Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 38 › Conversation 038-123
Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Watergate and Charles Colson
Thursday, April 19, 1973 · 6:00 PM–6:03 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min
AI Summary
John Ehrlichman updates President Nixon regarding an ongoing investigation into a mysterious removal of eight boxes of materials from a committee office the day after the Watergate break-in. Ehrlichman reports that Charles Colson, H.R. Haldeman, and others lack knowledge of the event, though they suspect it involved someone with high-level access like Robert C. Odle or Frederick C. LaRue. The President expresses concern over the potential link to Watergate and emphasizes the urgent need to identify the individual who reportedly moved the materials to a private apartment.
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Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On April 19, 1973, John D. Ehrlichman and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:00 pm to 6:03 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-123 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 38-123
Date: April 19, 1973
Time: 6:00 pm - 6:03 pm
Location: White House Telephone
John D. Ehrlichman talked with the President.
[See also Conversation No. 429-21]
Watergate
-Charles Colson’s knowledge of an event
-Robert C. Odle and Frederick C. LaRue
-Event which occurred day after Watergate
-70-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 38-123 (cont’d)
-Colson’s knowledge
-Boxes of material
-President’s schedule
-Meeting
-Mystery event
-Ronald L. Ziegler’s statement
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Gordon C. Strachan
-Removal of materialsAlso recorded on April 19, 1973
- 038-119 5:10 PM · 12 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 5:10 pm.
- 429-018 5:15 PM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Manolo Sanchez, unknown person(s), and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:15 pm to 5:45 pm.
- 038-120 5:43 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 5:43 pm to 5:45 pm.
- 038-121 5:45 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:45 pm and 5:48 pm.
- 038-122 5:58 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 5:58 pm to 5:59 pm.
- 429-019 5:58 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:58 pm to 5:59 pm.
- 429-020 5:59 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:59 pm to 6:00 pm.
- 429-021 6:00 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:00 pm to 6:03 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 038-123, 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/038-123 (accessed October 12, 2026).