Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-057
Nixon, Lewis & Cox on Watergate and H.R. Haldeman
Monday, April 30, 1973 · 11:04 PM–11:06 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min
AI Summary
President Nixon received a call from Hobart D. Lewis shortly after delivering a televised address regarding the Watergate scandal. The two men discussed the resignation of H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, with Lewis offering strong praise for the President's tone and sincerity in handling the difficult situation. Nixon characterized the original Watergate break-in as an ineffective and amateurish operation, and the pair concluded by affirming the need to move forward beyond the scandal.
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NARA Description
On April 30, 1973, White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and Hobart D. Lewis talked on the telephone from 11:04 pm to 11:06 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-057 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 45-57
Date: April 30, 1973
Time: 11:04 pm - 11:06 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The White House operator talked with Tricia Nixon Cox. The President and unknown persons
can be heard in the background.
Telephone call from Hobart D. (“Hobe”) Lewis
Tricia Nixon Cox conferred with the President
[Begin conferral]
Telephone call from Lewis
[End conferral]
-41-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 45-57 (cont’d)
The President talked with Lewis.
Watergate
-President’s speech
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman
-Resignations
-Impact
-President’s speech
-Tone
-Delivery
-Watergate break-in
-Ineffectiveness
-Lewis’s conversation with Rose Mary woods
-Lewis’s wifeAlso recorded on May 1, 1973
- 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.
- 045-058 11:07 PM · 2 min — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:07 pm and 11:08 pm.
- 045-059 11:09 PM · 1 min — James T. Lynn and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 11:09 pm to 11:13 pm.
- 045-060 11:13 PM · 2 min — Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II, and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:13 pm and 11:14 pm.
- 045-061 11:14 PM · 1 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and Anne L. Armstrong talked on the telephone from 11:14 pm to 11:15 pm.
- 045-062 11:15 PM · 3 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and George H. W. Bush talked on the telephone from 11:15 pm to 11:18 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 045-057, 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/045-057 (accessed October 10, 2026).