Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-051
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Supreme Court and Hugo L. Black
Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 5:52 PM–5:53 PM ET · White House Telephone · 33 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman spoke briefly to clarify the specific resignation dates of Supreme Court Justices Hugo L. Black and John M. Harlan. The President sought confirmation of the exact dates, establishing that Black resigned on September 17 and Harlan on September 23. This exchange served to finalize the timeline of the vacancies for administrative or political record-keeping.
- Supreme Court
- Hugo L. Black
- John M. Harlan
- Resignations
- Judicial Appointments
Audio
NARA Description
On October 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:52 pm to 5:53 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-051 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 012-051
Date: October 21, 1971
Time: 5:52 pm- 5:53 pm
Location: White House Telephone
H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the President.
[See Conversation No. 281-55]
Supreme Court justices, date of resignation
-Hugo L. Black
-John M. HarlanTranscript (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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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Also recorded on October 21, 1971
- 012-049 5:42 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:42 pm.
- 281-052 5:43 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm.
- 281-053 5:43 PM · 12 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 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm.
- 281-054 5:43 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm.
- 281-055 5:50 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:50 pm and 5:55 pm.
- 012-052 5:53 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:53 pm and 6:08 pm.
- 281-056 5:55 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:08 pm.
- 281-057 5:55 PM · 48 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 5:55 pm and 6:08 pm.
Related conversations
- Nixon phone call with Burger on Supreme Court and Hugo L. Black September 17, 1971 · 4 min
- Nixon, Haldeman & Bull on Hugo L. Black and Supreme Court September 28, 1971 · 8 min
- Nixon, Ziegler & Bull on Supreme Court and John M. Harlan September 23, 1971 · 12 min
- Nixon, Haldeman & Mitchell on Supreme Court and John M. Harlan September 20, 1971 · 13 min
- Nixon phone call with Mitchell on John M. Harlan and Supreme Court September 20, 1971 · 1 min
- Nixon phone call with Poff on Supreme Court and Judicial Appointments October 5, 1971 · 4 min
Cite this conversation
Conversation 012-051, October 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417191607). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-051 (accessed November 12, 2026).