Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-026

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Supreme Court

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 7:41 PM–7:43 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation012-026 on Tape 12 (tape position 00:44:27–00:46:07)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 7:41 PMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 7:43 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 012-026 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Attorney General John Mitchell discuss the ongoing process of selecting Supreme Court nominees, focusing specifically on the potential candidacy of Howard H. Baker, Jr. The two men deliberate over Baker's willingness to accept an appointment and the necessity of resolving his outstanding financial disclosures. They conclude by noting that if Baker declines the offer, they will pivot to William H. Rehnquist as a primary alternative.

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 41% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
The thing is, he decides.
He either says yes or no.
And if he wants it, fine.
If he doesn't, we'll go to Reckless.
That's a very good turn, we're on a field.
Because if we get it to the point of it being me, then, you know, he'll broker.
Well, he wanted to talk about politics.
I told him, I didn't think that was necessary, but it was politics, you weren't discussing it anyway.
I talked about politics.
You can see the difficulty when I talk to him.
He'll say, well, it's going to be easy, it's going to be easy, but where do I go from here?
Well, back in terms of his own future.
Yes, I have over the years.
Well, I'll put it right on the line.
There's one thing I want to make sure that all this financial mumbo-jumbo that's been going on, make sure that's clear.
I have no idea other than the fact that this is what's going on last night.
Yeah.
So we must find out.
I want to find out and make sure it's clear.
Good.
All right, fine.
What would you like to hear tonight?
Sure.
I will do that.
I will do that.

NARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 7:41 pm to 7:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-026 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 012-026

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: 7:41 pm- 7:43 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     Telephone call from John N. Mitchell

John N. Mitchell talked with the President.

     Supreme Court appointments
          -Howard H. Baker, Jr.
              -Meeting with Mitchell
              -William H. Rehnquist
              -Possibility of accepting appointment
              -Finances

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

  • 012-023 6:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:10 pm to 6:11 pm.
  • 282-038 6:10 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:10 pm.
  • 282-039 6:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:10 pm to 6:11 pm.
  • 012-024 6:11 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm.
  • 282-040 6:11 PM · 59 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm.
  • 282-041 6:11 PM · 8 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 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm.
  • 282-042 6:11 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm.
  • 012-025 6:17 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 6:17 pm to 6:21 pm.

All 83 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 012-026, October 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-026 (accessed October 12, 2026).