{"conversationCode":"033-090","tapeNumber":33,"conversationNumber":90,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-033-090","startDateTime":"1972-11-18T17:12:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-11-18T17:13:00.000Z","startDate":"18-Nov-1972","startTime":"12:12 PM","endDate":"18-Nov-1972","endTime":"12:13 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.;","description":"On November 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 12:12 pm to 12:13 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 033-090 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.1","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part I","chronReleaseDate":"11-Jul-2007","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 33-90\n\nDate: November 18, 1972\nTime: 12:12 pm - 12:13 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.\n\n       Second term reorganization\n            -Peter G. Peterson\n                  -Ehrlichman’s forthcoming meeting with George P. Shultz\n                  -President's judgment\n                  -Commerce Department\n                        -Meetings with the President\n                  -Ehrlichman forthcoming meeting with Shultz\n                  -Commerce Department\n                        -Contributions\n                               -East-West relations\n                               -Trade\n\f                                             - 93 -\n\n                            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY\n\n                                                            Conversation No. 33-114 (cont’d)","filename":["033-090.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ehrlichman, John D."],"prevCode":"033-089","nextCode":"033-091","transcript":[{"start":0.94,"end":3.69,"text":"I have Mr. Ehrlichman now for you, Mr. President."},{"start":3.71,"end":3.92,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":3.94,"end":5.47,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":5.49,"end":5.79,"text":"Bye-bye, sir."},{"start":5.81,"end":6.15,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":6.43,"end":6.65,"text":"Hello."},{"start":6.77,"end":6.93,"text":"John."},{"start":7.07,"end":7.43,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":7.67,"end":11.21,"text":"I've been thinking some more about the Peterson thing."},{"start":12.27,"end":14.28,"text":"I haven't, you haven't heard from Schultz today, have you?"},{"start":14.29,"end":15.76,"text":"No, I'm going to see him at 1 o'clock."},{"start":16.06,"end":17.9,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":19.92,"end":25.41,"text":"On reflection, you know, considering the ability that fell on the rest."},{"start":25.43,"end":29.11,"text":"Maybe we're, maybe I'm being a little too hard, and that's respect."},{"start":29.13,"end":30.29,"text":"I mean, you know, hard."},{"start":30.81,"end":33.78,"text":"I mean, ability and imagination is hard to come by."},{"start":34.76,"end":37.59,"text":"And the guy does have a hell of a contribution to make."},{"start":38.31,"end":45.97,"text":"Do you think we should let Schultz have as a backup position the—all right, commerce if he'll take it under the circumstances that we've suggested?"},{"start":46.81,"end":47.91,"text":"It's entirely up to you."},{"start":48.03,"end":50.27,"text":"It's a question of what you'd be comfortable with, I think."},{"start":51.11,"end":52.84,"text":"Well, if I don't have to see them."},{"start":52.86,"end":53.44,"text":"I understand."},{"start":53.46,"end":54.5,"text":"That's the point, you see."},{"start":54.54,"end":57.54,"text":"That had occurred to me with the reorganization."},{"start":57.58,"end":58.02,"text":"That's true."},{"start":58.59,"end":59.13,"text":"That's true."},{"start":59.15,"end":60.65,"text":"Well, let me do this."},{"start":61.69,"end":66.56,"text":"George and I are going to get together at 1, and let me visit with him about it."},{"start":68.44,"end":73.73,"text":"He's undoubtedly talked to him some more, and we'll have a better feel of what the market is, so to speak."},{"start":74.43,"end":83.26,"text":"Because even if he is going to be out there, he isn't in a place in commerce that he could do any harm particularly."},{"start":84.47,"end":92.94,"text":"He can contribute in this whole east-west thing and the rest and very generally in ways that many others simply wouldn't have any understanding."},{"start":92.97,"end":93.58,"text":"Okay."},{"start":93.59,"end":97.4,"text":"Well, let me indicate to George that that's a possibility."},{"start":97.52,"end":100.6,"text":"Possibility that he can have that as a bargaining point."},{"start":101.12,"end":101.53,"text":"Right-o."},{"start":101.55,"end":102.67,"text":"Fine."},{"start":102.69,"end":102.79,"text":"Good."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the potential retention of Peter G. Peterson during the administration's second-term reorganization. Nixon expresses a softened stance on Peterson's value, suggesting he may be useful in the Commerce Department despite previous reservations. Ehrlichman is tasked with consulting George Shultz during a scheduled meeting to determine if offering Peterson the Commerce position is a viable bargaining strategy.","topics":["Second term reorganization","Peter G. Peterson","George P. Shultz","Department of Commerce","East-West trade"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T04:24:03.389Z"},"topicSlugs":["second-term-reorganization","peter-g-peterson","george-p-shultz","department-of-commerce","east-west-trade"],"audioDurationSec":105,"audioFiles":[{"file":"033-090.mp3","bytes":2517381,"durationSec":104.77,"bitrate":192224,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:29.541Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:40.789Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/033-090.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/033-090","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/33/conversation-033-090","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}