Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 38 › Conversation 038-055
Nixon phone call with Petersen on Watergate scandal and G. Gordon Liddy
Sunday, April 15, 1973 · 8:25 PM–8:26 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Assistant Attorney General Henry E. Petersen discuss the need to ensure full cooperation and transparency from individuals involved in the Watergate investigation, specifically G. Gordon Liddy. Nixon directs Petersen to convey that the President wants all parties to testify truthfully and rejects the notion that Liddy’s silence is due to presidential influence or protection. Petersen agrees to contact Liddy’s legal counsel immediately to emphasize that the President expects full disclosure from everyone involved.
- Watergate scandal
- G. Gordon Liddy
- Obstruction of justice
- Full disclosure
- John W. Dean
- Presidential authority
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 Henry E. Petersen talked on the telephone from 8:25 pm to 8:26 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-055 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 38-55
Date: April 15, 1973
Time: 8:25 pm - 8:26 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Henry E. Petersen.
[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 768-769 (1-2). Please refer to the logging below.]
Watergate
-John W. Dean, III
-G[eorge] Gordon Liddy
-President’s desire for full disclosure
-President’s knowledge
-President’s desire for full disclosure
-33-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUMAlso 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.
- 038-054 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.
- 038-056 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 038-055, 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/038-055 (accessed October 12, 2026).