{"conversationCode":"045-021","tapeNumber":45,"conversationNumber":21,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-045-021","startDateTime":"1973-04-26T23:50:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-04-27T00:08:00.000Z","startDate":"26-Apr-1973","startTime":"6:50 PM","endDate":"26-Apr-1973","endTime":"7:08 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Ehrlichman, John D.; White House operator; Ziegler, Ronald L.;","description":"On April 26, 1973, John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:50 pm and 7:08 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-021 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. 45-21\n\nDate: April 26, 1973\nTime: Unknown between 6:50 pm and 7:08 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nJohn D. Ehrlichman talked with the White House operator.\n\n     Telephone number\n\nThe operator dialed a telephone number at an unknown time.\n\n     Telephone call\n          -Busy signal\n          -Attempted call\n\nThe operator re-dialed at an unknown time.\n\n     Telephone call\n          -Attempted call\n\nThe operator re-dialed at an unknown time.\n\n     Telephone call\n          -Delay\n\f                                             -15-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                            Conversation No. 45-21 (cont’d)\n\nThe operator re-dialed at an unknown time.\n\n     Telephone call\n          -Outside line\n\nEhrlichman dialed a telephone number at an unknown time between 6:50 pm and 7:08 pm.\n\n[Dialing sound]\n\nEhrlichman talked with the White House operator.\n\n     Telephone call to Ronald L. Ziegler\n\nEhrlichman talked with Ziegler at an unknown time between 6:50 pm and 8:00 pm.\n\n     Watergate\n          -Ziegler’s forthcoming call to Dean\n                -President’s call to Ziegler\n          -Ehrlichman’s forthcoming statement\n                -Method of release","filename":["045-021.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Ehrlichman, John D.","White House operator","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"045-020","nextCode":"045-022","transcript":[{"start":3.79,"end":7.04,"text":"Would you dial 3-3-3-0-0-2-4, please?"},{"start":7.06,"end":12.69,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":22.4,"end":25.12,"text":"I'm busy."},{"start":25.14,"end":26.96,"text":"Do you want me to keep after it?"},{"start":27.56,"end":29.85,"text":"Would you re-dial it just to see if it's cleared off?"},{"start":30.25,"end":31.49,"text":"All right."},{"start":41.29,"end":48.92,"text":"Want to just hold on?"},{"start":49.28,"end":49.88,"text":"I'll do it."},{"start":50.12,"end":69.42,"text":"Okay, thanks."},{"start":75.95,"end":95.58,"text":"I'll wait a few moments."},{"start":123.03,"end":137.61,"text":"Well, can you give me an outside line?"},{"start":137.69,"end":138.81,"text":"I can dial it from here."},{"start":139.05,"end":139.19,"text":"Uh-huh."},{"start":139.21,"end":141.25,"text":"Or do you want me to try to break in on it?"},{"start":141.43,"end":141.84,"text":"No, no."},{"start":141.85,"end":142.53,"text":"No, that's all right."},{"start":142.57,"end":142.9,"text":"All right."},{"start":142.92,"end":143.9,"text":"I'll give you an outside line."},{"start":143.94,"end":144.84,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":146.72,"end":171.61,"text":"."},{"start":171.63,"end":171.65,"text":"."},{"start":173.13,"end":192.39,"text":"Ron Ziegler, please."},{"start":192.88,"end":193.88,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":201,"end":202.6,"text":"Hello, John Erickman."},{"start":202.62,"end":203.7,"text":"Yes, John."},{"start":203.72,"end":205.06,"text":"You haven't gotten Dean yet, I suppose."},{"start":205.98,"end":208.08,"text":"The president called me and told me not to call him."},{"start":208.1,"end":208.34,"text":"Oh, he did?"},{"start":209.09,"end":210.97,"text":"Oh, that's why I've been out here on the outside."},{"start":211.01,"end":216.81,"text":"Did he say anything about putting this statement of mine out?"},{"start":218.08,"end":218.14,"text":"No."},{"start":218.16,"end":218.8,"text":"Okay."},{"start":218.82,"end":222.36,"text":"Well, he's talking now about putting it out from the White House office."},{"start":224.38,"end":224.69,"text":"Here."},{"start":224.71,"end":226.63,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":226.65,"end":226.87,"text":"All right."},{"start":227.19,"end":228.27,"text":"I'm having it retyped."},{"start":228.83,"end":229.85,"text":"John, I don't agree with it."},{"start":229.87,"end":230.83,"text":"I know it, and I'll tell him."},{"start":231.69,"end":232.01,"text":"Okay."},{"start":232.41,"end":249.6,"text":"Okay."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"John D. Ehrlichman and Ronald L. Ziegler discuss the management of ongoing Watergate-related communications and public statements. Ziegler informs Ehrlichman that the President ordered him not to contact John Dean, and the two briefly touch upon the handling of a forthcoming written statement from Ehrlichman. Despite Ziegler expressing his disagreement with the content of that statement, Ehrlichman remains committed to discussing the matter further with the President.","topics":["Watergate","John Dean","John D. Ehrlichman","Ronald L. Ziegler","White House communications"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T07:01:58.561Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","john-dean","john-d-ehrlichman","ronald-l-ziegler","white-house-communications"],"audioDurationSec":256,"audioFiles":[{"file":"045-021.mp3","bytes":8202240,"durationSec":256.19,"bitrate":256133,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.712Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:44.616Z","transcriptGapSeconds":100,"transcriptGapShare":0.39,"transcriptQuality":"incomplete","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/045-021.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-021","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/45/conversation-045-021","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}