Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 948 › Conversation 948-002
Nixon, Ziegler & Bull on White House Tapes and H.R. Haldeman
Wednesday, July 11, 1973 · 8:20 AM–8:32 AM ET · Oval Office · 12 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Stephen B. Bull and Ronald L. Ziegler to coordinate control and access regarding White House tape recordings, particularly addressing requests from H.R. Haldeman to listen to specific conversations from March and April 1973. The President emphasized strict oversight of the recordings and authorized access only under controlled circumstances while reviewing the logistical concerns regarding the quality and content of those tapes. Additionally, the group discussed scheduling details for a forthcoming reception for Senators, with Nixon insisting on a rotation and reduction of White House staff attendees to improve the event's atmosphere.
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Transcript (AI-generated)
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Uh, good evening.
Uh, I'm going to notice that we're being cattled in today, so they may have revision.
But it's just in my mind, uh, I'm going to go to the office tomorrow and see if there's any informant in the evidence room.
Oh, fine, fine.
You know, in, uh, talking about those, uh, tapes, I was wrong in, uh,
They told them all on the 20th of March.
What was the April 15th thing that you're talking about?
How did that come to you?
Maybe it was the 20th of March.
There was one that L.A. had a friend of us listen to back here rather than coming out to tell them.
Are you sure?
Yes, sir.
There were two?
No, there was only one that he was going to listen to.
We weren't going to use it at all.
We weren't going to use it at all.
We weren't going to use it at all.
We weren't going to use it at all.
We weren't going to use it at all.
We weren't going to use it at all.
We weren't going to use it at all.
We weren't going to use it at all.
Now, I don't care who it is, you know, anybody would ask, ever ask for it unless you hear it first.
The Al Taylor was a message that I'd ask you to send me.
It's waiting to hear it from me this evening.
It's because we don't want to ever have those things opened up.
And that's the same with the presidential papers over there.
Nobody could go talk through those as certain as I have.
See, you might not know this, but the only people who've ever listened to any of those things, you're selling them.
Paul didn't listen to a couple.
Buzzard listened to that one, and you had me listen to one.
Yeah, I listened to one on March 14th.
Good.
Bob asked where he might listen to March 13th in an afternoon meeting on the 21st that took place in the EOB.
She had an objection to that.
Well, the one that I have on March 13th does not have him in it, unfortunately.
He says he was there on March 13th.
Did he get the other ones on the 15th?
He had the September 15th ones.
We just gave them to him last night, I think.
Again, this morning.
But, last night, I got rid of it, so I'll pay them this morning.
What is the situation on, uh... the property right here?
Okay.
We'll do the first check of the log.
I can see which one he was in.
I don't want him to listen to the one that I'm not supposed to see.
He was in it, see, because I'm not playing any good.
You see, on the 13th, the log, he says he was there.
The log that I have is the same.
Rob, just give me a second.
Okay.
How about you up here?
The 21st of March, there's an afternoon meeting at the EOB.
After the meeting, I think it feels to be helpful.
And finally, he questions in his own mind about the variety.
He said April 15th, EOB meeting.
He said there's a portion in it that, well, where it's just Peterson and Klein, and Bob doesn't even want to hear that.
And he was questioning whether you think it appropriate for him to listen to that portion where he was pressing.
It's April 15th.
Sure, I don't care if he listens to the other part.
What was the April, what was it, April 13th?
March 13th.
It's very poor.
It's very difficult.
Yeah, yeah.
I don't care if he can.
I told him all about it later.
Was he in that too?
He later ended the interview, either before or after the interview, but he said he wasn't there, and it is kind of unfortunate that he had to go to jail.
The issue is that they are technically controlled.
But you said, I want to refresh my memory, it's bizarre to see the people at the 15th.
I was thinking it was the 15th that he had listened to.
He would ask her or wasn't.
How did the message come to you?
I just want to be sure that you're carried on exactly according to my...
I'll prove to you only on the basis of... Al Bay called during the... when we were in California.
I know when we were in California.
And we considered the... That's the one that was the...
It's a telephone call, and I approve of that.
That's the only one that's been released.
To anyone other than yourself, on the meeting tonight, we had a few senators.
We have a problem with that.
We've been running into too many spats with those.
Last time we had more spats than senators.
None of them did knock them all off, but tonight we just had ten of them.
Well, maybe tonight they should have us in Harlem.
And don't have the Senate staff, man.
Just don't.
We've just got to keep it down with that.
That's all.
Now, if Kansas insists on one more, that's fine.
No more.
You know what I mean?
You can't have more than three staff people who used to turn into the honor.
Okay?
You can see why, Steve.
When they've got that many staff, they don't feel anything.
They had eight staff people before we discussed it.
And they're doing it.
And that, of course, has got a whole group.
And I don't mind if you said they've got to rotate that.
There will be a total of two staff.
So it will be Harlow and Laird will have to get a station back.
There comes the house meeting.
I think we can get away with it tonight.
You wouldn't want to have Larry in the office tonight.
There's that National Alliance for Business that's been coming to you.
I will not go.
I'm going to be sure to invite the president.
He's the vice president.
You know about the National Alliance for Business?
Have you heard about it?
Yes, ma'am.
It was definitely a turn of events.
I know.
I turned her down.
for you today was that National Association of Farm Broadcasters that Julian's doing, sir.
I won't do that.
I'm not going to do it.
Julian's doing those.
Julian's going to do the farm broadcasters and things too.
I've got them out here.
I've got them.
Thank you.
NARA Description
On July 11, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald L. Ziegler, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:20 am to 8:32 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 948-002 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 948-2
Date: July 11, 1973
Time: 8:20 am - 8:33 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Stephen B. Bull.
President’s schedule
-Cabinet meeting notes
-Revision
-Bryce N. Harlow
-Future tasks
Watergate
-White House tapes
-Dates of conversations
-J. Fred Buzhardt’s monitoring
-Alexander M. Haig
-Access
-Control
-United States Secret Service [USSS] Technical Services Division
-Review
-2-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 948-2 (cont’d)
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman, Buzhardt, Bull
-Haldeman’s request
-March 13, 1973 and March 21, 1973
-Haldeman
-September 15, 1972
-Meetings with President
-Request
-March 13, 1973
-Haldeman’s presence
Ronald L. Ziegler entered at 8:25 am.
President’s schedule
Ziegler left at 8:26 am.
Watergate
-White House tapes
-Access
-Haldeman’s meetings with President
-March 1973 meeting in Executive Office Building [EOB]
-April 15, 1973 with Henry Petersen and Richard G. Kleindienst in
EOB
-Appropriateness of review
-March 13, 1973
-President’s notes
-March 21, 1973
-Quality of EOB tape
-April 15, 1973
-Petersen, Kleindienst portion
-Discussion of Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman’s
departure
-Haldeman’s presence
-Petersen, Kleindienst portion
-Buzhardt’s review
-Procedures
-Haig’s telephone call to Bull
-3-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 948-2 (cont’d)
-Buzhardt
-March 21, 1973 telephone tape
-President’s approval
President’s schedule
-Forthcoming reception for Senators on July 11, 1973
-White House staff
-Proportions
-William E. Timmons, Bryce N. Harlow
-Proportions
-Timmons, Thomas C. Korologos, Max L. Friedersdorf
-Harlow, Melvin R. Laird
-Rotation of White House staff attendees
-Korologos
-Laird, Harlow
An unknown man entered at an unknown time after 8:26 am.
Ziegler
-Forthcoming meeting with President
The unknown man left at an unknown time before 8:32 am.
President’s schedule
-National Alliance of Businessmen
-President’s preference
-Spiro T. Agnew
-Declination
-National Association of Farm Broadcasters
-Earl L. Butz
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-President’s former address to organization
Ziegler entered at 8:32 am.
Greeting
-4-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 948-2 (cont’d)
Bull left at 8:33 am.Also recorded on July 11, 1973
- 948-001 8:15 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:15 am and 8:20 am.
- 948-003 8:33 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:33 am to 8:38 am.
- 128-003 8:39 AM · 1 hr 50 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, and Cabinet officers and staffers, including William P. Rogers, George P. Shultz, Dr. James R Schlesinger, Elliot L. Richardson, Rogers C. B. Morton, Earl L. Butz, Frederick B. Dent, Peter J. Brennan, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, James T. Lynn, Claude S. Brinegar, Roy L. Ash, Anne L. Armstrong, Melvin R. Laird, Bryce N Harlow, John B Connally, George H. W. Bush, Herbert Stein, John T. Dunlop, General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., John A. Love, Ronald L Ziegler, Peter M. Flanigan, Raymond K. Price, Jr., William E. Timmons, Frederic V. Malek, Arthur J. Sohmer, David R. Gergen, and David N. Parker, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 8:39 am and 10:32 am.
- 129-001 10:32 AM · 3 min — Stephen B. Bull and unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 10:32 am and 8:23 pm.
- 948-004 11:32 AM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:32 am to 12:08 pm.
- 948-005 12:08 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:09 pm.
- 948-006 12:08 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:09 pm.
- 948-007 12:09 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Hubert H. Humphrey, Gerald R. Ford, Arthur B. Hanson, William E. Timmons, White House photographer, and members of the press met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:09 pm to 12:17 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 948-002, July 11, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/948-002 (accessed October 10, 2026).