Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 37 › Conversation 037-009

Nixon phone call with Helms on Intelligence reports and Oil policy

Wednesday, February 28, 1973 · 12:41 PM–12:43 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Helms, Richard M.Conversation037-009 on Tape 37StartWednesday, February 28, 1973 at 12:41 PMEndWednesday, February 28, 1973 at 12:43 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 037-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon expressed his appreciation to Richard Helms for providing thorough and incisive reports, specifically regarding intelligence matters and oil policy. Nixon commended the quality of the work and noted that it provided necessary guidance for his upcoming policy decisions. The two agreed to share the less sensitive documents with White House staff, including Charles DiBona and Henry Kissinger, while keeping the more controversial material restricted to the President's private files.

Intelligence reports
Oil policy
Executive confidentiality
Henry Kissinger
Charles J. DiBona

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.

Mr. President, I have Richard Helm.

Hello?

I wanted you to know I took your materials with me to the residence, and I read them last night, and I think it's a brilliant job.

Well, thank you, sir.

I got some assistance from some fellows I have trusted.

When I saw footnotes, I figured you had.

Yeah.

But the point is that it's a very, but it's thorough and incisive and very helpful, and we'll see what happens.

I hope the lady has listened.

I think, but at least it gives me some guidance as to which directions to push.

Also, that's on that side of it.

Then on the oil side of it, I can see.

and see very clearly what you have in mind.

Well, Mr. President, if it is of help to you, that's all I could possibly want.

Right.

The other paper, the less controversial one, if you want to turn that over to other people in the White House and align with me, the R one is fine.

Yeah, well, I was going to raise that because I read that through.

And I think those ideas are things that need to be, I'm not going to put it out, because good God, but we could have DeBone and those people take a look just to be sure.

I have no objection to Henry seeing that one.

The other one worries me.

I know about the other one.

Don't worry.

That's just gone in my private file already.

Right, sir.

All right.

And thank you very much for calling.

It's great.

Bye.

NARA Description

On February 28, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Richard M. Helms talked on the telephone from 12:41 pm to 12:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 037-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 37-9

Date: February 28, 1973
Time: 12:41 pm-12:43 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Richard M. Helms.

[See Conversation No. 414-1C]

       Helms's reports
              -Quality
                     -Assistance
                             -Footnotes
                                               -5-

                            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

              -Golda Meir [?]
              -Oil
              -Confidentiality
                     -Charles J. DiBona
                     -Henry A. Kissinger

Also recorded on February 28, 1973

865-022 11:07 AM · 45 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:07 am to 11:52 am.
865-023 11:52 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:52 am and 12:02 pm.
865-024 12:02 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:02 pm to 12:15 pm.
414-001 12:23 PM · 1 hr 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and Richard M. Helms met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:23 pm to 2:15 pm.
037-007 12:30 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:30 pm.
037-008 12:30 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:30 pm and 12:41 pm.
037-010 2:15 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:15 pm and 3:20 pm.
414-002 2:15 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:15 pm and 3:15 pm.

All 48 conversations from February 28, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 037-009, February 28, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/037-009 (accessed October 1, 2026).