Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 13 › Conversation 013-142

Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Earl L. Butz and Cabinet appointments

Thursday, November 4, 1971 · 7:43 PM–7:44 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation013-142 on Tape 13 (tape position 04:13:08–04:14:39)StartThursday, November 4, 1971 at 7:43 PMEndThursday, November 4, 1971 at 7:44 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 013-142 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss the potential appointment of Earl L. Butz as Secretary of Agriculture, with Nixon expressing concerns regarding Butz's name. They deliberate on the recommendation of the "Triumvirate"—Frederic Malek, Bryce Harlow, and John Whitaker—while considering an alternative candidate, Representative John Kyl. Nixon instructs Ehrlichman to have Whitaker evaluate Kyl's suitability during an upcoming meeting, tasking them with assessing whether Kyl would be a strong political asset.

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Transcript (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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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John, I talked to Bob and he told me you're going to Boston, so I... Let me ask you about the button thing, John.
You're sort of high on that.
Well, the Triumvirate, Malick and Harlow and Whitaker, have really exhaustively looked at this, and that's their strong recommendation.
I still haven't met him.
but I would defer to their collective judgment on that.
One problem that occurs to me is his name.
Yeah, yeah, that's there.
I can just see the farmer's name.
The other thing that just occurred to me, it's a long shot, but one of the more impressive members of that agriculture committee is that John Kyle.
Well, I noticed you take up on that.
He's a farmer, he's a scholar, and he's strong.
and, you know what I mean, is highly regarded.
Would you run that by?
Yes, sir.
I sure will.
Okay.
As a matter of fact, Whitaker's going up to see him first thing in the morning.
Doesn't he impress you?
Yes.
You know what I mean?
He's a scholarly guy, and incidentally, he's always on the right side.
He's so reasonable about things, and I think he'd be a good salesman.
Well, I'll make a point of having Whitaker drive him out a little bit in the morning.
Good.
All right.
Tell him to look at him with that in mind.
Right.
Good.

NARA Description

On November 4, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 7:43 pm to 7:44 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 013-142 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 013-142

Date: November 4, 1971
Time: 7:43 pm - 7:44 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

     President's previous conversation with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
           -Ehrlichman's schedule

     Earl L. Butz
           -Possible appointment
           -Frederic V. Malek
           -Bryce N. Harlow

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

             -John C. Whitaker
             -John Kyl
                  -Forthcoming meeting with Whitaker

Also recorded on November 5, 1971

  • 013-135 7:24 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:24 pm and 7:35 pm.
  • 013-136 7:24 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:24 pm and 7:35 pm.
  • 013-138 7:35 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Lloyd J. Christie talked on the telephone from 7:35 pm to 7:36 pm.
  • 013-139 7:36 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:36 pm and 7:37 pm.
  • 013-140 7:37 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:37 pm to 7:38 pm.
  • 013-141 7:38 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:38 pm and 7:43 pm.
  • 013-143 7:44 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:44 pm.
  • 013-144 7:44 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:44 pm and 7:47 pm.

All 53 conversations from November 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 013-142, November 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/013-142 (accessed October 12, 2026).