{"conversationCode":"427-017","tapeNumber":427,"conversationNumber":17,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-427-017","startDateTime":"1973-04-17T01:58:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-04-17T02:14:00.000Z","startDate":"16-Apr-1973","startTime":"8:58 PM","endDate":"16-Apr-1973","endTime":"9:14 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Petersen, Henry E.;","description":"On April 16, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry E. Petersen met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:58 pm to 9:14 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 427-017 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"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. 427-17\n\nDate: April 16, 1973\nTime: 8:58 pm - 9:14 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with Henry E. Petersen.\n\n[See Conversation No. 38-82]","filename":["427-017.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Petersen, Henry E."],"prevCode":"427-016","nextCode":"428-001","transcript":[{"start":2.12,"end":21.57,"text":"Can you get on with your kids?"},{"start":21.59,"end":24.91,"text":"Oh, that's good."},{"start":24.93,"end":26.27,"text":"Well, I want to get your better ear tonight, the last night, right?"},{"start":26.29,"end":26.75,"text":"I want you to get good."},{"start":26.77,"end":28.45,"text":"Let me say first that, I don't know if they're involved, but I should know about it."},{"start":28.47,"end":29.98,"text":"Secondly, of course, I want to get you to tell me that it wasn't real life."},{"start":30,"end":30.4,"text":"It wasn't real life."},{"start":30.42,"end":30.82,"text":"It wasn't real life."},{"start":30.84,"end":31.24,"text":"It wasn't real life."},{"start":31.26,"end":31.66,"text":"It wasn't real life."},{"start":32.52,"end":58.3,"text":"Oh, yeah, I heard about that."},{"start":58.32,"end":58.86,"text":"I mean, I heard about that."},{"start":58.88,"end":59.62,"text":"He said he had a cool picture of her."},{"start":59.64,"end":60.04,"text":"I wanted to do that."},{"start":60.06,"end":60.18,"text":"Right."},{"start":60.2,"end":60.32,"text":"Right."},{"start":60.34,"end":60.46,"text":"Right."},{"start":60.48,"end":60.6,"text":"Right."},{"start":60.62,"end":60.74,"text":"Right."},{"start":60.76,"end":60.88,"text":"Right."},{"start":60.9,"end":61.02,"text":"Right."},{"start":63.55,"end":92.49,"text":"...regarding the negotiation of the... ...the... ...the... ...the... ...the... ...the... ...the..."},{"start":92.96,"end":120.42,"text":"uh, uh, uh,"},{"start":123.88,"end":146.64,"text":"This probably won't get as far as it needs to be."},{"start":146.66,"end":147.91,"text":"I mean, uh, I just think the solution right here is the money."},{"start":147.93,"end":149.31,"text":"You've got to get enough facts to justify your, uh, community, right?"},{"start":149.33,"end":149.91,"text":"You've got to get it put off."},{"start":149.93,"end":150.51,"text":"You've got to get it put off."},{"start":150.53,"end":151.11,"text":"You've got to get it put off."},{"start":151.13,"end":151.71,"text":"You've got to get it put off."},{"start":151.73,"end":152.31,"text":"You've got to get it put off."},{"start":152.33,"end":152.91,"text":"You've got to get it put off."},{"start":152.93,"end":153.51,"text":"You've got to get it put off."},{"start":155.92,"end":174.53,"text":"I feel that I'm talking about what you just told me."},{"start":176.24,"end":178.08,"text":"That's exactly what you told me."},{"start":178.1,"end":179.28,"text":"So I'm going to pass it."},{"start":179.3,"end":180.14,"text":"And I'm going to make sure it's all right."},{"start":188.53,"end":215.59,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":215.62,"end":215.88,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":215.9,"end":216.16,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":216.18,"end":216.44,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":216.46,"end":216.72,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":216.74,"end":217,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":220.05,"end":246.59,"text":"Okay, the main thing I need, of course, is a board meeting on the point, but you're not going to have any harm, but of course, a lot of, you know, well, yeah, this is in order."},{"start":246.62,"end":247.94,"text":"I mean, I thought it was, I just had to make my own determination."},{"start":247.96,"end":249.28,"text":"I thought it was jeopardizing, possibly the prosecution, you know,"},{"start":253.95,"end":280.78,"text":"Please."},{"start":280.8,"end":280.9,"text":"Okay."},{"start":281.88,"end":283.65,"text":"Okay, well, if anybody comes up, call me."},{"start":283.83,"end":285.04,"text":"That's the middle line, okay?"},{"start":285.89,"end":286.37,"text":"Thank you."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon met with Assistant Attorney General Henry E. Petersen to discuss the ongoing investigation into the Watergate scandal and its potential impact on his administration. The two focused on the necessity of managing the investigation's pace and gathering sufficient facts to justify legal proceedings. Nixon emphasized the importance of staying informed on developments and coordinating communication to avoid jeopardizing the integrity of the prosecution.","topics":["Watergate investigation","Department of Justice","Legal strategy","Prosecution","Executive privilege"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T19:33:03.331Z"},"topicSlugs":["watergate-investigation","department-of-justice","legal-strategy","prosecution","executive-privilege"],"audioDurationSec":296,"audioFiles":[{"file":"427-017.mp3","bytes":9490432,"durationSec":296.45,"bitrate":256105,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:04.104Z","transcriptGapSeconds":197,"transcriptGapShare":0.67,"transcriptQuality":"incomplete","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/427-017.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/427-017","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/427/conversation-427-017","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}