Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-068
Nixon phone call with Burger on Supreme Court appointments
Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 9:03 PM–9:13 PM ET · White House Telephone · 11 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Chief Justice Warren E. Burger discuss the recent nominations of William H. Rehnquist and Lewis F. Powell, Jr. to the Supreme Court. Nixon expresses strong confidence in both men, characterizing Rehnquist as a tough, constitutionalist jurist and Powell as an eminent legal mind. Nixon specifically instructs Burger to reassure Powell that his vision issues should not preclude his service, urging him to focus on his deliberative role on the Court rather than administrative minutiae.
- Supreme Court appointments
- William H. Rehnquist
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- judicial philosophy
- presidential delegation
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 21% 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.
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Hello?
Hello?
Hello?
Warren, I think we've given you a couple of good men.
I was trying to build the court up a bit as you noted.
In the process, I built you up a little too.
You and Batman.
Which you deserve.
No, no, no.
The Washington Post and all that.
And yet they've been getting some rumors.
Now, you have spoken.
And this settles it.
And I...
Incidentally, do you know Rehnquist Warren?
I have met him in between, and then he argued to, I think, two stages of the armed force.
I've been very well impressed with him.
He's really first class.
His mind is steel-trapped.
You know, first in his class is Stanford, which proves nothing to me.
I was third, so I didn't think that first meant so much.
But nevertheless, he was top in his class.
But more than that, the guy that, when I've seen him, and I've seen him in a number of things here at the White House,
When it comes to constitutional question, he's cruel, objective, just the kind of a guy that, you know, young fellow that you need on that court when the tough things come up.
And he's like a rock.
He's tough and absolutely unflappable.
He isn't going to be moved by the Georgetown set.
Of course, I don't need to tell you about Lou Powell.
He's a superb man.
And I decided to break the age thing, mainly because
I thought the court could use just having a man of that eminence on the court.
What do you think?
Well, you remember, as you know, you called him last night at my suggestion.
Because I had to really press it.
Great.
Great.
What you think very highly of him, don't you?
A great gentleman.
Everybody says that.
The only thing they can ring up on him is what he said about Martin Luther King, but he was right about what he said about Martin Luther King.
That's too bad, isn't it?
No, for Christ's sakes.
He should have represented the school board.
That was his job.
The main thing that I think is important, Warren, is that on the court now,
I have appointed four people, and you, Blackman, and Powell, and Reckless, and I think all four of them are top-flight, decent, honorable, able men.
That's very important.
That's what the court needs, doesn't it, Orton?
Do you agree?
I know.
Right.
You mean, by what?
By what?
By the manner, actually.
The manner.
How old is he?
Oh yeah, what did he say?
Very important.
Really?
That's good.
because of the style rather than the tone, I mean.
Unlike him!
But I think putting Powell, I thought it was a good thing to put Powell, Warren, in the position of not just being a Virginian, a Southern, but a great American.
Didn't you like that?
It's true, too.
Right!
Right.
Warren, as you know, there is one thing that there is a problem, and we must not let it come to us.
And incidentally, he said, you know, Mr. President, when I caught it yesterday afternoon, before you caught it, and I said, now...
I want you to consider this.
And he said, well, you know, his conscience is, I think you can find a better man, a younger man.
He says, my eyes say, well, what about you?
Well, I can only work 50 hours a week.
Well, now, for Christ's sakes, who in the world in that court works more than 50 hours a week?
You tell me, huh?
50 hours a week?
Well, I will do, but I can't.
Well, you know he can do the job 50 hours a week.
Be sure he doesn't raise that in the hearings.
He shouldn't, because we don't want to appear that I appointed an old, decrepit man.
Lou Powell, Lou Powell with half sight can do more than many people can do at full sight.
You know it and I know it.
No question.
A lot of them, first there's an advantage in them and they start taking pictures and whatnot.
It's very difficult to look at them.
Yeah.
Right.
Good.
Another thing, too, is this.
You have a clerk or, I don't know, have you had one or two more than one?
Not two.
One walker or two do you have now?
Right.
Now we've got three.
I've got the third one for him.
All right.
Lou Powell has three clerks.
He doesn't have to read all the fine print anymore, does he?
No, no.
What you want him on that is in those conferences.
You sit around that table.
He's invaluable, isn't he?
I mentioned that to him last night.
He said, I'd like to spend a couple of days with him.
He doesn't seem to have a couple of hours with him when he has time.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
uh that will lou is such a conscientious fellow let me let me give you one little anecdote you can give him cleveland cleveland was a i think one of the one of the better presidents because of its contractual abilities the cleveland in his two terms which is you know the separated biography grover cleveland vetoed more bills than anybody has any president has done in in
in two terms.
Roosevelt, of course, vetoed more than anybody else because he was in four terms.
But anyway, Cleveland had this problem.
He insisted on reading every bill himself.
He would rather do something...
It was said about Cleveland that he would rather do something himself poorly than to have somebody else do it well.
Now, Lewis Powell...
He's got to recognize, he put him on this court, not for his ability to read the fine print and do all the crap, but God damn it, we want him there.
That's right.
And you, you, you know, and Blackman, and a couple others sit around with Blue Powell and discuss these things.
That's it, you know.
Take me.
You know, I don't read all the fine print.
I really don't.
The reason that I've been able to bring off the China and the Soviet initiative is that I've delegated the business about what happens to Bolivian fishing rights to other people.
See?
Talk real cold turkey to him.
I'm telling him that I said this, will you?
He went on and on to me with it.
I said, now, telling his doctor, I said, look, I just know you can be the judge.
You don't need to worry about that.
But you tell him that I feel that he should
Look, blind men have served in the court.
There's a fellow by the name of Lloyd Nix.
You ever heard of him in California?
No.
But there was Lloyd Nix who gave me.
He was blind.
And I took my cram course to pass the California bar from him.
Well, now, for Christ's sake, he didn't read a thing.
So Lou Powell can do the job, and he must do it, and he's got to stay in that court ten years.
That's right.
Okay.
Well, I'll certainly tell him.
Well, it's nice of you to call.
I just wonder where you are.
That's why I left him under the road.
Well, I appreciate it.
All right.
NARA Description
On October 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Warren E. Burger talked on the telephone from 9:03 pm to 9:13 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-068 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 012-068
Date: October 21, 1971
Time: 9:03 pm- 9:13 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Warren E. Burger.
Supreme Court
-Appointments
-The President's speech, October 21, 1971
-Warren E. Burger
-Harry A. Blackmun
-Iowa
-Washington Post
-Burger
-William H. Rehnquist
-The President’s view
-Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Privacy (D) reviewed under PRMPA regulations 12/13/2017. Segment
cleared for release.]
[Privacy]
[012-068-w001]
[Duration: 13s]
Supreme Court
-Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
-Health
-Potential length of term
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
******************************************************************************
-Hugo L. Black
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
-School Board
-Herschel H. Friday
-The President's appointments
-Burger, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist
-Burger's son
-Comments on the President's speech
-News commentators
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
-Powell
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Privacy (D) reviewed under PRMPA regulations 12/13/2017. Segment
cleared for release.]
[Privacy]
[012-068-w002]
[Duration: 14s]
Supreme Court
-Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
-Health
-Testimony
******************************************************************************
-Powell
-Previous conversation with Burger
-Confirmation hearings
-Law clerks
-Grover Cleveland
-Veto of bills
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
-Roosevelt
-Responsibilities
-The President's Delegation of Tasks
-People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Bolivia
-Lloyd Nicks (sp?)
-California lawyer
-John HollandAlso recorded on October 22, 1971
- 012-063 8:48 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:48 pm.
- 012-064 8:48 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Manolo Sanchez talked on the telephone from 8:48 pm to 8:56 pm.
- 012-065 8:56 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:56 pm and 9:00 pm.
- 012-066 8:56 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:56 pm and 9:00 pm.
- 012-067 9:00 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 9:00 pm to 9:02 pm.
- 012-069 9:13 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, and George Meany talked on the telephone from 9:13 pm to 9:21 pm.
- 012-070 9:21 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:21 pm.
- 012-071 9:21 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:21 pm to 9:31 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 012-068, October 22, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-068 (accessed October 12, 2026).