
What I was concerned about was whether or not there's other stuff than that around some place that I didn't know about.
Not through us, you see, not from us.
No, let me just put it in.
Nothing was delivered to you except his diaries.
He delivered his diaries to you?
He had a general.
And I almost couldn't keep it because I don't want to get involved.
The passage is about the size of this book, about that house.
And she said, his diary is going to be...
On the top it was written, I think, the president's journal.
I mean, it was for either of you could have written something.
They wanted me to sign a paper for it, and I wouldn't do it.
I said, no, I won't sign nothing.
If you want me to put these in my loft, I would put them.
But I wouldn't sign nothing.
Then the other day they wanted to look at them and I told March to tell him that I thought rather than have us go in and out of the place where we stored them, he should, if they have that free of access up there, they should keep them.
Now maybe if you want I can get it back.
I don't think, I just didn't want them with your papers.
What do you mean?
Who wanted to look at them?
And that's what she said about that day.
Would you drive him?
We're not going to have anybody.
We're going to put him in a bag or something.
I just didn't want to.
I don't know.
I don't know nothing.
I just thought it was better that I not sign for his daughter.
And then I'd be probably in the state that I am.
Right.
So she came down and got his daughter's name?
She brought them down and then...
This was after he resigned.
He did it, I'm sure, for safety purposes.
That's right.
Then he wanted them to look at him.
And I didn't think we should be running something in and out.
And then they haven't been brought back.
She did.
Good.
Because I think I'm too close to you to have those things coming to you.
And to lock them up to your stuff.
That's right.
Would you bring this to me now?
And I can tell them.
And I was going to say one thing.
I won't put it in.
I'm just going to stand here.
I'll stand here.
And just that he's thinking of you all the time.
And if there is anything, I've got here to take you through.
We've had so many calls.
Look, look, they may kill me in the first, but they'll never kill me in the second.
I'm going to fight these bastards.
Oh, yeah.
That's what I told you yesterday.
Janie Dixon helped us.
That May and June are going to be here again.
June may be worse than May, but everything will turn out fine.
And to be of that heart.
Of course it's going to be hard for us.
That's why we've been brought into this world.
Well, you particularly.
You'd be surprised how many people say, you know, God does bring the hardest problems to the strongest things.
I think all, you know, everybody who really thinks, right, is praying that God has given you enough strength to take this.
I've got strength.
And all of us have to help you have it, for instance, with your body.
Well, you know, really, it's your bed, it's all that, but it's really, you know, I have a lot of feelings about John and Father, there's a lot of people having feelings, but, you know, I don't mind hearing them.
for the payment, and we were off at 17.
Paul would impress me in the very moment.
Paul, he was nice, and he was a staff, and so forth.
But for him, but for him to rap like this, and I'm going to try to mock him, and try to say that there was no need for him.
Christ, he told the Savior, he did it in time, before greeting.
So I checked it, and said, you know, in the White House, if you want, we'd help you wherever you want.
Move where we are going.
That's right.
He says, of course, no, I wasn't reporting.
I was simply going for her.
Get those from me right away.

Also recorded on May 14, 1973

  • 917-005 11:00 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Lawrence M. Higby met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:00 am to 11:10 am.
  • 917-007 11:10 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:10 am and 11:25 am.
  • 046-024 11:15 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:15 am and 11:25 am.
  • 046-025 11:25 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Lawrence M. Higby talked on the telephone from 11:25 am to 11:28 am.
  • 917-008 11:25 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Lawrence M. Higby met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:25 am to 11:28 am.
  • 917-009 11:28 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:28 am and 11:40 am.
  • 917-011 11:28 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:28 am and 11:40 am.
  • 917-013 11:28 AM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:28 am and 11:40 am.

All 113 conversations from May 14, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 917-006, May 14, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/917-006 (accessed November 2, 2026).