About this recording
419-034a
- President Richard M. Nixon
- Ronald L. Ziegler
- White House operator
- John W. Dean
- Manolo Sanchez
- Henry A. Kissinger
March 14, 1973
Conversation No. 419-34
Date: March 14, 1973
Time: 4:25 pm - 5:40 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.
Ziegler's press conference
-Executive privilege
-John W. Dean, III
-Watergate
-Administration cooperation with investigators
-John N. Mitchell
-Dean
-Richard A. Moore
-Further questions on Watergate
-Executive privilege
-Emphasis on cooperation
-Restrictions on raw files disclosure
The President talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 4:25 pm and
4:34 pm.
-45-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
[Conversation No. 419-34A]
[See Conversation No. 37-107]
[End of telephone conversation]
Watergate
-Donald H. Segretti case
-Ziegler's statements
-White House involvement
The President talked with John W. Dean, III at an unknown time between 4:25 pm and 4:34 pm.
[Conversation No. 419-34B]
[See Conversation No. 37-108]
[End of telephone conversation]
Watergate
-Segretti case
-White House involvement
-Dwight L. Chapin's involvement
-Questions to Ziegler
-Political sabotage and espionage
-White House involvement
-Chapin-Segretti link
-Confirmation
-L[ouis] Patrick Gray, III's testimony
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] interviews
-Herbert W. Kalmbach
-Ziegler's remarks
-Use of FBI raw files
-American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] guidelines
-Public release
-John Chancellor’s file
-Destruction
-Lyndon B. Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover
-46-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-William E. Timmons
-Wife
-Validity
-President’s file
-Ziegler’s file
-President's reply at press conference
-Dean's report
-White House involvement
-Ervin Committee investigation
-Guidelines
-Hearsay prohibition
-Press questions
-President's reaction to reports on Segretti
-Dean investigation
-Chapin involvement
The President talked with Dean between 4:34 pm and 4:36 pm.
[Conversation No. 419-34C]
[See Conversation No. 37-109]
[End of telephone conversation]
Watergate
-President's press conference
-Raw files disclosure
-Answer
-Dean's investigation
-Problems
-Further comments
-Segretti case
-Investigation
-Segretti's actions
-Chapin
-Hiring of Segretti
-Contacts of Segretti, Mitchell, and Kalmbach
-47-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
Wounded Knee incident
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-President’s response
-Justice Department investigation
-Indians' actions
-Buchanan
-Radicals
-President’s response
Shield laws
-President’s position
-Mitchell's policy
-Ziegler
-[First name unknown] Dixon’s testimony
-Justice Department
-Support for guidelines
-Legislation
-Questions about First Amendment
-Federal compared to state courts
-Restatement
-Conflict of rights
-Rights of reporters
-First Amendment
-Protection from crime
-President’s conversation with reporter
-Press coverage
-Ziegler’s attendance at joint meeting of press organizations [?]
-Definition of a reporter
-Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union [TASS] [?]
-Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]
-Dangers of law
-Emotional rhetoric
-Legislation
-First Amendment
-Passage
-Abuse of protection
-Congress
-48-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Discrediting of press
-State court decisions
-Bransburg [?] decision
-Federal remedy
-Meetings with American Bar Association [ABA]
-First Amendment
-Freedom of the press
-Qualifier
-End of contract
Congressional relations
-Executive privilege
-President’s letter [statement]
-Responsibility
-Fiscal side
-Political side
-Power of presidency
-Criticism
-Use by President
-Frequency
-Records
-Cooperation with Congress
-Dan Rather
-Briefing
-Dean [?]
-Television [TV]
-Alger Hiss case
-President’s experience
-FBI assistance
-Harry S Truman's Executive Order of non-cooperation with Congress
-Government departments
-Information sharing
-Comparison with current administration
-Nature of espionage
Watergate
-Ziegler's talk with James C. Haggerty
-Executive privilege
-49-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
-Army-McCarthy hearings
-Ziegler’s childhood memory
-Henry A. Kissinger [?]
-Dan Rather [?]
-As national issue
-Hearings on TV
-Testimony
-Mitchell, Maurice H. Stans, Chapin, Dean
-Segretti
-Subpoenas
-Executive privilege
-Mitchell
-Stans
-Joseph R. McCarthy hearings
-Mitchell, Stans and Samuel J. Ervin, Jr.
-Hiss case
-Press stories and reactions
-Impact on establishment
-Press conference
-Questions
-Dean
-Gray
-Segretti case
-Dean's investigation
-White House staff
-Chapin
-Impact on White House staff
-Ziegler
-Confrontations with press
-Ervin hearings
-Guidelines for conduct
-Hearsay
-Gray
-Hearings
-John V. Tunney
-California
-Edward M. (“Ted”) Kennedy
-50-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Difficulties
Press conference questions
-North Vietnam
-Infiltration
-George P. Shultz’s Europe trip
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Paris
-International finance
-Press conference
-Soviet Jews
-Leonid I. Brezhnev [?]
-Pakistan
-US arms sale
-Announcement
-Protest
-Vietnam agreement
-North Vietnam’s infiltration
-PRC, USSR
-John T. Downey
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-Release from PRC
Press conferences
-Balance
-Frequency
-Subjects
-Troop withdrawal
-Congress, domestic issues
-Vietnam settlement
-TV coverage
-Announcement before Congress
-Response
-Benefits
Amnesty
-Frequency
-Staggered pattern
-Control
-51-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Role as event for publicity
-Compared to Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy
-Kennedy
-Events for publicity
-Staggered patterns
-Press coverage
-Live, day time
-Value
-Amount of play
-Radio
-Evening
-Format
-East Room
-Press Room
-East Room as setting
-Preparation
-Amount of time
-Worthiness
-Use of President’s energy
-Value of press conferences
-Types of questions
-Participatory
Rural Environmental Assistance Program [REAP]
-Paper
-Distribution
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:36 pm.
Henry A. Kissinger
-Presence at meeting
-Secretary
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:29 pm.
REAP
-Bud Linewall [?]
-Office of Kenneth W. Clawson
-52-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Column
-Congressional Record
-United Press International [UPI]
-Expansion of story
-Unnamed woman
-Number of acres [?]
-Wealth
-Washington Post
Press coverage
-Handling
-Honest reporting
-Pressure
-Fairness
-Spiro T. Agnew’s speech
-Administration’s effectiveness
-Overtness
-Repressiveness
-Control by administration
-Skillfulness
-Hardness
-William S. Paley
-Credit
-Respect
-President’s response to a question
-Tone
-Power of Presidency
-Clarity
-Quality
-Networks
-Use of prime time
-Concerns
-Control by administration
Press conference
-Vesco case
-Handling
-John D. Ehrlichman
-53-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Stans
-Contributions
-President’s comments
Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:36 pm.
Kissinger
-Location
-Presence at meeting
-Timing
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:29 pm.
Henry A. Kissinger entered at 5:29 pm.
Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
Ziegler left at 5:30 pm.
Pakistan
-Announcement
-US aid
Watergate
-Samuel J. Ervin, Jr’s statement
-Constitutional requirements
-Separation of powers
-President’s aides
-Questioning
-Segretti case [?]
-President’s press conference
-Dean’s investigation
-Responses to questions
-Clear position
-Standards
-Cooperation
-54-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-FBI investigation
-Interrogations
-Unnamed woman’s [Judy Hoback ?] request
-Private interview
-Presence of lawyers
-Handling of press questions
-Posture
-Seniority
-FBI interview of secretary
-Question for Committee to Re-elect the President [CRP]
-Follow up about accountability
-Danger
-Distortion, hearsay information
-Final statement
-Ervin Committee
-Segretti
-Administration’s disapproval
-Chapin
-Letters [?]
North Vietnam
-Forces in Cambodia
-Withdrawal
-US aid request
-President's press conference
-Explicit statement aid
-Prisoners of war [POWs]
-Agreement on ending war and restoring peace in Vietnam
-Article 20
-Cambodia and Laos
-Cease-fire compliance
-Compared withdrawal
Sudan
-Message
-Terrorism
-President’s statement
-55-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
USSR
-Shultz's meeting with Brezhnev
-Soviet Jews
-Press coverage
-Mission
-Authorization
-President's response at press conference
-Hard line
-Most-favored-nation [MFN] status
-Foreign policy
-Shultz’s discussion with Brezhnev
-USSR’s initiative
US-USSR trade relations
-Soviet Jews
-Press coverage
-Congress
-Kissinger's meeting with Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
-Decency
-Potential as Defense Secretary
Vietnam
-Cease-fire
-North Vietnam strategy
-Tests
-US withdrawal
-Communications
Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 5:30 pm.
President’s schedule
-Telephone call [?]
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:40 pm.
Vietnam
-Cease-fire
-North Vietnam strategy
-56-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Economic aid
-US negotiations with PRC, USSR
Kissinger's conversation with Dobrynin
-US-USSR relations
-Soviet military aid to North Vietnam
-Answers to US challenges
-Civilian goods
-Tanks
United Nations [UN]
-Kurt Waldheim
-Offices for Vietcong [VC] or Vietminh
-Recall of John A. Scali from post
President’s statement
-Aid [?]
Kissinger left at 5:40 pm.
Date: March 14, 1973
Time: 4:25 pm - 5:40 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.
Ziegler's press conference
-Executive privilege
-John W. Dean, III
-Watergate
-Administration cooperation with investigators
-John N. Mitchell
-Dean
-Richard A. Moore
-Further questions on Watergate
-Executive privilege
-Emphasis on cooperation
-Restrictions on raw files disclosure
The President talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 4:25 pm and
4:34 pm.
-45-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
[Conversation No. 419-34A]
[See Conversation No. 37-107]
[End of telephone conversation]
Watergate
-Donald H. Segretti case
-Ziegler's statements
-White House involvement
The President talked with John W. Dean, III at an unknown time between 4:25 pm and 4:34 pm.
[Conversation No. 419-34B]
[See Conversation No. 37-108]
[End of telephone conversation]
Watergate
-Segretti case
-White House involvement
-Dwight L. Chapin's involvement
-Questions to Ziegler
-Political sabotage and espionage
-White House involvement
-Chapin-Segretti link
-Confirmation
-L[ouis] Patrick Gray, III's testimony
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] interviews
-Herbert W. Kalmbach
-Ziegler's remarks
-Use of FBI raw files
-American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] guidelines
-Public release
-John Chancellor’s file
-Destruction
-Lyndon B. Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover
-46-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-William E. Timmons
-Wife
-Validity
-President’s file
-Ziegler’s file
-President's reply at press conference
-Dean's report
-White House involvement
-Ervin Committee investigation
-Guidelines
-Hearsay prohibition
-Press questions
-President's reaction to reports on Segretti
-Dean investigation
-Chapin involvement
The President talked with Dean between 4:34 pm and 4:36 pm.
[Conversation No. 419-34C]
[See Conversation No. 37-109]
[End of telephone conversation]
Watergate
-President's press conference
-Raw files disclosure
-Answer
-Dean's investigation
-Problems
-Further comments
-Segretti case
-Investigation
-Segretti's actions
-Chapin
-Hiring of Segretti
-Contacts of Segretti, Mitchell, and Kalmbach
-47-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
Wounded Knee incident
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-President’s response
-Justice Department investigation
-Indians' actions
-Buchanan
-Radicals
-President’s response
Shield laws
-President’s position
-Mitchell's policy
-Ziegler
-[First name unknown] Dixon’s testimony
-Justice Department
-Support for guidelines
-Legislation
-Questions about First Amendment
-Federal compared to state courts
-Restatement
-Conflict of rights
-Rights of reporters
-First Amendment
-Protection from crime
-President’s conversation with reporter
-Press coverage
-Ziegler’s attendance at joint meeting of press organizations [?]
-Definition of a reporter
-Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union [TASS] [?]
-Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]
-Dangers of law
-Emotional rhetoric
-Legislation
-First Amendment
-Passage
-Abuse of protection
-Congress
-48-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Discrediting of press
-State court decisions
-Bransburg [?] decision
-Federal remedy
-Meetings with American Bar Association [ABA]
-First Amendment
-Freedom of the press
-Qualifier
-End of contract
Congressional relations
-Executive privilege
-President’s letter [statement]
-Responsibility
-Fiscal side
-Political side
-Power of presidency
-Criticism
-Use by President
-Frequency
-Records
-Cooperation with Congress
-Dan Rather
-Briefing
-Dean [?]
-Television [TV]
-Alger Hiss case
-President’s experience
-FBI assistance
-Harry S Truman's Executive Order of non-cooperation with Congress
-Government departments
-Information sharing
-Comparison with current administration
-Nature of espionage
Watergate
-Ziegler's talk with James C. Haggerty
-Executive privilege
-49-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
-Army-McCarthy hearings
-Ziegler’s childhood memory
-Henry A. Kissinger [?]
-Dan Rather [?]
-As national issue
-Hearings on TV
-Testimony
-Mitchell, Maurice H. Stans, Chapin, Dean
-Segretti
-Subpoenas
-Executive privilege
-Mitchell
-Stans
-Joseph R. McCarthy hearings
-Mitchell, Stans and Samuel J. Ervin, Jr.
-Hiss case
-Press stories and reactions
-Impact on establishment
-Press conference
-Questions
-Dean
-Gray
-Segretti case
-Dean's investigation
-White House staff
-Chapin
-Impact on White House staff
-Ziegler
-Confrontations with press
-Ervin hearings
-Guidelines for conduct
-Hearsay
-Gray
-Hearings
-John V. Tunney
-California
-Edward M. (“Ted”) Kennedy
-50-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Difficulties
Press conference questions
-North Vietnam
-Infiltration
-George P. Shultz’s Europe trip
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Paris
-International finance
-Press conference
-Soviet Jews
-Leonid I. Brezhnev [?]
-Pakistan
-US arms sale
-Announcement
-Protest
-Vietnam agreement
-North Vietnam’s infiltration
-PRC, USSR
-John T. Downey
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-Release from PRC
Press conferences
-Balance
-Frequency
-Subjects
-Troop withdrawal
-Congress, domestic issues
-Vietnam settlement
-TV coverage
-Announcement before Congress
-Response
-Benefits
Amnesty
-Frequency
-Staggered pattern
-Control
-51-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Role as event for publicity
-Compared to Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy
-Kennedy
-Events for publicity
-Staggered patterns
-Press coverage
-Live, day time
-Value
-Amount of play
-Radio
-Evening
-Format
-East Room
-Press Room
-East Room as setting
-Preparation
-Amount of time
-Worthiness
-Use of President’s energy
-Value of press conferences
-Types of questions
-Participatory
Rural Environmental Assistance Program [REAP]
-Paper
-Distribution
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:36 pm.
Henry A. Kissinger
-Presence at meeting
-Secretary
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:29 pm.
REAP
-Bud Linewall [?]
-Office of Kenneth W. Clawson
-52-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Column
-Congressional Record
-United Press International [UPI]
-Expansion of story
-Unnamed woman
-Number of acres [?]
-Wealth
-Washington Post
Press coverage
-Handling
-Honest reporting
-Pressure
-Fairness
-Spiro T. Agnew’s speech
-Administration’s effectiveness
-Overtness
-Repressiveness
-Control by administration
-Skillfulness
-Hardness
-William S. Paley
-Credit
-Respect
-President’s response to a question
-Tone
-Power of Presidency
-Clarity
-Quality
-Networks
-Use of prime time
-Concerns
-Control by administration
Press conference
-Vesco case
-Handling
-John D. Ehrlichman
-53-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Stans
-Contributions
-President’s comments
Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:36 pm.
Kissinger
-Location
-Presence at meeting
-Timing
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:29 pm.
Henry A. Kissinger entered at 5:29 pm.
Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
Ziegler left at 5:30 pm.
Pakistan
-Announcement
-US aid
Watergate
-Samuel J. Ervin, Jr’s statement
-Constitutional requirements
-Separation of powers
-President’s aides
-Questioning
-Segretti case [?]
-President’s press conference
-Dean’s investigation
-Responses to questions
-Clear position
-Standards
-Cooperation
-54-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-FBI investigation
-Interrogations
-Unnamed woman’s [Judy Hoback ?] request
-Private interview
-Presence of lawyers
-Handling of press questions
-Posture
-Seniority
-FBI interview of secretary
-Question for Committee to Re-elect the President [CRP]
-Follow up about accountability
-Danger
-Distortion, hearsay information
-Final statement
-Ervin Committee
-Segretti
-Administration’s disapproval
-Chapin
-Letters [?]
North Vietnam
-Forces in Cambodia
-Withdrawal
-US aid request
-President's press conference
-Explicit statement aid
-Prisoners of war [POWs]
-Agreement on ending war and restoring peace in Vietnam
-Article 20
-Cambodia and Laos
-Cease-fire compliance
-Compared withdrawal
Sudan
-Message
-Terrorism
-President’s statement
-55-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
USSR
-Shultz's meeting with Brezhnev
-Soviet Jews
-Press coverage
-Mission
-Authorization
-President's response at press conference
-Hard line
-Most-favored-nation [MFN] status
-Foreign policy
-Shultz’s discussion with Brezhnev
-USSR’s initiative
US-USSR trade relations
-Soviet Jews
-Press coverage
-Congress
-Kissinger's meeting with Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
-Decency
-Potential as Defense Secretary
Vietnam
-Cease-fire
-North Vietnam strategy
-Tests
-US withdrawal
-Communications
Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 5:30 pm.
President’s schedule
-Telephone call [?]
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:40 pm.
Vietnam
-Cease-fire
-North Vietnam strategy
-56-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Sept-2010)
Conversation No. 419-34 (cont’d)
-Economic aid
-US negotiations with PRC, USSR
Kissinger's conversation with Dobrynin
-US-USSR relations
-Soviet military aid to North Vietnam
-Answers to US challenges
-Civilian goods
-Tanks
United Nations [UN]
-Kurt Waldheim
-Offices for Vietcong [VC] or Vietminh
-Recall of John A. Scali from post
President’s statement
-Aid [?]
Kissinger left at 5:40 pm.