Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 917 › Conversation 917-040

Nixon & Ziegler on Watergate and San Clemente property

Monday, May 14, 1973 · 5:10 PM–5:15 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation917-040 on Tape 917StartMonday, May 14, 1973 at 5:10 PMEndMonday, May 14, 1973 at 5:15 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 917-040 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler met to strategize a response to a damaging news report from the Santa Ana Register, which falsely alleged that Nixon used campaign funds to purchase his San Clemente estate. Nixon vehemently denied the claims, explaining that the property was held in a trust involving associates Robert Abplanalp and Bebe Rebozo for the Nixon Foundation. The two men coordinated an immediate public rebuttal to discredit the report and discussed concerns regarding potentially leaked documents related to E. Howard Hunt.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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by Iraq and Syria.
Well, we're in the process of trying to piece this thing together.
We're gonna break it this afternoon, and I think it would be better for us to proceed along here.
One thing that I wanna raise here is we're trying to get Ehrlichman and Kambach on this.
And that's a story which says, and we're piecing this together,
Senate investigators believe President Nixon may have used $1 million in unimported campaign funds left over from his 1968 presidential race in the purchase of his Washington White House estate in San Francisco.
The same man that registered.
Absolutely.
Said the fund were kept in a secret bank account by Nixon's attorney, Kambach, who has been named as one of those charged with the fund.
Doesn't that say that it's a totally, totally... Well, I'm sure of that.
Totally, totally, totally.
Now, the...
The thing that we're doing is tracking Kambach so that he can issue a statement and so that we can issue an immediate statement.
I can issue that.
Absolutely.
If you really want to know what the situation is on that, the, uh, did you know that all that property is held in trust?
And actually, uh, Apple and Bosom, uh, hold, you know, own most of it.
So we're trying to hold most of it.
But I haven't...
They're five acres.
Five acres is a mile.
That's right.
That is a total and absolute mile.
That's liable to sue.
I mean, I can't sue anybody, but we used a million dollars.
Isn't that awful?
How far are they going to reach?
What are they basing it on?
It's not an investigator's sentence.
It's not an investigator's sentence.
We used a million dollars in campaign funds.
for the purchase of my mushroom house.
Let me tell you, that's one place where they're stepping too far now.
I think so.
Well, God damn, I know some of them.
I tell you, that sort of thing is just so God damn.
What can the name of Christ, I mean, that's just totally, for them to put out such a story as that.
They must check it.
Could I ask somebody?
What are they basing it on?
The Kambach and Burritton?
So testified?
That's what they're saying?
No, they don't say who testified.
Well, I'm trying to determine that.
This just broke.
The source of the disclosure, the register said, is a preliminary report of federal investigators for the U.S. Senate committee, which should begin hearings this week on the Watergate affair at the White House.
Fred Thompson, minority counsel on the...
Special Committee on the Watergate said it's the first time I've heard of it.
I think I would have heard of it if, in fact, it were true.
Oh, shit.
Just, that's, that's, that's technical.
Just saying.
I didn't say, there is one where you can say this shows how far out of line this committee is going to get.
This is totally, absolutely, totally false.
Lies.
Totally false.
Lies.
Malicious.
Lies.
Absolutely.
I just can't believe that he said that as my own money.
Well, let me work on this.
What else is going on?
Well, this is what we've been focusing on.
That's the whole story.
Well, I know.
What about the main paper?
Are they out yet?
No, we're still working on that.
And as I said, we'll be hopefully ready by 6 o'clock here.
And I want to get this out in relation to something.
It's incredible.
That's great.
I think I'll say that.
Yeah.
It really is.
I mean, that's rich.
This is rich.
That's totally false.
Listen.
Jesus Christ.
The key thing is, the way I got it figured, if he's got so-called private papers or whatever they are, I think it must be the stuff that Hunt picked up.
You know what I mean?
Like the Hunt papers, you know?
That's always been the thing.
You know, when he picks it up, it's long and long.
He's got some picture.
But that story, I can't believe.
Sign the register, man.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Why don't you just go out in the night and walk in the pressure in the night?
Yes, I am.
Good.
Good.
Absolutely.
I assure you it is a... No, I don't even question that.
I don't need to share that.
I don't need to share much.
Jesus Christ.
See, the rest of it, I'll tell you why I wrote that, why you can have it on.
I don't want you to be saying this to anybody, because I don't want you to, because we don't mind, it's a mess.
You see, I went off on a proposal, basically, bought the, what they put on the money, the balance of it, in order to keep it from falling out of hands, in case, and so that it could go to the foundation for anyone.
That's all.
Totally, but the rest is total, absolute verification.
Don't go beyond what I said.
It's out of your trust.
I said it.
Okay, good-bye.

NARA Description

On May 14, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:10 pm to 5:15 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 917-040 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 917-040

Date: May 14, 1973
Time: 5:10 pm - 5:15 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

       Watergate
             -News story regarding President’s San Clemente home

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

                      -John D. Ehrlichman and Herbert W. Kalmbach
                      -Contact of article
                             -Allegations of use of campaign funds to purchase estate
                      -Santa Ana Register
                      -Kalmbach
                      -White House response
                             -Kalmbach
                             -Possible statement
                      -Financial arrangements concerning San Clemente property
                             -Trust for Nixon Foundation
                             -Robert H. Abplanalp and Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
                      -Libel
                      -Sources
                             -Senate investigations
                             -Kalmbach, Ehrlichman
                             -Ervin Committee
                      -Ervin Committee
                             -Fred D. Thompson
               -John W. Dean, III’s documents
               -News story regarding San Clemente home
                      -Ziegler’s forthcoming statement
                      -Veracity
               -Dean’s documents
                      -Possible contents
                             -E. Howard Hunt, Jr.
                                      -Ehrlichman
               -News story regarding San Clemente home
                      -Santa Ana Register
                      -Ziegler’s forthcoming statement
                      -Financial arrangements
                             -Abplanalp and Rebozo
                                      -Nixon Foundation
                      -Ziegler’s forthcoming statement
                             -Trust

Ziegler left at 5:15 pm

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Also recorded on May 14, 1973

  • 435-035 5:01 PM · 4 min — Ronald L. Ziegler and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:01 pm to 5:08 pm.
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  • 435-037 5:08 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:08 pm and 5:15 pm.
  • 435-038 5:15 PM · 7 min — 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 5:20 pm.
  • 917-042 5:17 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:17 pm and 6:16 pm.
  • 436-014 5:20 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Lawrence M. Higby met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:20 pm to 5:42 pm.
  • 435-039 5:21 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 5:21 pm.
  • 435-040 5:21 PM · 1 hr 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, and Doug Parker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:21 pm to 6:45 pm.

All 102 conversations from May 14, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 917-040, 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/917-040 (accessed October 1, 2026).