Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 38 › Conversation 038-054
Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Strategic planning
Sunday, April 15, 1973 · 8:18 PM–8:25 PM ET · White House Telephone ·13 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon utilized the White House telephone system to coordinate a brief, private communication with an unidentified individual, potentially Assistant Attorney General Henry E. Petersen. The discussion focused primarily on the strategic development of plans regarding ongoing administrative or legal matters. No further substantive details regarding the conversation's specific outcomes or directives are documented.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On April 15, 1973, 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. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-054 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 38-54
Date: April 15, 1973
Time: Unknown between 8:18 pm and 8:25 pm
Location: White House Telephone
-32-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. January-2011)
Conversation No. 38-54 (cont’d)
The President talked with the White House operator.
Telephone call to an unknown person [Henry E. Petersen ?]
The President conferred with an unknown person.
[Begin conferral]
Plans
[End conferral]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.
- 038-053 8:18 PM · 2 min — 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.
- 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.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 038-054, 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/038-054 (accessed September 18, 2026).