{"conversationCode":"038-088","tapeNumber":38,"conversationNumber":88,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-038-088","startDateTime":"1973-04-17T20:50:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-04-17T21:35:00.000Z","startDate":"17-Apr-1973","startTime":"3:50 PM","endDate":"17-Apr-1973","endTime":"4:35 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Ehrlichman, John D.; [Unknown person(s)]; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\"); Timmons, William E.;","description":"On April 17, 1973, John D. Ehrlichman, unknown person(s), President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. (\"Bob\") Haldeman, and William E. Timmons talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:50 pm and 4:35 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-088 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. 38-88\n\nDate: April 17, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 3:50 pm and 4:35 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nJohn D. Ehrlichman talked with an unknown woman.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 898-23]\n\f                                             -49-\n\n                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                            Conversation No. 38-88 (cont’d)\n\n     Location of William E. Timmons\n\n     Return call\n\n     Location of Ehrlichman\n\nEhrlichman conferred with the President and H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman at an unknown time.\n\n[Begin conferral]\n\n[See Conversation No. 898-23]\n\n[End conferral]\n\nEhrlichman talked with Timmons at an unknown time.\n\n     Timmons’s call to Sam J. Ervin, Jr.\n         -President’s forthcoming statement\n         -Copies\n               -Ronald L. Ziegler\n\n     President’s statement\n           -Timmons’s call to Howard H. Baker, Jr.\n\nEhrlichman conferred with the President and Haldeman at an unknown time.\n\n[Begin conferral]\n\n[See Conversation No. 898-23/899-1]\n\n[End conferral]\n\n     President’s statement\n           -Timmons’s call to Baker\n\f                                               -50-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM","filename":["038-088.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Ehrlichman, John D.","[Unknown person(s)]","Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\")","Timmons, William E."],"prevCode":"038-087","nextCode":"038-089","transcript":[{"start":0.54,"end":2.48,"text":"He just went down the hall, due back in a minute."},{"start":2.5,"end":3.27,"text":"Can we call back?"},{"start":3.69,"end":6.51,"text":"Uh, I'm in the president's office."},{"start":6.53,"end":7.32,"text":"Um..."},{"start":7.34,"end":8.48,"text":"I can't get him where he is."},{"start":8.56,"end":9.8,"text":"He'll only be a second, too."},{"start":9.84,"end":11.65,"text":"Well, maybe I better hold, then."},{"start":11.67,"end":12.05,"text":"Okay."},{"start":27.93,"end":29.23,"text":"Hello, Bill."},{"start":29.25,"end":29.93,"text":"John."},{"start":29.95,"end":30.59,"text":"I'm tied up."},{"start":30.83,"end":37.4,"text":"Can you call Irvin and just read him the first page plus the first two lines of the second page?"},{"start":40.62,"end":42.16,"text":"Okay, now who's got the copy?"},{"start":42.18,"end":43.01,"text":"I don't have the copy."},{"start":43.02,"end":44.49,"text":"Ron, I think, has the copy."},{"start":44.51,"end":46.45,"text":"First page, first two lines of the second page."},{"start":46.47,"end":46.63,"text":"Right."},{"start":47.37,"end":48.21,"text":"Solicit comments?"},{"start":48.99,"end":49.51,"text":"Pardon me?"},{"start":49.53,"end":50.72,"text":"Should I ask for comments from him?"},{"start":50.84,"end":53.56,"text":"No, just tell him that that's the statement that's going to be made."},{"start":53.76,"end":54.3,"text":"Okay."},{"start":54.32,"end":55.32,"text":"How about Baker?"},{"start":55.38,"end":56.26,"text":"Hold on just a minute."},{"start":58.99,"end":59.86,"text":"Yes, sure."},{"start":60.42,"end":60.86,"text":"By all means."},{"start":61.1,"end":61.74,"text":"Both of them?"},{"start":61.88,"end":62.05,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":62.06,"end":62.73,"text":"Okay."},{"start":62.75,"end":62.99,"text":"All right."},{"start":63.01,"end":63.63,"text":"Should I let you know?"},{"start":64.29,"end":64.56,"text":"Uh, no."},{"start":64.88,"end":65.26,"text":"Just do it."},{"start":65.3,"end":66.1,"text":"Go ahead and do it."},{"start":66.12,"end":66.28,"text":"Okay."},{"start":66.3,"end":66.83,"text":"Thanks."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon, H. R. Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman coordinated with William Timmons to communicate the administration's forthcoming Watergate-related statement to Senator Sam Ervin and Senator Howard Baker. Ehrlichman directed Timmons to read specific portions of the document to both senators rather than soliciting their feedback. This action reflects the White House’s attempt to manage congressional expectations and control the narrative surrounding the President’s impending public announcement.","topics":["Watergate","Sam Ervin","Howard Baker","William Timmons","White House statements","Congressional relations"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T05:35:40.449Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","sam-ervin","howard-baker","william-timmons","white-house-statements","congressional-relations"],"audioDurationSec":74,"audioFiles":[{"file":"038-088.mp3","bytes":2365440,"durationSec":73.77,"bitrate":256508,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.069Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:42.445Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/038-088.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/038-088","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/38/conversation-038-088","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}