Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 4 › Conversation 004-036

Nixon phone call with Ferguson on Judicial appointments and John N. Mitchell

Friday, June 4, 1971 · 5:14 PM–5:17 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ferguson, HomerConversation004-036 on Tape 4 (tape position 02:03:53–02:06:17)StartFriday, June 4, 1971 at 5:14 PMEndFriday, June 4, 1971 at 5:17 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 004-036 ↗

AI Summary

Judge Homer Ferguson initiated this call to commend President Nixon on his recent press conference and discuss the judicial appointment of Judge Cobbs in Virginia. Ferguson confirmed his willingness to continue serving as a senior judge until a successor is appointed and agreed to contact Attorney General John Mitchell to facilitate the personnel transition. The conversation concluded with Ferguson expressing his continued desire for active administration work and his personal apprehension toward full retirement.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Judge Ferguson for you, sir.
Hello.
Richard?
Yes, how are you?
Homer Ferguson.
Yes, sir.
Homer, how are you?
Bother you.
That's all right.
It's all right.
One thing, I put the call in after you'd made that talk the other night to tell you how excellent it was.
Oh, well, thank you very much.
Thank you, yes.
And all these to the press, I think, have been great.
Well, thank you.
Thank you.
Now, I wanted to, again, call your attention to Cobb's...
As a judge.
Oh, yes, the man you left your... Virginia.
Yes.
He's an excellent lawyer, as I explained to you.
Right, right.
If you want any further news, I'd be very glad to do it.
Right, I've got it, and in fact, I've talked to Mitchell about it, too.
Yeah, now I've... And I know that Byrd has endorsed him, and Holcomb has endorsed him.
Now, another thing is...
I'm serving as a senior judge.
You know, the law provides for that.
Yes, sir.
And I wanted you to know that, and it's perfectly all right.
I'll continue until your new man goes on.
Oh, great.
Good.
Have you talked to Mitchell yourself about the other fellow?
Oh, should I do that?
I wish you would.
I'll do it.
Give John a call, John Mitchell, and just say that you and I were chatting, and I asked you to call him about it.
Yeah, I'll do that.
Because then when he comes in, I won't see him.
I'm going out to Tulsa in the morning, but I won't see him.
Just give Mitchell a talk.
I'll see you on Monday then.
Now, I'm awfully sorry to bother you.
You didn't bother me.
That's all right.
But I did want you to know that as far as me continuing as a senior judge, it was perfectly all right.
Great.
Well, I appreciate that.
And as I told you, I hope that someday, that soon, after I'm not a senior judge, that I might fit in somewhere else.
Right, right.
Well, you're still full of beans.
That's right.
You know, I fear retirement.
Yeah, don't blame me a bit.
You know, when people get to the point they don't have anything left, they don't fear it.
Yeah, I know that you and I are...
I'm eager to work, and therefore I want you to know that.
Good, good.
So a senior judge just fits in fine.
Good.
All right, thank you.
Bye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On June 4, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Homer Ferguson talked on the telephone from 5:14 pm to 5:17 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 004-036 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 4-36

Date: June 4, 1971
Time: 5:14 pm - 5:17 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Judge Homer Ferguson.

[See Conversation No. 512-27D]

     President's previous press conference, June 1, 1971

     Judge [Forename unknown] Cobbs
          -President's conversation with John N. Mitchell
          -Endorsements by Harry F. Byrd, Jr. and Linwood Holton

     Ferguson's present assignment
          -Ferguson's possible
          -Call to Mitchell

     Ferguson's position with administration

Also recorded on June 4, 1971

  • 512-026 4:44 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:44 pm and 4:47 pm.
  • 512-027 4:47 PM · 1 hr 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and Homer Ferguson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:47 pm to 5:59 pm.
  • 004-035 5:12 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:12 pm and 5:14 pm.
  • 004-037 5:17 PM · 23 sec — Edward R. F. Cox, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:17 pm and 8:03 pm.
  • 004-038 5:17 PM · 2 min — Edward R. F. Cox, White House operator, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:17 pm and 8:03 pm.
  • 004-039 5:17 PM · 47 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:17 pm and 8:03 pm.
  • 004-040 5:17 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:17 pm and 8:03 pm.
  • 512-028 5:59 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at 5:59 pm.

All 55 conversations from June 4, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 004-036, June 4, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/004-036 (accessed September 27, 2026).