Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-023

Nixon phone call with Dean on Vietnam Veterans Against the War

Wednesday, April 21, 1971 · 1:12 PM–1:13 PM ET · White House Telephone · 42 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Dean, John W., IIIConversation002-023 on Tape 2 (tape position 00:35:24–00:36:06)StartWednesday, April 21, 1971 at 1:12 PMEndWednesday, April 21, 1971 at 1:13 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-023 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directs John Dean to ensure that local police and authorities take no action against anti-war veterans demonstrating in Washington, D.C. Nixon emphasizes a strategy of inaction, instructing Dean to stall any decision-making through meetings while allowing the protesters to continue their activities undisturbed. This directive reflects the President's desire to avoid confrontation and potential negative optics pending a resolution from the Supreme Court.

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Yeah.
President, sir.
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
I want to be sure.
I talked to the attorney general this morning earlier than was here.
Nothing is done on these veterans.
Is that understood?
Absolutely.
Now, now, as a word out that they are not to touch him or do a thing.
And if you ask any question, just say, well, it came too late or they're only going to be here a couple of days or how are you handling it?
My thought is that we don't know what the Supreme Court's going to do yet.
We have a meeting scheduled at 3 o'clock over in Kleindienst's office to kick it around to see what we can do.
You just kick it around and kick it around and kick it around and don't do a damn thing.
Get a hold of the district police.
They're not to touch them.
They're to do nothing.
Just let them raise hell.
I agree, and we will pursue the court.
Okay, sir.

NARA Description

On April 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John W. Dean, III talked on the telephone from 1:12 pm to 1:13 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-023 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-23

Date: April 21, 1971
Time: 1:12 pm - 1:13 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John W. Dean, III.

[See Conversation No. 484-13B]

[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was prepared under court order from
December 1978 through March 1979 for Special Access 8, Ronald V. Dellums, et al. v. James M.
Powell, et al., No. 71-2271. The National Archives and Records Administration produced this
transcript. The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

[End of transcript]

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

Also recorded on April 21, 1971

  • 484-009 12:34 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:34 pm.
  • 484-010 12:35 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Richard A. Moore, Antonina Uccello, Mary Lou Grier, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:35 pm to 12:46 pm.
  • 484-013 12:50 PM · 51 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John W. Dean, III met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:50 pm to 1:43 pm.
  • 002-022 1:00 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:00 pm and 1:13 pm.
  • 042-062 1:43 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:43 pm and 2:31 pm.
  • 252-001 1:43 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:43 pm and 2:31 pm.
  • 252-002 1:43 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:43 pm and 2:31 pm.
  • 484-014 1:43 PM · 40 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:43 pm and 2:31 pm.

All 46 conversations from April 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-023, April 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-023 (accessed October 12, 2026).