Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-071

Nixon phone call with Richardson on Foreign policy and Supreme Court

Thursday, April 29, 1971 · 10:57 PM–11:03 PM ET · White House Telephone · 8 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Richardson, Elliot L.Conversation002-071 on Tape 2 (tape position 02:38:40–02:46:27)StartThursday, April 29, 1971 at 10:57 PMEndThursday, April 29, 1971 at 11:03 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-071 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Elliot Richardson discuss messaging for an upcoming press conference, focusing on sensitive foreign policy objectives regarding China and the USSR, as well as the administration's stance on Supreme Court busing rulings. The two coordinate the government's legal position on housing discrimination cases and address the complexities of the Vietnam War, specifically regarding POW negotiations and U.S. credibility. The conversation concludes with administrative scheduling and the potential hiring of a new personnel candidate.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 17% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Yes, please.
Mr. President?
Yeah.
There you are.
Hello.
Hello.
Oh, Elliot, how are you?
Yeah, I've been having, sort of, going over the guest list for the wedding.
I've been a little busy tonight.
Well, I just thought, I thought, anyway, that this is really the very best of all of us.
I tried to protect everybody and not to get into any... As you know, speaking now in terms of forgetting the domestic things, we really had to cool all this chat about China and to keep it... As you well know, I've got some things in mind, but I don't want to irritate the Russians because we've got a hell of a thing going on with them at the present time.
I'm sure you know that.
It didn't bother you, did it?
Well, as a matter of fact, you know, on that, it's a good decision when we look at it.
I mean, they were speaking to a very special technical problem, and so we'll accept that.
But on the other problems, we're going to have to look at it, and it comes before us.
but only a lot.
Somebody, my daughter Tricia, said it was pretty technical stuff, and I said, well, we had to do it.
It's a very technical matter, isn't it?
It didn't...
It didn't bother you, though, in all the terrible problems you've got.
That we're going to cooperate, we're not going to coerce, but we're going to follow the law.
It's a moot question now.
I've expressed my views, but they're no longer relevant now that the court has spoken.
I thought that's a pretty good line to say, that nobody is above the law.
Not even the president.
As a lawyer, I thought you'd appreciate that.
Oh, well, no, no.
Well, no, no, you know how these things are.
You just do the best you can.
Throw it out there and hope that it comes.
Well, that's a tough one, you know.
That's a real tough one nowadays.
But we have to put it that way because, you know, if we say an effect...
look, you give us our prisoners and we'll give you South Vietnam.
We can't do that, you see, because that won't work.
And also, we have to realize that just talking about prisoners isn't what we want.
What we want is to get the damn people out of there.
Right.
Well, you just, I know you've got a terrible job over there, you know, and I
I told Ehrlich today, I said, you know, poor Richardson, he's got to take all the bastards he's got over there.
And I understand that.
Your whole outfit, they have to be in that line.
But what we said, in effect, we listened to them.
If they're peaceful, we're not going to do anything to them.
But if they're unpeaceful, we're going to prosecute them.
But that we're not going to be affected by them, except as we think.
I think the idea of
Not just peace in our time, but peace in their time is a good one to get across.
What do you think?
Really, that's what it is, isn't it?
It's so easy, you know, to end the damn war.
The question is ending it.
That's right.
That's right.
Very well put.
That's right.
Very good.
Wish I'd have thought of it.
You should have told me and I'd have put it in my answer.
It really is.
If the United States is not credible, they're down the drain.
Okay, well, I just hope you, as I say, you've got a tough job.
I don't want to make it any harder for you, you know?
Oh.
Oh, well.
You've done it.
You've done it.
The fact that you don't bring these damn problems to us unless you have to, I appreciate it.
Yeah, for example, let me say that on this whole business of the housing and all the rest, we'll work it out.
Because, as you know, with the Lackawanna case and the California case, it makes it clear that the Blackjack case now has to be
reconsidered in me with one test, that is, did the governing body have a racial prejudice in mind when it made its decision, right?
That's really the point, you see.
That was too damn complicated to get across press conference, but you know what, that's the whole problem.
Okay, well, get a good night's sleep.
Yeah, sure.
Oh, good.
Want to bring him in?
Sounds great.
Is he a good man?
Well, uh... Well, how about bringing him in Tuesday?
You see, I'm going to California tomorrow.
I'll be back Monday night.
Tuesday will be fine, right after the legislative year.
Okay?
We'll build him up.
Okay?
All right.
Get a good night's sleep.

NARA Description

On April 29, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone from 10:57 pm to 11:03 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-071 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-71

Date: April 29, 1971
Time: 10:57 pm - 11:03 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Elliot L. Richardson.

     Guest list for Tricia Nixon's wedding

     President's press conference
           -People's Republic of China [PRC] initiative
                 -US-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] relations
           -Supreme Court decision on busing
                 -Tricia Nixon's response
                 -Technical matter
                 -Administration's response
           -Vietnam
                 -Prisoners of war [POW]

[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was prepared under court order from
December 1978 through March 1979 for Special Access 8, Ronald V. Dellums, et al. v. James M.
Powell, et al., No. 71-2271. The National Archives and Records Administration produced this
transcript. The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

[End of transcript]
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       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

            -Vietnam
            -Supreme Court decision
            -Housing
            -Lackawanna case
            -California case
            -Blackjack case

     President's schedule
           -Meeting with unnamed person
           -Legislative leaders meeting

Also recorded on April 30, 1971

  • 002-064 10:31 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:31 pm.
  • 002-065 10:36 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 10:36 pm to 10:39 pm.
  • 002-066 10:39 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker talked on the telephone from 10:39 pm to 10:40 pm.
  • 002-067 10:40 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 10:40 pm to 10:49 pm.
  • 002-068 10:50 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:50 pm and 10:57 pm.
  • 002-069 10:50 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:50 pm and 10:57 pm.
  • 002-070 10:50 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:50 pm and 10:57 pm.
  • 002-072 11:04 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 11:04 pm to 11:11 pm.

All 14 conversations from April 30, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-071, April 30, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-071 (accessed October 23, 2026).