{"conversationCode":"044-069","tapeNumber":44,"conversationNumber":69,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-044-069","startDateTime":"1973-03-29T19:46:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-03-29T20:01:00.000Z","startDate":"29-Mar-1973","startTime":"2:46 PM","endDate":"29-Mar-1973","endTime":"3:01 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\"); White House operator;","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.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.4","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part IV","chronReleaseDate":"8-Dec-2010","aogpRelease":"Abuse of Governmental Power Release","aogpSegment":"Segment 0","lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 044-069\n\nDate: March 29, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 2:46 pm and 3:30 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nHaldeman conferred with Ronald L. Ziegler at an unknown time between 3:01 and 3:30 pm. The\nPresident can be heard in the background.\n\n       John W. Dean, III\n            -Grand jury testimony\n\n[See Conversation No. 426-4]\n\n       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542\n\n[End conferral]\n\nHaldeman talked with Dean at an unknown time. The President, John D. Ehrlichman, and Ziegler\ncan be heard in the background.\n\n       Press statement\n             -Ehrlichman’s draft\n                    -Wording\n\n       Watergate\n            -Richard A. Moore\n                  -Conversation with John N. Mitchell\n                        -Endorsement\n                               -Ziegler\n            -Mitchell\n                  -Conversation with Haldeman\n                        -Criticism of Senate\n            -Jeb Stuart Magruder\n                  -Attorney\n                        -James Bierbower\n            -Dean\n\nEhrlichman talked with Dean at an unknown time.\n\n       Ziegler’s forthcoming statement\n             -Dean\n                    -Charges before Senate\n                          -Advance knowledge of break-in\n                    -Request to testify before grand jury\n                    -Waiver of executive privilege\n                    -President’s view\n                          -Grand jury\n             -Privilege\n                    -Executive\n                          -White House staff\n                    -Attorney-client\n                          -White House staff\n             -Strength of language\n\n       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542\n\n             -Moore\n                  -Mitchell’s reaction\n                  -Magruder","filename":["044-069.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\")","White House operator"],"prevCode":"044-068","nextCode":"044-070","transcript":[{"start":0.1,"end":29.25,"text":"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"},{"start":31.25,"end":38.28,"text":"a statement from the president that Dick will go to the grand jury and get that on the..."},{"start":38.3,"end":38.96,"text":"There you are."},{"start":38.98,"end":39.28,"text":"John."},{"start":40.2,"end":40.46,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":40.48,"end":45.82,"text":"Hi, we're with the president, and Herlickman's just drafting a statement."},{"start":45.84,"end":47.85,"text":"I'll put him on, let him read it to you."},{"start":47.87,"end":48.07,"text":"All right."},{"start":48.09,"end":49.15,"text":"See how this sounds to you."},{"start":50.01,"end":53.55,"text":"He wants a couple of seconds to put it together."},{"start":53.57,"end":57.64,"text":"I was chatting with Dick Moore."},{"start":57.76,"end":57.96,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":58.54,"end":59.1,"text":"And..."},{"start":60.14,"end":66.85,"text":"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."},{"start":71.13,"end":72.78,"text":"Mitchell was hoping to have a ringing endorsement?"},{"start":72.82,"end":73.48,"text":"How can that be?"},{"start":73.7,"end":74.42,"text":"How can he do that?"},{"start":74.46,"end":77.02,"text":"Well, you know, I don't know how we could."},{"start":77.4,"end":78.64,"text":"That's what Mitchell indicated to me."},{"start":78.68,"end":83.67,"text":"What Mitchell indicated to me was he was hoping there would be a ringing blast at the Senate for their circus."},{"start":84.61,"end":87.08,"text":"This is based on the story this morning that Mitchell had knowledge."},{"start":88.62,"end":92.71,"text":"We don't know that, whether he did or not."},{"start":92.73,"end":92.79,"text":"No."},{"start":92.81,"end":95.24,"text":"That's beyond the scope of the White House's ability to endorse."},{"start":97.18,"end":97.8,"text":"Right?"},{"start":97.82,"end":98.12,"text":"Right."},{"start":100.77,"end":103.29,"text":"Apparently, Chab has retained himself a counsel."},{"start":104.52,"end":105.78,"text":"Who?"},{"start":105.8,"end":106.66,"text":"Jim Baerbauer."},{"start":107.16,"end":107.46,"text":"Who's he?"},{"start":107.78,"end":108.16,"text":"Is he any good?"},{"start":108.58,"end":108.84,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":117.82,"end":140.82,"text":"I'll get on the other phone."},{"start":162.35,"end":163.97,"text":"Yeah, you want me to take it out here?"},{"start":164.81,"end":167.13,"text":"It would be Ziegler in a few minutes."},{"start":167.87,"end":168.67,"text":"He'd read this."},{"start":168.77,"end":188.25,"text":"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."},{"start":189.03,"end":194.75,"text":"The President approved the request because he believes Mr. Dean should have an opportunity to clear his name."},{"start":195.51,"end":219.7,"text":"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"},{"start":220.4,"end":235.25,"text":"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."},{"start":236.57,"end":238.17,"text":"Would you read it one more time?"},{"start":238.19,"end":257.47,"text":"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."},{"start":258.15,"end":263.3,"text":"The President approved the request because he believes Mr. Dean should have an opportunity to clear his name."},{"start":264.18,"end":266.7,"text":"The president has authorized a waiver of executive privilege."},{"start":267.72,"end":271.77,"text":"Maybe it should be executive privilege and attorney-client privilege."},{"start":272.35,"end":274.41,"text":"Maybe it'll just be privilege."},{"start":274.43,"end":275.23,"text":"Waiver of privilege."},{"start":280.54,"end":292.56,"text":"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."},{"start":292.58,"end":292.92,"text":"Isn't that right?"},{"start":293.49,"end":295.95,"text":"Okay, let me raise, while we're just discussing, let me raise something else."},{"start":296.99,"end":307.44,"text":"How about the fact that people on the White House staff told me things in what they assumed was a privileged capacity?"},{"start":307.46,"end":309.42,"text":"Well, the President's not in a position to waive that."},{"start":310.62,"end":315.71,"text":"That's why I think executive privilege, rather than attorney-client, is the right thing to waive here."},{"start":318.03,"end":321.45,"text":"Because you may have to assert it, or you may have to say, that's not mine to..."},{"start":322.44,"end":323.63,"text":"That's not mine to waive."},{"start":325.99,"end":333.72,"text":"Now is it the President's to waive?"},{"start":333.74,"end":334.04,"text":"Okay."},{"start":334.06,"end":334.26,"text":"All right."},{"start":334.82,"end":348.2,"text":"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"},{"start":348.63,"end":352.52,"text":"personal involvement in the planning or execution of the Watergate incident."},{"start":355.81,"end":375.2,"text":"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."},{"start":376.16,"end":389.31,"text":"Obviously, that's stating it very strongly, but we want to literally overstate it so that the vindication falls short of the charge."},{"start":389.33,"end":391.67,"text":"You see what I mean?"},{"start":391.79,"end":394.89,"text":"We overstate it in the hopes that people come forward and say, well, now, wait a minute."},{"start":394.92,"end":396.84,"text":"We're not charging Dean with anything like that."},{"start":404.22,"end":405.62,"text":"Okay."},{"start":406.9,"end":414.48,"text":"It might be fair to, one, have Dick Moore take a chop on that."},{"start":414.98,"end":418.3,"text":"He could call Mitchell and... Oh, it's been read to Mitchell."},{"start":418.6,"end":419.42,"text":"And what Mitchell says."},{"start":419.44,"end":419.94,"text":"He approves it."},{"start":420.14,"end":422.37,"text":"He approves it."},{"start":422.39,"end":425.11,"text":"Magruder should be advised."},{"start":425.13,"end":427.04,"text":"I'll see how Haldeman does those things."},{"start":428.62,"end":429.52,"text":"I'll talk to him about that."},{"start":429.84,"end":430.12,"text":"All right."},{"start":430.86,"end":431.18,"text":"Good."},{"start":431.2,"end":432.18,"text":"All right, sir."},{"start":432.2,"end":432.3,"text":"Good."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"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.","topics":["Watergate","John Dean","Executive privilege","Grand jury","John Mitchell"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T06:51:12.385Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","john-dean","executive-privilege","grand-jury","john-mitchell"],"audioDurationSec":435,"audioFiles":[{"file":"044-069.mp3","bytes":17403904,"durationSec":434.99,"bitrate":320081,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:30.404Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:44.251Z","transcriptGapSeconds":52,"transcriptGapShare":0.12,"transcriptQuality":"incomplete","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/044-069.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/044-069","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/44/conversation-044-069","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}