Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 38 › Conversation 038-045
Nixon phone call with Kleindienst on Watergate scandal and Henry E. Petersen
Sunday, April 15, 1973 · 3:48 PM–3:49 PM ET · White House Telephone · 20 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon arranges a meeting with Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst to discuss specific instructions for Assistant Attorney General Henry E. Petersen. Kleindienst requests permission to bring Petersen along to the White House for this briefing. The conversation serves as a brief logistical coordination to facilitate direct communication between the President and the lead investigator regarding the Watergate matter.
- Watergate scandal
- Henry E. Petersen
- Richard G. Kleindienst
- Executive authority
- Legal investigations
Audio
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On April 15, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Richard G. Kleindienst talked on the telephone from 3:48 pm to 3:49 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-045 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 38-45
Date: April 15, 1973
Time: 3:48 pm - 3:49 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Richard G. Kleindienst.
[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was prepared Richard Nixon’s Special
White House Counsel for Watergate Matters and submitted to the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives. This transcript can be found in Submission of Recorded
Presidential Conversations (SRPC), pages 760 (1). Please refer to the logging below.]
President’s meeting with Kleindienst
-Henry E. PetersenAlso recorded on April 15, 1973
- 038-042 2:22 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 3:27 pm.
- 038-043 3:27 PM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 3:27 pm to 3:44 pm.
- 038-044 3:44 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:44 pm and 3:48 pm.
- 038-046 3:50 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:50 pm.
- 038-047 4:00 PM · 20 sec — Henry E. Petersen, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:00 pm and 5:15 pm.
- 038-048 4:00 PM · 7 min — Henry E. Petersen, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Charles N. Shaffer, and Earl J. Silbert talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:00 pm and 5:15 pm.
- 038-049 4:00 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:00 pm and 5:15 pm.
- 038-050 5:17 PM · 24 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 5:17 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 038-045, April 15, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/038-045 (accessed October 12, 2026).