Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 38 › Conversation 038-113

Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Watergate and John W. Dean III

Thursday, April 19, 1973 · 1:48 PM–1:50 PM ET · White House Telephone · 50 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation038-113 on Tape 38StartThursday, April 19, 1973 at 1:48 PMEndThursday, April 19, 1973 at 1:50 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 038-113 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the status of internal White House investigations into the Watergate scandal. The conversation focuses on whether members of the staff had provided sworn statements regarding their lack of involvement, specifically noting that John Dean had not signed such a statement. They conclude that the effort to secure these affidavits was ultimately abandoned, leaving the administration without formal documentation from all staff members.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Oh, yes, sir.
Hi, John.
Not to bother you with any positive point that could be made.
No, if you don't mind.
Is it that the Ehrlichman investigation at my direction, with your complete concurrence, that the president has in hand sworn statements from every member of the White House staff that they were not involved in this goddamn thing?
Did Dean sign one?
No.
No, we stopped that.
Do you remember after Ron fucked you?
Oh, God.
All right.
We didn't go forward with that.
Oh, that's too bad.
And, uh, um...
So we don't have any complaint on that?
No, we do not.
All right.
We do not.
We just have a lot of, uh... All right.
A lot of people remember what he said.
Okay.
Fine.
All right.

NARA Description

On April 19, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 1:48 pm to 1:50 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-113 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 38-113

Date: April 19, 1973
Time: 1:48 pm - 1:50 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

[See also Conversation No. 429-6]

     Watergate
          -Ehrlichman’s investigation
                -Sworn statements from White House staff
                     -John W. Dean, III

Also recorded on April 19, 1973

  • 038-111 1:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:45 pm to 1:46 pm.
  • 429-005 1:45 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:45 pm to 1:46 pm.
  • 038-112 1:46 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:46 pm and 1:48 pm.
  • 429-026 1:46 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:46 pm and 1:48 pm.
  • 429-006 1:48 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:48 pm to 1:49 pm.
  • 429-007 1:50 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 1:57 pm.
  • 429-008 1:50 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 1:57 pm.
  • 429-009 1:50 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 1:57 pm.

All 54 conversations from April 19, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 038-113, April 19, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/038-113 (accessed October 5, 2026).