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Conversation 425-047

TapeTape 425StartMonday, April 9, 1973 at 7:55 PMEndMonday, April 9, 1973 at 8:07 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ehrlichman, John D.Recording deviceOld Executive Office Building
AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the ongoing fallout from the Watergate investigation, specifically focusing on the precarious position of White House Counsel John Dean. The two men strategize on managing public perceptions and media narratives, emphasizing the need to exercise caution regarding legal allegations. They also touch upon personnel uncertainties and the difficulty of navigating the mounting political pressures facing the administration.

WatergateJohn DeanWhite House strategyPublic relationsAdministration personnel
AudioNARA Description

On April 9, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:55 pm to 8:07 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 425-047 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 425-47

Date: April 9, 1973
Time: 7:55 pm - 8:07 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

[See also Conversation No. 44-115]
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Yeah.
Yeah.
Hello.
Hello.
Hi, Tom.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Very well.
Oh, yeah.
That is a good job.
No.
Wait a minute.
All right.
You can tell us.
We can only make that as an allegation.
So back off.
Put my hope and heart on first, and then just breathe it out and call it a day.
Whatever you want to do, just be careful.
Thank you.
But on Dean, uh, he held tight with the fact that he just couldn't deal with it.
Baker helped him, I heard.
But that's one I didn't have time to do that with.
It's hard now.
Why the hell is that even part of the version?
Yeah, let me say what they want, whether it comes to the books or not, every one of them.
If you've got a bad headline that scares somebody, you can't have trouble.
That's a line that's got to come through.
I didn't realize I had gotten that close to the end too.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Maybe we'll see.
Well, anyway, you're going to meet Wentz, and he's going to resolve it, aren't you?
Is that what you got?
Yeah, we're going to resolve it when we get there.
But then, we're never here.
What about you?
I don't know.
I don't know what I'm going to do.
The more I think about this, I just forgot to tell you what I'm going to do.
Do you have any idea what you're going to do?
it's not it's not the kind of
I, uh, what the hell does it matter what asshole the person is?
Why do you have to do the job?
He has to follow me.
I mean, what the hell is that?
I mean, that's why I'm saying he has to follow me.
He has to be behind me.
What the crap is that?
And I told her, you realize that that's his craft, the nomination.
I went, so what can we do then?
I said, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.
Thank you.
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