Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 44 › Conversation 044-069

Haldeman phone call on Watergate and John Dean

Thursday, March 29, 1973 · 2:46 PM–3:01 PM ET · White House Telephone · 7 min

ParticipantsHaldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); White House operatorConversation044-069 on Tape 44StartThursday, March 29, 1973 at 2:46 PMEndThursday, March 29, 1973 at 3:01 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 044-069 ↗

AI Summary

H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and John Dean coordinate a presidential statement regarding allegations that Dean was involved in the Watergate burglary. The participants deliberate on the specific legal language required to waive executive privilege, aiming to strike a balance that allows Dean to testify before a grand jury while strategically overstating the charges to provoke clarification. The group also discusses potential reactions from John Mitchell and ensures that relevant staff members, including Jeb Stuart Magruder, are informed of these developments.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 12% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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why are you panting you're too young to have any problem coming up those stairs point here being to uh put out the hello
a statement from the president that Dick will go to the grand jury and get that on the...
There you are.
John.
Yeah.
Hi, we're with the president, and Herlickman's just drafting a statement.
I'll put him on, let him read it to you.
All right.
See how this sounds to you.
He wants a couple of seconds to put it together.
I was chatting with Dick Moore.
Yeah.
And...
He said that Mitchell was hoping to have a ringing endorsement this morning and trying to figure out questions as to whether the president had called him or not.
Mitchell was hoping to have a ringing endorsement?
How can that be?
How can he do that?
Well, you know, I don't know how we could.
That's what Mitchell indicated to me.
What Mitchell indicated to me was he was hoping there would be a ringing blast at the Senate for their circus.
This is based on the story this morning that Mitchell had knowledge.
We don't know that, whether he did or not.
No.
That's beyond the scope of the White House's ability to endorse.
Right?
Right.
Apparently, Chab has retained himself a counsel.
Who?
Jim Baerbauer.
Who's he?
Is he any good?
I don't know.
I'll get on the other phone.
Yeah, you want me to take it out here?
It would be Ziegler in a few minutes.
He'd read this.
The President's asked me to say that when charges were reported to have been made in secret session to a Senate committee yesterday that a member of the White House staff, John Dean, was implicated in the planning of the burglary of the Democratic headquarters, Mr. Dean requested that the President permit him to appear voluntarily and testify before the grand jury now inquiring into the matter.
The President approved the request because he believes Mr. Dean should have an opportunity to clear his name.
president has authorized a waiver of executive privilege with regard to matters pertaining to the criminal charges alleged regarding mr dean's personal involvement planning or execution of the watergate incident mr dean will inform the u.s attorney of his intention and desire to testify at the grand jury's convenience the president feels that since charges of such a serious legal nature
have been leveled, the grand jury is the proper forum in which to have the charges fully heard with due regard for the rights of individuals accused of criminal actions.
Would you read it one more time?
The President has asked me to say that when charges were reported to have been made in secret session to a Senate committee yesterday that a member of the White House staff, John Dean, was implicated in the planning of the burglary of the Democratic headquarters, Mr. Dean requested that the President permit him to appear voluntarily and testify before the grand jury now inquiring into the matter.
The President approved the request because he believes Mr. Dean should have an opportunity to clear his name.
The president has authorized a waiver of executive privilege.
Maybe it should be executive privilege and attorney-client privilege.
Maybe it'll just be privilege.
Waiver of privilege.
Actually, you don't have any communications to or from the president in this thing anyway, so mainly it's the waiver of the privilege against appearance.
Isn't that right?
Okay, let me raise, while we're just discussing, let me raise something else.
How about the fact that people on the White House staff told me things in what they assumed was a privileged capacity?
Well, the President's not in a position to waive that.
That's why I think executive privilege, rather than attorney-client, is the right thing to waive here.
Because you may have to assert it, or you may have to say, that's not mine to...
That's not mine to waive.
Now is it the President's to waive?
Okay.
All right.
The President has authorized a waiver of, and I'm going to put executive back, executive privilege with regard to matters pertaining to the charges alleged regarding
personal involvement in the planning or execution of the Watergate incident.
The president feels that since charges of such a serious legal nature have been leveled, the grand jury is the proper forum in which to have the charges fully heard with due regard for the rights of individuals accused of criminal actions.
Obviously, that's stating it very strongly, but we want to literally overstate it so that the vindication falls short of the charge.
You see what I mean?
We overstate it in the hopes that people come forward and say, well, now, wait a minute.
We're not charging Dean with anything like that.
Okay.
It might be fair to, one, have Dick Moore take a chop on that.
He could call Mitchell and... Oh, it's been read to Mitchell.
And what Mitchell says.
He approves it.
He approves it.
Magruder should be advised.
I'll see how Haldeman does those things.
I'll talk to him about that.
All right.
Good.
All right, sir.
Good.

NARA Description

On March 29, 1973, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:46 pm and 3:01 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 044-069 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 044-069

Date: March 29, 1973
Time: Unknown between 2:46 pm and 3:30 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Haldeman conferred with Ronald L. Ziegler at an unknown time between 3:01 and 3:30 pm. The
President can be heard in the background.

       John W. Dean, III
            -Grand jury testimony

[See Conversation No. 426-4]

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

[End conferral]

Haldeman talked with Dean at an unknown time. The President, John D. Ehrlichman, and Ziegler
can be heard in the background.

       Press statement
             -Ehrlichman’s draft
                    -Wording

       Watergate
            -Richard A. Moore
                  -Conversation with John N. Mitchell
                        -Endorsement
                               -Ziegler
            -Mitchell
                  -Conversation with Haldeman
                        -Criticism of Senate
            -Jeb Stuart Magruder
                  -Attorney
                        -James Bierbower
            -Dean

Ehrlichman talked with Dean at an unknown time.

       Ziegler’s forthcoming statement
             -Dean
                    -Charges before Senate
                          -Advance knowledge of break-in
                    -Request to testify before grand jury
                    -Waiver of executive privilege
                    -President’s view
                          -Grand jury
             -Privilege
                    -Executive
                          -White House staff
                    -Attorney-client
                          -White House staff
             -Strength of language

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

             -Moore
                  -Mitchell’s reaction
                  -Magruder

Also recorded on March 29, 1973

  • 424-033 1:37 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:37 pm and 2:04 pm.
  • 426-001 2:05 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:05 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 426-002 2:05 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:05 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 426-003 2:05 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:05 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 426-004 2:45 PM · 1 hr 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Ronald L. Ziegler, John W. Dean, III, and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:45 pm to 4:20 pm.
  • 044-068 2:46 PM · 42 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:46 pm and 3:01 pm.
  • 044-070 3:30 PM · 1 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:30 pm and 4:05 pm.
  • 044-071 3:30 PM · 10 min — John D. Ehrlichman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:30 pm and 4:05 pm.

All 77 conversations from March 29, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 044-069, 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/044-069 (accessed October 1, 2026).