{"conversationCode":"038-151","tapeNumber":38,"conversationNumber":151,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-038-151","startDateTime":"1973-04-26T00:17:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-04-26T00:19:00.000Z","startDate":"25-Apr-1973","startTime":"7:17 PM","endDate":"25-Apr-1973","endTime":"7:19 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.;","description":"On April 25, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 7:17 pm to 7:19 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-151 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. 38-151\n\nDate: April 25, 1973\nTime: 7:17 pm - 7:19 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 430-31]\n\n[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was initially prepared for the\nWatergate Special Prosecution Force (WSPF) and can be found in Record Group (RG) 460, Box\n175, pages 1-3. The Nixon Presidential Materials Staff reviewed the transcript and made\nchanges as necessary. This transcript has been reviewed under the provisions of the Presidential\nRecordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 (PRMPA). The National Archives does not\nguarantee its accuracy.]\n\n[Begin transcribed portion]\n\n[End transcribed portion]","filename":["038-151.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ehrlichman, John D."],"prevCode":"038-150","nextCode":"038-152","transcript":[{"start":0.45,"end":1.74,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":1.75,"end":4.28,"text":"I have Mr. Ehrlichman now, sir."},{"start":4.3,"end":4.4,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":4.42,"end":6.6,"text":"I have Mr. Ehrlichman now."},{"start":6.62,"end":6.84,"text":"Yeah, yeah."},{"start":6.86,"end":7.06,"text":"You are."},{"start":7.08,"end":7.64,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":7.68,"end":7.96,"text":"Hello, John."},{"start":7.98,"end":8.72,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":8.74,"end":13.21,"text":"I, uh, I had just talked to Bob and told him he could call you if you would mind to call me back."},{"start":13.23,"end":13.49,"text":"Oh, fine."},{"start":13.51,"end":13.61,"text":"Okay."},{"start":14.17,"end":17.86,"text":"But, uh, I mean, Mr. Feldman had a talk with Peterson."},{"start":17.95,"end":18.34,"text":"All right."},{"start":18.42,"end":19.84,"text":"I'll get it from him then."},{"start":19.86,"end":19.96,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":19.98,"end":28.15,"text":"And, uh, the only thing that is particularly relevant is that it's a paper which they brought in here which, uh,"},{"start":29.31,"end":58.2,"text":"Peterson about it and he said that he felt very strongly as to that means people were trying to blackmail them with that and that they therefore felt it was very important that they get that because I had assured Peterson that of course it had never never been conveyed to the prosecution that they at least get it to the prosecutor was aware of the fact that it first their investigations you see what I mean is that Dean"},{"start":59.3,"end":74.11,"text":"I don't think I had any choice in the matter."},{"start":74.13,"end":76.53,"text":"I mean, I could have said, kill it."},{"start":77.59,"end":78.5,"text":"Don't pass it on."},{"start":78.52,"end":80.78,"text":"They passed it on to Matt Byrne."},{"start":81.76,"end":82.34,"text":"Pass it on to the judge."},{"start":82.42,"end":83.38,"text":"I think that's right."},{"start":84.22,"end":87.34,"text":"And what is likely to happen is that, I don't know,"},{"start":88.46,"end":89.26,"text":"Mike called Dean."},{"start":90.42,"end":93.6,"text":"And then Dean, well, I have to say what it was."},{"start":94.76,"end":100.51,"text":"So Watergate muggers involved into the psychiatrist's office."},{"start":100.61,"end":113.64,"text":"Let me say, though, on that point, I think it was with that information and of all those prosecutors over there already, it's going to come out anyway, John."},{"start":113.67,"end":114.95,"text":"You know what I mean?"},{"start":114.97,"end":116.17,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":116.19,"end":117.35,"text":"So it's..."},{"start":118.85,"end":122.28,"text":"Otherwise, I cover the other items very strongly with him."},{"start":122.36,"end":130.06,"text":"I'll talk to you about that."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the handling of sensitive materials related to the Watergate investigation and the break-in at the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist. The two officials debate the tactical implications of disclosing information regarding the involvement of the Watergate burglars in the psychiatrist's office, specifically weighing whether to withhold or voluntarily turn over documentation to federal prosecutors. Nixon ultimately concludes that disclosure is inevitable given the current climate, leading them to prioritize managing the fallout of these revelations.","topics":["Watergate scandal","John Dean","Daniel Ellsberg","Psychiatrist break-in","Prosecutorial strategy","White House cover-up"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T05:41:26.667Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate-scandal","john-dean","daniel-ellsberg","psychiatrist-break-in","prosecutorial-strategy","white-house-cover-up"],"audioDurationSec":130,"audioFiles":[{"file":"038-151.mp3","bytes":4163584,"durationSec":130.03,"bitrate":256168,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.070Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/038-151.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/038-151","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/38/conversation-038-151","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}