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Conversation 935-014

TapeTape 935StartMonday, June 11, 1973 at 12:40 PMEndMonday, June 11, 1973 at 12:50 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ziegler, Ronald L.Recording deviceOval Office
AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler met to discuss the administration's public relations strategy amidst intensifying Watergate scrutiny, particularly regarding allegations involving John Dean, H.R. Haldeman, and claims of hush money. The two analyzed shifts in press coverage and evaluated how to manage media inquiries regarding upcoming Ervin Committee testimony and potential grand jury indictments. Nixon instructed Ziegler to avoid commenting on legal matters and emphasized that the administration should remain focused on its schedule rather than reacting to aggressive media antagonism.

WatergateRonald ZieglerJohn DeanPress relationsErvin CommitteeIndictments
AudioNARA Description

On June 11, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:40 pm and 12:50 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 935-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 935-14

Date: June 11, 1973
Time: Unknown between 12:40 pm and 12:50 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Watergate
          -Ziegler’s previous press briefing
                -President’s telephone call
                      -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                -Tone
                -Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson’s statement on Soviet Union summit
          -Popular opinion
                -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.’s view
          -Press opinion
          -Erwin Committee hearings
                -Maurice H. Stans
                -Jeb Stuart Magruder
                      -Conversation with Haldeman
                            -President’s role
          -Allegations against President
          -John W. Dean, III
                -March 21, 1973 conversations with President
                      -Dean’s role in Watergate
                      -William O. Bittman
                -Conversations with President
                      -Dates
                      -White House staff involvement
                -Conversations with Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman
                      -White House involvement
                -Camp David
                -Attacks against President
                -March 21, 1973 conversation with President
                      -$1,000,000
                 -Clemency offer

Economy
     -Press handling

President’s schedule
      -Henry A. Kissinger
            -Press photographs

Kissinger’s schedule
      -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
      -Ziegler’s schedule
            -Economic announcements

Watergate
     -Post May 6, 1973 period
     -Julie Nixon Eisenhower
            -Meeting with Radio correspondents
                 -Ziegler’s assessment
                 -Bob Clark
                 -Conduct of reporters

President’s schedule
      -Newsmen
            -Gridiron dinner
            -White House Correspondent’s Dinner

Watergate
     -Julie Nixon Eisenhower
            -Meeting with Radio correspondents
            -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman
     -President’s opponents
                        -Soviet Union, PRC, Vietnam policy, Cambodia, May 8,
             December bombing, 1972 election
            -Retribution

President’s schedule
      -California trip
            -Haig
            -Option’s for events

Watergate
     -Ervin Committee hearings
           -Magruder, Dean, Haldeman, Ehrlichman
     -President’s schedule
           -California
                       -Beach
                -Press conference
           -Grand Jury
                -Forthcoming indictments
                -President’s remarks

Ziegler left at an unknown time before 12:50 pm.
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

You did the breaking today?
Yeah, I wanted to go to the field.
They're concentrating on different things.
Vietnam, the Brezhnev trip, a lot of it on the economy.
And I said that you had not made a decision yet, but you were consulting with me about that.
If you said that, Florida, you were expecting to have something to say at some point, I didn't want to predict when it would be.
So we'll get a little build-up on that.
I would get this one from you, sir.
I didn't even say that in my sentence.
We can say that maybe after the...
I said the purpose of the session is to labor management.
People were still consulting with me.
Then we went to, it's good to have someone, have them ask questions about something else.
We went to a Q&A on the phone call, which I just handled for it, right?
I said, my impression is wrong.
But I said, the relevant fact is that this is personal insurance that I have received.
And that the president had received, in this case, my impression was that the president talked incorrectly.
It was my error on the impression.
I was not told that.
And apparently the only difference was that the assurances that the president received again on that thing came by way of Bob.
So that was not a heated briefing.
And I sensed a different tone there.
I think they sensed a shifting of it and so forth.
Not a question about it.
No, not a question about it. .
I just didn't let me respond because I don't want to respond just with a, with a, I think, I think, well, I think today, the conversation I had this morning, and the breathing tone,
that there is a shifting beginning to take place, a shifting beginning to take place.
And it's certainly reflected and being reflected in a lot of the columns, which is, yeah, I'm sorry, I thought you could get it poorly, but certainly in the columns, absolutely in the columns.
I see a very, very definite shift in the columns, absolutely.
Yes, sir.
I don't think he'll whack the president, do you?
No.
You never saw him?
No, I didn't know him.
Oh, he did say, though, that he was trolled by Alderman and that the president wanted this or that or the other thing.
That's the kind of thing they could say.
It's not true, of course.
It's totally not true.
That's the kind of thing that's really a shocking thing that rounded you out.
The church is against the president.
I was trolled by Alderman.
He did not tell you in the 21st that he had any prior knowledge of the water.
He denied that.
But he didn't tell me about the- Didn't he inform that he had- Or the vans.
But he was involved.
Except that he had a bet and had a, I don't know if it was a guy or somebody or something like that.
But on the 26th, you had clearly personal assurances, as we've seen, that he had no personality disorder.
Absolutely.
Well, I guess he still maintains that in the technical sense.
Yep.
Basically, that he hadn't thought that he had any means, but he did not make it an improvement.
He told me that he had no prior knowledge on .
My own .
There they are.
I certainly know that.
He said there's a legacy analysis.
17th of March, or the 20th, I don't know which month, but he said, there is not a single one of the veterans, that was the word he used, I remember it was like that, linking anybody in the White House to the Y89, not a single one of the veterans.
His latest one, the 28th.
He wanted it first.
Yeah.
He needed it later.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Well, let me say, we spent, I think, an awful lot of time in this room.
You may worry about me.
We should work, but we're to be prepared.
But my gosh, Ron, he has put a salvo on us.
A lot of good weed for a truck.
A lot of bucks.
A million dollar charge.
Imagine he tells me that I'm being paid a million dollars a week.
You can't imagine asking me, like, where does this thing leave?
What would it cost?
Which I, for the next second, can't do it.
That's right.
Can't do it.
Because, well, it seems real hard in two respects.
One, because of the lack of time at all.
And two, because if you pay the $50,000, I'll get a third.
Well, two degrees is how I can get it in the sky.
Which, you know, I mean, you could have a third.
And the key part is clemency.
We haven't been sent to jail in four years.
We don't need clemency.
And we can't give them clemency.
I see.
A very big explosion.
Well, let's not borrow trouble to worry about it.
I'm sorry?
He has to testify again.
The economy, in fact, won't be good.
No, no, I'm not going to read it.
Yes, sir.
Well,
I want you to be sure to get to work with whoever was the president there.
Who was the man in charge of it?
A fellow from ABC, the Hillman.
Well, I can't get a picture of the other two.
One of the officers here.
I thought he was very crucial.
I mean, I just thought that was unnecessary.
Yeah, they didn't involve people who were directly involved.
Oh, sure.
A lot of the press was complaining about it.
Someone said that Julie was the conscience of the evening.
Had Julie not been there, then many people would not have realized the excess that the people went to in that particular evening.
It was not a... Well, I thought some of the persons asked the White House for a response this year.
Well, as I understand it, there were not direct attacks as such on the president, but there was just an over-dominance on the whole Watergate thing.
Apparently Bob and Jenna were kicked over pretty badly.
And then, frankly, even in the election...
I just don't think I've ever gone for two months.
So I just, you know, get back to work.
I think that we're actually doing that.
But just a thought to what we do in California.
I told Al that the medical in California had stopped, and I probably ought to do something out there.
And on the way back to Washington, I should do something.
I think we should have a few options open, but I wouldn't get, if I had to commit to anything right now, I don't know what's the very reason.
We've got to see how, if that's the very point of the computer being all of an early one thing, I think we should walk right into the eye of that document.
I think we just got to let it run through.
I agree.
I didn't know what this one was saying.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I don't think he just tried to go out there and get away with it.
The leader followed the track.
He didn't go anywhere else other than let them bag us around and we'll be out in California walking the beach.
Then we'll come up.
We'll come up and we do come up for the swimming track.
See, when this rancher finally dies, that's when I have to press him.
So your information, I'm not going to give it to him until it comes up, which I have not received in the present time.
So I'm not going to discuss it on the matter of indictment.
The rights are involved.
It would be impromptu to comment on it in any way, shape, or form.
Does anybody have a comment?
Thank you.
I'm not going to discuss it in any manner.
I don't think the rights are involved.
It would be improper to comment on it in any way, shape, or form.
Is there a mic?
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