{"conversationCode":"038-153","tapeNumber":38,"conversationNumber":153,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-038-153","startDateTime":"1973-04-26T00:22:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-04-26T00:25:00.000Z","startDate":"25-Apr-1973","startTime":"7:22 PM","endDate":"25-Apr-1973","endTime":"7:25 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kleindienst, Richard G.;","description":"On April 25, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Richard G. Kleindienst talked on the telephone from 7:22 pm to 7:25 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 038-153 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. 38-153\n\nDate: April 25, 1973\nTime: 7:22 pm - 7:25 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with Richard G. Kleindienst.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 430-33]\n\n      Watergate\n           -President’s meeting with Henry E. Petersen\n                 -Daniel Ellsberg case\n                       -National security investigation\n                       -Disposition of information","filename":["038-153.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Kleindienst, Richard G."],"prevCode":"038-152","nextCode":"038-154","transcript":[{"start":0.45,"end":7.42,"text":"I had a good talk with Henry Peterson."},{"start":7.44,"end":8.36,"text":"That's fine."},{"start":8.38,"end":8.9,"text":"Are you home?"},{"start":8.92,"end":10.2,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":10.22,"end":17.99,"text":"One thing I wanted to say, only as a suggestion that, I don't know, I guess you might have him pass on."},{"start":18.03,"end":20.07,"text":"You're in charge of this one, though, aren't you?"},{"start":20.09,"end":21.4,"text":"Yeah, this is the Ellsberg case."},{"start":21.42,"end":23.2,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":23.22,"end":23.76,"text":"Your case, isn't it?"},{"start":25.54,"end":26.34,"text":"Yes."},{"start":26.47,"end":38.72,"text":"I do think it's important to let the prosecutor know, as it's passed on, that this was a national security investigation of very great sensitivity."},{"start":38.82,"end":41.36,"text":"I just think it's important that that be known."},{"start":41.48,"end":42.58,"text":"You know what I mean?"},{"start":42.62,"end":47.67,"text":"So that he can use some restraint in terms of, like..."},{"start":48.16,"end":56.31,"text":"We're trying to get in the sources and all that sort of thing."},{"start":57.01,"end":58.35,"text":"I don't understand."},{"start":58.37,"end":59.41,"text":"I'm not going to ."},{"start":59.43,"end":63.32,"text":"The point being that, look, this is a national security investigation."},{"start":63.92,"end":65.68,"text":"It involves great sensitivity."},{"start":67.5,"end":71.55,"text":"And to have it, we're just giving it for information."},{"start":71.57,"end":76.39,"text":"None of this was ever presented to the prosecution."},{"start":76.73,"end":81.46,"text":"absolute assurances on that under the circumstances."},{"start":81.54,"end":84.36,"text":"And I think the judge should know that too."},{"start":84.38,"end":84.9,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":85.39,"end":86.07,"text":"It's very important."},{"start":86.61,"end":87.03,"text":"Okay."},{"start":88.31,"end":90.66,"text":"Be sure that..."},{"start":90.68,"end":90.86,"text":"Okay."},{"start":90.88,"end":91.28,"text":"Good deal."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon directs Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst to ensure that the prosecutor and judge in the Daniel Ellsberg case understand the extreme sensitivity of the underlying national security investigation. Nixon emphasizes that information regarding these sensitive sources and methods should be handled with restraint to prevent public exposure. This directive seeks to protect classified intelligence gathering operations by framing the scope of the legal proceedings accordingly.","topics":["Daniel Ellsberg","National Security","Watergate","Department of Justice","Henry Petersen","Classified Information"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T05:41:38.027Z"},"topicSlugs":["daniel-ellsberg","national-security","watergate","department-of-justice","henry-petersen","classified-information"],"audioDurationSec":99,"audioFiles":[{"file":"038-153.mp3","bytes":3170304,"durationSec":98.93,"bitrate":256358,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.070Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/038-153.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/038-153","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/38/conversation-038-153","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}