Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 11 › Conversation 011-143

Nixon phone call with Mitchell on Supreme Court appointments

Tuesday, October 19, 1971 · 5:38 PM–5:43 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.Conversation011-143 on Tape 11 (tape position 04:15:44–04:20:18)StartTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 5:38 PMEndTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 5:43 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 011-143 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Attorney General John Mitchell discussed the selection process for upcoming Supreme Court appointments, specifically noting difficulties in reaching preferred candidate Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Mitchell proposed William H. Rehnquist as a potential alternative, highlighting his legal background, conservative credentials, and performance as an Assistant Attorney General. The pair further evaluated the political optics and professional standing of various candidates, including William French Smith and William H. Mulligan, while affirming the need to finalize a decision with Howard Baker.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Yeah.
The Attorney General, sir.
Hello.
Yes, Mr. President.
I still haven't heard from Powell.
I've left the call in just a few minutes ago.
I wonder if he's in transit.
Well, he's been in transit for quite a while.
I haven't heard back from Howard Baker about either, although he said he'd call me before 5.
I guess he's searching a soul.
Sure.
Another thought's occurred to me, Mr. President.
If we get Baker and Powell doesn't,
pan out.
We might consider this Bill Rehnquist over here that everybody's so high on.
Well, what are his, let me ask you about his, what are his qualifications?
Well, first of all, he's an assistant attorney general.
Yeah, I've been in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel.
In fact, Walsh has stated on a number of occasions, why in the hell don't you
put up somebody like Rehnquist.
So I think that would clear.
He, as I say, is an arch conservative, a great student.
Oh, I understand that.
And a pretty tough guy.
How about the qualification thing?
That's the thing.
I would be inclined to believe that there would be no difficulty with it.
How long has he practiced law?
Oh, Bill's been practicing, I guess, at least 15.
Where is he from?
He's from Arizona.
Of course, he might be tapped with the Kleindienst Goldwater business, but he's pretty eminent.
Did he go to law school there?
I think he went to law school over in Stanford with Ehrlichman, if I'm not mistaken.
I just thought I had everybody so high on his ability and talent.
He's a hell of an able guy.
What's his age?
Oh, Bill must be in his late 40s, early 50s.
I think he's younger than that.
I think.
Pardon?
How long do you practice law then?
He must have... Must be 15, 18 years at least.
Then he came to the government with us?
Yes.
And then he's practiced longer than that because he wouldn't be that old.
Mm-hmm.
Say 24 plus... 14 is only 34, 38, and he's 40 years old.
He may be only 40.
He's past that.
Mm-hmm.
I gather he's been practicing longer and really had a lawyer's practice, you know, handling their appeals and advising them.
Has he done appeal work?
Oh, yes.
Sure, he's done quite a bit of appellate work in all of the courts.
He's been great before our congressional committees.
Just a question of whether or not he'd fall under the category of distinction or not.
Yeah.
Well, I suppose in a sense, if you went for him, you might just as well go for Smith, you know, in a sense.
Quite possibly.
They both have sort of the same... Smith also is distinct.
I mean, he's probably a bigger name.
This could very well be a bigger name from the national... Not in my view.
I mean, he's just...
I don't...
I'm not certain that it would necessarily be so with the bar.
I think it would.
They're so damn conscious of the... Is it a big firm or is it a big city and all that jazz, you know?
Well, it certainly would... That's right.
For what political benefits you get out of it, it certainly would be a bigger political plus.
What about the other... Of course, I still think we ought to...
All around are Irishmen, too.
Every play we make to those Catholics is good.
I quite agree.
I haven't heard back from Moore and Ehrlichman, but I'm sure I will before I go on.
Good, good.
Well, keep me posted if you've got any.
Howard Damwell ought to do this now.
He just got to do it.
Tell him we won't take no for an answer.
All right, I'll put it that way, too.
Are you going to be available this evening?
Sure, sure, sure.
Okay.
We can put a little more of it together.
All right.

NARA Description

On October 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 5:38 pm to 5:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 011-143 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 011-143

 Date: October 19, 1971
 Time: 5:38 pm - 5:43 pm
 Location: White House Telephone

 The President talked with John N. Mitchell.

 [See Conversation No. 292-18]

        Supreme Court appointments
             -Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
                   -The President's inability to contact
             -Howard H. Baker, Jr.
                   -Mitchell
             -William H. Rehnquist
                   -Powell
                   -Qualifications
                         -Assistant Attorney General
                         -Lawrence E. Walsh
                         -Political position
                         -Law practice
                                -Arizona
                                      -Richard G. Kleindienst
                                      -Barry M. Goldwater
                         -Stanford University law school
                                -Classmate of John D. Ehrlichman
                         -Age
                         -Law practice
             -William French Smith
                   -Benefits
             -William H. Mulligan
                   -Richard A. Moore
                   -Ehrlichman

Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

              -Baker

 ******************************************************************************

 BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
 [Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/12/2017.
 10s segment cleared for release. 9s remain closed as 011-143-w001..]
 [Personal Returnable]
 [011-143-w001]
 [Duration: 19s]

 END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

 ******************************************************************************

        The President’s schedule
             John N Mitchell’s call

 ******************************************************************************

Also recorded on October 19, 1971

  • 011-142 5:27 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:27 pm and 5:38 pm.
  • 292-016 5:27 PM · 59 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:27 pm to 5:38 pm.
  • 292-018 5:38 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:38 pm to 5:43 pm.
  • 011-144 5:43 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 5:43 pm to 5:48 pm.
  • 011-145 5:43 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:48 pm.
  • 292-019 5:43 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:49 pm.
  • 292-020 5:43 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:49 pm.
  • 292-021 5:43 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:49 pm.

All 93 conversations from October 19, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 011-143, October 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/011-143 (accessed September 28, 2026).