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Conversation 012-098

TapeTape 12StartFriday, October 22, 1971 at 10:00 PMEndFriday, October 22, 1971 at 10:02 PMTape start time03:54:00Tape end time03:55:48ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Lewis, Hobart D.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with Hobart D. Lewis to celebrate the successful announcement of his Supreme Court nominees, Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William H. Rehnquist. Nixon expressed satisfaction with his strategy of misleading the press and the American Bar Association to secure appointments that prioritized conservative ideology over typical vetting pressures. The two discussed the long-term impact of these appointments on the Court's ideological balance, agreeing that the move successfully trapped critics who previously demanded judicial excellence.

Supreme Court nominationsLewis F. Powell Jr.William H. RehnquistJudicial appointmentsConservatismAmerican Bar Association
AudioNARA Description

On October 22, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Hobart D. Lewis talked on the telephone from 10:00 pm to 10:02 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-098 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 12-98

Date: October 22, 1971
Time: 10:00 pm- 10:02 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Hobart D. (“Hobe”) Lewis.

     The President's Supreme Court nominees
          -Lewis’ view
          -The President's action
          -American Bar Association [ABA] Committee
          -Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Jr.
          -William H. Rehnquist
          -Potter Stewart

     The President's schedule
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 Do not cite this transcript as authoritative.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.

Hello.
Mr. Hobart Lewis, sir.
There you are.
Hello, Hobart.
Mr. President.
How'd you like the way we fooled the press and the court?
Godfully glorious.
You let them down the garden path that time.
I thought we'd give them a little surprise.
Well, that was just tremendous.
And your performance, Mr. Stanley, was just about the best I ever saw.
I thought your speech, the way you presented it, was just magnificent.
This one, of course, as you can imagine, I had to do all by myself.
You did absolutely the whole thing by yourself.
And I think the appointments are right, too.
Well, they're true conservatives, you know.
And we're going to get them through.
I don't think you'll have any difficulty, will you?
No, no.
Well, they'll have some.
Sure, they'll squeal around.
But they talk so much about excellence.
And then we got them bitching about others because they weren't excellent.
And then we put in a couple of excellents who were conservatives.
That was it.
And now they're really stuck with him.
It's just great.
Absolutely thrilling.
And Louis Powell is about the finest man in the world, too.
He's a great fellow.
And Lundqvist, you don't know, but he's a brilliant man and just as conservative as he can be.
You know, it's thrilling.
You've got four good men, and I guess Potter Stewart's good.
Potter Stewart on a swing boat will be fine.
Yeah, you've got five.
Five, that's right.
At least we've got a start.
We're getting a start, Mr. President, on this...
What do I call it?
Good.
Good.
That's just great.
Great.
Well, it was good to see you last week.
Well, we enjoyed it.
Okay.
Bye.
Bye.
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