Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-050
Moorer & Cox on Watergate and Elliot L. Richardson
Monday, April 30, 1973 · 10:41 PM–10:42 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min
AI Summary
Admiral Thomas H. Moorer called President Nixon to express support following the President's televised address regarding the Watergate scandal. The two discussed the appointment of Elliot Richardson as the new Attorney General and the subsequent vacancy within the Department of Defense. Nixon signaled his intention to recruit a successor from California to fill the leadership gap created by Richardson's move.
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Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On April 30, 1973, White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Adm. Thomas H. Moorer talked on the telephone from 10:41 pm to 10:42 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-050 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 45-50
Date: April 30, 1973
Time: 10:41 pm - 10:42 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The White House operator talked with Tricia Nixon Cox.
Telephone call from Adm. Thomas H. Moorer
Moorer talked with the President.
Watergate
-President’s speech
-35-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 45-50 (cont’d)
-President’s courage
-Elliot L. Richardson
-Attorney General
-Replacement at Department of Defense
-Possible appointee
-California
-President’s relationship with Moorer
-Moorer’s wifeAlso recorded on May 1, 1973
- 045-048 10:34 PM · 4 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Richard G. Kleindienst talked on the telephone from 10:34 pm to 10:36 pm.
- 045-049 10:39 PM · 2 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Harry S. Dent, and [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II talked on the telephone from 10:39 pm to 10:40 pm.
- 045-051 10:43 PM · 2 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, Rose Mary Woods, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 10:43 pm to 10:45 pm.
- 045-052 10:45 PM · 20 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:45 pm and 10:48 pm.
- 045-053 10:48 PM · 2 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and Ronald W. Reagan talked on the telephone from 10:48 pm to 10:50 pm.
- 045-054 10:51 PM · 2 min — George P. Shultz and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 10:51 pm to 10:54 pm.
- 045-055 10:54 PM · 44 sec — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Edward R. F. Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:54 pm and 11:04 pm.
- 045-056 10:54 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:54 pm and 11:04 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 045-050, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-050 (accessed October 10, 2026).