Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 28 › Conversation 028-018

Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Jake Jacobsen and John Connally

Monday, July 31, 1972 · 8:44 PM–8:46 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation028-018 on Tape 28StartMonday, July 31, 1972 at 8:44 PMEndMonday, July 31, 1972 at 8:46 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 028-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the potential political fallout surrounding the legal case of Jake Jacobsen and his partner, specifically focusing on protecting John Connally. Ehrlichman reports that Attorney General Richard Kleindienst is willing to delay an indictment, though he fears the risk of public disclosure. Nixon instructs Ehrlichman to coordinate closely with Connally and prioritize his guidance on how to manage the situation to avoid negative implications for him.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Mr. Kirsten, I have Mr. Ehrlichman for you now.
Yeah.
Thank you.
It's on the line.
Thank you.
Hello, John.
Yes, sir.
On this matter of the Jacobson thing.
Yeah.
I think it's important that his client, he's gone back to Pennsylvania.
I talked to Connelly a little while ago.
You talked to him, yeah.
Right.
And I sent him over a...
didn't have.
This fellow's partner is the one who wants state's evidence against him.
And so they apparently have a very solid case.
The problem is that they are so close to indictment and a great many people know about it.
And so Kleine is perfectly willing to postpone it or do whatever he's asked to do but he's afraid that
was Conley's reaction?
Well, his reaction was, well, it just may be too late to do anything about it.
So I said, well, you read over this transcript, and then if there's anything you'd like me to do, I'm ready, willing, and able to do it.
That's the point, because our concern here is not Jacobson, but Conley.
Sure.
And Conley feels we can do anything why we should do it.
Well, he couldn't see me.
He had somebody apparently there.
Yeah.
So we said, if necessary, but...
Uh, we, you know what I mean, is that, uh, we, uh...
I'll follow up tomorrow.
Yeah, but as I say, lean very, very hard on his side.
In other words, take his guidance on it.
Right.
Right.
Okay.
All right, fine.
And, uh, then I'll let you know how it comes out.
Fine, John.
Okay, fine.
Thanks very much.

NARA Description

On July 31, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 8:44 pm to 8:46 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 028-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 28-18

Date: July 31, 1972
Time: 8:44 pm - 8:46 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

[See Conversation No. 757-7]

     Jake Jacobsen question
          -Richard G. Kleindienst
                -Location
          -Ehrlichman’s conversation with John B. Connally
                -Transcript of Ehrlichman’s conversation with Kleindienst

     Jacobsen
          -Partner
                -State's evidence
          -Indictment
                -Postponement
                     -Kleindienst
                           -Fear of disclosure
                     -Connally's reaction
          -Transcript of Ehrlichman’s conversation with Kleindienst
          -The President's concern for Connally
          -Connally's advice
                -Ehrlichman’s forthcoming action

Also recorded on August 1, 1972

  • 757-007 8:44 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:44 pm to 8:46 pm.
  • 028-019 9:05 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 9:05 pm to 9:06 pm.
  • 757-008 9:05 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:05 pm to 9:06 pm.
  • 757-009 9:06 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:06 pm and 9:51 pm.
  • 757-010 9:06 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:06 pm and 9:51 pm.
  • 757-011 9:06 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:06 pm and 9:51 pm.
  • 757-012 9:06 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:06 pm and 9:51 pm.
  • 028-020 9:51 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:51 pm to 9:57 pm.

All 73 conversations from August 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 028-018, August 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/028-018 (accessed October 1, 2026).