Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 38 › Conversation 038-053

Haldeman & Higby on Watergate and John Dean

Sunday, April 15, 1973 · 8:18 PM–8:25 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsWhite House operator; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Higby, Lawrence M.Conversation038-053 on Tape 38StartSunday, April 15, 1973 at 8:18 PMEndSunday, April 15, 1973 at 8:25 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 038-053 ↗

AI Summary

Lawrence Higby contacts H.R. Haldeman to relay a message from John Dean, who had requested to communicate with President Nixon regarding the Watergate investigation. Dean expressed his continued loyalty to the President while urging Nixon to seek counsel from Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen rather than John Ehrlichman. Additionally, Dean indicated a desire to meet directly with the President to discuss these matters despite declining a meeting with Ehrlichman.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello, Bob.
John Dean just called me.
He had a message he wanted to relay to the president through you.
He would not speak directly to you.
All right.
2.1.
I hope you understand that my actions are motivated totally out of loyalty to you and the president.
You.
You.
If not, then if...
and the president.
And if not clear now, it will become clear.
Erlichman requested to meet tonight, but I feel it's inappropriate at this time.
I'm ready and willing to meet with you, meaning the president, at any time to discuss these matters.
Full point.
And you, meaning the president, should take your counsel
From Henry Peterson, who I assure you does not want the presidency hurt.
That's the end of his message.
He's calling me from his home, the operator said.
That's what the, that's what the on-line said.
What was that, just now?
Yes, sir.
Okay, thank you very much.
Sure.

NARA Description

On April 15, 1973, White House operator, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Lawrence M. Higby talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:18 pm and 8:25 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-053 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 38-53

Date: April 15, 1973
Time: Unknown between 8:18 pm and 8:25 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     Telephone call from Lawrence M. Higby

Higby talked with Haldeman at an unknown time.

[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 761-762 (1-2). Please refer to the logging below.]

     Watergate
          -John W. Dean, III’s message for President
                -Dean’s motivation
                -John D. Ehrlichman’s request for meeting
                -Desire to meet with President
                -Henry E. Petersen’s role
          -Dean’s location

Also recorded on April 16, 1973

  • 038-051 7:43 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:43 pm and 8:14 pm.
  • 038-052 8:14 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry E. Petersen talked on the telephone from 8:14 pm to 8:18 pm.
  • 038-054 8:18 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:18 pm and 8:25 pm.
  • 038-055 8:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry E. Petersen talked on the telephone from 8:25 pm to 8:26 pm.
  • 038-056 8:26 PM · 18 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:26 pm and 9:15 pm.
  • 038-057 9:17 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:17 pm and 9:39 pm.
  • 038-058 9:39 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry E. Petersen talked on the telephone from 9:39 pm to 9:41 pm.
  • 038-059 10:16 PM · 19 sec — John D. Ehrlichman and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:16 pm and 11:15 pm.

All 56 conversations from April 16, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 038-053, April 16, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/038-053 (accessed October 12, 2026).