{"conversationCode":"038-040","tapeNumber":38,"conversationNumber":40,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-038-040","startDateTime":"1973-04-15T18:12:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-04-15T19:22:00.000Z","startDate":"15-Apr-1973","startTime":"1:12 PM","endDate":"15-Apr-1973","endTime":"2:22 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Kleindienst, Richard G.;","description":"On April 15, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Richard G. Kleindienst talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 2:22 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-040 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.5","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part V","chronReleaseDate":"21-Aug-2013","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 38-40\n\nDate: April 15, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 1:12 pm and 2:22 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\f                                             -25-\n\n                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                              Conversation No. 38-40 (cont’d)\n\nThe President conferred with Richard G. Kleindienst before the telephone conversation began.\n\n[Begin conferral]\n\n     Henry E. Petersen\n          -Location\n          -Phone number\n\n[End conferral]\n\nThe President talked with the White House operator.\n\n     Telephone call to Petersen from Kleindienst","filename":["038-040.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","White House operator","Kleindienst, Richard G."],"prevCode":"038-039","nextCode":"038-041","transcript":[{"start":0.45,"end":8.62,"text":"Would you get the assistant attorney general, Henry Peterson, at the Justice Department, please?"},{"start":8.88,"end":10.87,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":10.89,"end":13.41,"text":"Just a minute, because he's probably home."},{"start":13.43,"end":14.69,"text":"439-4427."},{"start":14.85,"end":17.16,"text":"All right, sir."},{"start":17.18,"end":19.9,"text":"The call is from the attorney general, who's here."},{"start":20.18,"end":20.6,"text":"All right."},{"start":20.62,"end":20.74,"text":"Right."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst coordinated to place an urgent telephone call to Assistant Attorney General Henry E. Petersen. The primary purpose of this interaction was to facilitate direct communication between the Attorney General and Petersen regarding the ongoing Watergate investigation. Nixon provided Petersen's contact information to the White House operator to ensure the call could be completed immediately.","topics":["Watergate scandal","Henry E. Petersen","Justice Department","Richard G. Kleindienst","White House communications"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T05:31:15.743Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate-scandal","henry-e-petersen","justice-department","richard-g-kleindienst","white-house-communications"],"audioDurationSec":26,"audioFiles":[{"file":"038-040.mp3","bytes":845824,"durationSec":26.33,"bitrate":256959,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.070Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:42.439Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/038-040.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/038-040","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/38/conversation-038-040","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}