{"conversationCode":"045-034","tapeNumber":45,"conversationNumber":34,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-045-034","startDateTime":"1973-04-27T21:14:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-04-27T21:16:00.000Z","startDate":"27-Apr-1973","startTime":"4:14 PM","endDate":"27-Apr-1973","endTime":"4:16 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kleindienst, Richard G.;","description":"On April 27, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Richard G. Kleindienst talked on the telephone from 4:14 pm to 4:16 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-034 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. 45-34\n\nDate: April 27, 1973\nTime: 4:14 pm - 4:16 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with Richard G. Kleindienst.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 906-8B]\n\n     Watergate\n          -Resignation of L[ouis] Patrick Gray, III\n          -Replacement\n                -W. Mark Felt\n                -William D. Ruckelshaus\n                      -Appointment\n                      -Relationship with John N. Mitchell\n                -Form of appointment","filename":["045-034.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Kleindienst, Richard G."],"prevCode":"045-033","nextCode":"045-035","transcript":[{"start":0.77,"end":3.24,"text":"Mr. President, the Attorney General."},{"start":4.4,"end":16.29,"text":"In view of Pat's resignation, Mr. President, it would be my recommendation that I just administratively permit Mark Felt to... No, I tell you, I don't want him."},{"start":16.48,"end":18.46,"text":"I can't have him."},{"start":18.48,"end":26.31,"text":"I just talked to Bill Ruckelshaus, and Bill is a Mr. Clean."},{"start":26.69,"end":34.17,"text":"And I want a fellow in there that is not part of the old guard and that is not part of that infighting in there."},{"start":35.47,"end":39.78,"text":"He'll do it as acting director until we get the full director."},{"start":39.8,"end":41.68,"text":"See, I'm making a search, as you know."},{"start":42.17,"end":44.15,"text":"And he says he'll take it for that long."},{"start":44.17,"end":45.61,"text":"Don't you think that's a good thing?"},{"start":45.63,"end":45.93,"text":"Ideal."},{"start":46.49,"end":49.23,"text":"Now, his only problem is, he says, well, what the hell am I going to say?"},{"start":49.27,"end":50.4,"text":"He says, I knew Mitchell."},{"start":50.84,"end":52.64,"text":"But I said, hell, everybody knows Mitchell."},{"start":52.66,"end":54.26,"text":"I mean, he doesn't work there since 1970."},{"start":54.28,"end":56.14,"text":"That's no problem for him."},{"start":56.62,"end":58.4,"text":"And he was there never during the campaign."},{"start":58.5,"end":59.87,"text":"But don't you think Bill would be a good one?"},{"start":60.33,"end":60.69,"text":"Ideal."},{"start":61.29,"end":61.65,"text":"Ideal."},{"start":62.01,"end":66.01,"text":"And I'm going to name him acting director of the Bureau, and I'm going to have it announced from over here."},{"start":66.03,"end":66.53,"text":"Is that all right?"},{"start":66.75,"end":66.99,"text":"Sure."},{"start":67.07,"end":69.47,"text":"But, Mr. President, under the—"},{"start":70.37,"end":72.24,"text":"rules and regulations and the law."},{"start":72.81,"end":75.5,"text":"It's an appointment that I administratively have to make."},{"start":75.9,"end":80.98,"text":"So I think your announcement should be that you have directed me to designate him."},{"start":81.38,"end":85.73,"text":"Under the rules and regulations of the law, it's an appointment that the Attorney General has to make."},{"start":85.79,"end":86.25,"text":"Is that right?"},{"start":86.49,"end":91.52,"text":"So you make the announcement that you've directed me to make him the acting director?"},{"start":91.53,"end":91.73,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":91.75,"end":101.77,"text":"I make the announcement that I have directed the Attorney General to make him the acting director until a successor is announced, is directed."},{"start":101.85,"end":102.35,"text":"All right."},{"start":102.33,"end":107.95,"text":"That's what we'll do."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst discuss the selection of a new acting FBI director following the resignation of L. Patrick Gray. Nixon rejects W. Mark Felt as a candidate, opting instead for William D. Ruckelshaus to ensure a clean break from the Bureau's internal conflicts. They finalize a plan for the White House to announce that the President has directed the Attorney General to appoint Ruckelshaus to the position.","topics":["Watergate","FBI","William D. Ruckelshaus","W. Mark Felt","L. Patrick Gray","Executive Appointments"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T07:03:13.416Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate","fbi","william-d-ruckelshaus","w-mark-felt","l-patrick-gray","executive-appointments"],"audioDurationSec":113,"audioFiles":[{"file":"045-034.mp3","bytes":3614720,"durationSec":112.85,"bitrate":256241,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.712Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/045-034.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-034","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/45/conversation-045-034","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}