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Conversation 012-025

TapeTape 12StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 6:17 PMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 6:21 PMTape start time00:40:34Tape end time00:44:27ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Mitchell, John N.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AudioNARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 6:17 pm to 6:21 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-025 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 012-025

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: 6:17 pm- 6:21 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John N. Mitchell.

[See Conversation No. 282-42]

     Supreme Court appointments
          -John A. Volpe
               -George A. Tesoro
                     -Age
                     -Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
          -Herschel H. Friday
               -Lawrence E. Walsh
               -Civil rights
                     -Powell
          -American Bar Association [ABA] Committee
               -Possible female appointees
                     -Walsh
                     -Mildred L. Lillie
                            -Vote
          -The President's announcement
               -William L. Safire
          -Howard H. Baker, Jr.
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 Do not cite this transcript as authoritative.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.
The attorney general.
Yes, Mr. President.
Hi.
One thing that occurred to me is that you're going to have to fend off, of course, is our friend Volpe.
You know, we put off Toro on the ground that he was too old and so forth and so on, and now I suppose that John, isn't Toro, what is he, 60?
65, I guess 6 now.
66.
Yeah, must be.
That's two years older, but...
Had to get somebody less than 65, I guess we can say.
But anyway, I guess you can handle it.
I'll stay away.
I'll stay out of it.
Yes, he talks to me about it constantly.
And you tell him we're preparing people for it.
But as a matter of fact, I'm not sure Toro would slide through as well as Powell anyway, would he?
No, I don't believe he would.
He isn't that distinguished?
Is he or is he?
No, he'd probably get by all right, but he wouldn't.
Isn't it interesting?
Why do you think they pissed on Friday of all things?
Civil rights.
I'll be damned.
Really?
Yeah, that's what Ed Wallace told me.
Well, they'll do the same on Powell then, won't they?
They're not going to have, nobody's going to have a chance.
You mean I will have named him?
You will have named him, and it won't be this pressure, you know, from all over the country, from the laws of civil rights and all that.
I'll be goddamned.
Yeah, and Walsh admitted to me that that was it.
Mm-hmm.
Well, the woman thing, that's got to get out, you know, some way.
I mean, naturally, the boat will get out, won't it?
Everything else is leaked out of there.
Now, believe me, we're going to leak this out if they don't.
You can rest assured we'll get it out one way or the other.
And Walsh knows it's coming.
Yeah.
He's been well-programmed.
And the 11-to-1s.
And I think the 11-to-1 is brilliant because it's a jury that way, see?
It's a stack jury.
All men.
Huh?
Absolutely not one qualified.
She's the best qualified woman, but she's not qualified for the Supreme Court.
Jesus, that's great.
That's great.
We just have to program it.
Of course, we can't go too far until you get through tomorrow night, because otherwise the surprise of the operation will be destroyed.
That's right.
But we're working on the letters and so forth.
We'll have it pretty well set up.
Right.
Now, in preparing my remarks, I'm going to use, in the morning, I'm going to use Sapphire because he's the fastest rider and I'm, you know, on this sort of thing.
And so I'm going to have
And all that stuff gets over here.
He may ask a question or two whether I want you to know it'll be by my authority I'm fine My view is to just come on with the match going to be brief But I want to point out that I've searched the country for the two best qualified people and all that He is the biggest leaker in the place.
Can you turn him off?
Well, I'm not gonna tell him till the morning.
Oh, I think oh hell I've not got time tonight.
I say oh Christ.
Yeah, that's my point is a leaker Yeah, that's why that's why I mean in the morning.
I
Once we decide, then I'll start him writing and lock him up.
That's the way we did, that's what we did up at the phase two, phase one thing, you know, he did that too.
Great.
Oh, Christ, I know he leaks.
I would never, oh, he doesn't have the slightest idea that he's going to even be asked to do this job.
All right.
But he writes quickly, that's the main thing, gets it done.
Because this is going to have to be a fast job.
Very good, sir.
I hear Howard Baker has just landed at the airport and he's waiting to talk to me.
Waiting to talk to you?
Mm-hmm.
At the airport?
He just got into the airport.
He's on the phone.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, call me back.
Oh, well, I'll give you directly, sir.
All right.
All right.
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