Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 44 › Conversation 044-060

Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Presidential statement

Wednesday, March 28, 1973 · 7:55 PM–7:56 PM ET · White House Telephone · 51 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation044-060 on Tape 44StartWednesday, March 28, 1973 at 7:55 PMEndWednesday, March 28, 1973 at 7:56 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 044-060 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the status of a pending presidential statement currently being drafted by staff. Nixon emphasizes his desire for brevity, explicitly instructing that the document should be concise despite his expectation that the final output will likely exceed his preferred length. Ehrlichman agrees to follow up with the staff to secure the draft and deliver it to the President for review.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Mr. Ehrlichman.
Hello.
I was wondering how we were coming on our statement, John.
As far as I know, they're still working on it, Mr. President.
Well, that's right.
Let me make a phone call and see.
It was not in by the time I left.
Right.
Let me check and see if it's in now and somebody's holding it up.
I'll get it over to you.
Sure.
Something I can work with.
Right.
They know that I don't want a whole mess of stuff right now.
Absolutely.
I told them one paragraph.
Okay, well, I may make it two, but by asking for one, we make it two pages.
Well, I figured we'd get three.
All right.
Okay, I'll get on it.

NARA Description

On March 28, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:55 pm and 7:56 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 044-060 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 044-060

Date: March 28, 1973
Time: 7:55 pm-7:56 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked John D. Ehrlichman.

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

[See also Conversation No. 425-25]

       President’s statement
             -Length

Also recorded on March 29, 1973

  • 044-057 7:11 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:11 pm.
  • 044-058 7:17 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:17 pm and 7:32 pm.
  • 044-059 7:38 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:38 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 425-025 7:55 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:55 pm to 7:56 pm.
  • 044-061 8:50 PM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:50 pm and 9:09 pm.
  • 425-026 8:50 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:50 pm to 9:09 pm.
  • 425-027 9:09 PM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:09 pm and 10:41 pm.
  • 425-028 9:09 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:09 pm and 10:41 pm.

All 77 conversations from March 29, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 044-060, March 29, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/044-060 (accessed October 1, 2026).