Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 14 › Conversation 014-034

Nixon phone call with Mitchell on Earl L. Butz and Department of Agriculture

Thursday, November 11, 1971 · 10:22 AM–10:26 AM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Mitchell, John N.Conversation014-034 on Tape 14 (tape position 00:59:07–01:03:49)StartThursday, November 11, 1971 at 10:22 AMEndThursday, November 11, 1971 at 10:26 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 014-034 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Attorney General John Mitchell discuss the potential appointment of Earl L. Butz to lead the Department of Agriculture, with Mitchell expressing confidence in Butz's suitability for the role. The two men also review political feedback regarding recent speeches and endorsements from Ronald Reagan and Nelson Rockefeller. Additionally, they touch upon ongoing tensions between the administration and Governor Reagan regarding Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) programs, which Mitchell intends to address with John Ehrlichman.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Attorney General.
Hello.
Good morning, Mr. President.
What's your judgment on this man?
I'm going to see him pretty soon.
I have spent some time with him this morning.
I know you're meeting at 8 o'clock with him.
I think that he's the guy that can probably carry the mission.
You do?
Yes, sir.
He looks like a Midwest evangelist.
Does he have any crap in his shoes?
Well, I hope so.
If he doesn't, we'll get some for him.
We can find left around here, can't we?
And John Ehrlichman and John Whitaker tell me that they have checked back through his pronouncements and so forth, and he's not locked into any particular...
ideology in the farm area where it'll come back to haunt us.
I trust that's the case they say it is.
So I think it's quite a stemwinder from the accounts that I've gotten around the country on the stand.
I also am not particularly concerned about the condition that he's imposed with respect to the structure of the department.
I think if that's handled in the right vein, it could be a very definite plus for the administration going in, and I don't think it's going to stand in the way of anything that might conceivably come out of governmental reorganization, certainly not between now and next November.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
All right.
We'll see him here.
Give him the message.
Mr. Garcia.
Yes, sir.
Okay, Josh.
I found that we have some problems with our dear governor from California and HEW, but I'll take them up with her.
On welfare?
Yeah.
They're cutting into the programs, apparently, that you approved in San Clement.
But I'll take it up with Ehrlichman and see if we can.
Yeah, we were trying like the devil to...
cooperate there, but it's not easy, I can assure you.
Well, it's gotten into personalities, too, but hopefully we can get it straightened out.
Because it really puts the heat under his collar every time he has to deal with ATW and Veneman in particular.
Oh, I know, I know.
So we'll see if we can't paper that over.
Okay.
Right, sir.
Thanks.

NARA Description

On November 11, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 10:22 am to 10:26 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 014-034 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 14-34

Date: November 11, 1971

Time: 10:22 am - 10:26 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     John N. Mitchell

The President talked with Mitchell.

[See Conversation No. 618-1]

     Earl L. Butz
           -Meeting with Mitchell
           -Mitchell’s opinion
                -Investigation by John D. Ehrlichman and John C. Whitaker
           -Meeting with Mitchell

*****************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 03/31/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[014-034-w001]
[Duration: 49s]

     Earl L. Butz
           -Meeting with John N. Mitchell
                -Political work
                      -November 1971-November 1972
                -Support
                -Interest in politics
                      -Previous run in Indiana gubernatorial primary
                             -Clifford M. Hardin

*****************************************************************

     Earl L. Butz
           -Organization of Agriculture Department

*****************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 03/31/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[014-034-w002]
[Duration: 1m 30s]

     The President's speeches, November 9, 1971
          -Chicago
          -Los Angeles fund-raising dinner
               -John A. Mitchell's speech
          -Chicago
               -Public reaction
               -The Vice President
                      -Reference
                      -Right-wing
          -Los Angeles dinner
               -Ronald W. Reagan
                      -Remarks
               -Nelson A. Rockefeller
               -Endorsements
                      - Nelson A. Rockefeller and Ronald W. Reagan
               Ronald W. Reagan
                      -Endorsement
                            -Personal

*****************************************************************

     Ronald W. Reagan
          -Health, Education and Welfare [HEW] programs
               -Mitchell's forthcoming meeting with Ehrlichman
               -John G. Veneman

Also recorded on November 11, 1971

  • 618-001 10:22 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:22 am to 10:26 am.
  • 618-002 10:26 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:26 am and 10:35 am.
  • 618-003 10:26 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, John C. Whitaker, and Earl L. Butz met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:26 am and 10:51 am.
  • 298-001 11:24 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:29 am.
  • 298-002 11:24 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:29 am.
  • 298-003 11:24 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:29 am.
  • 298-004 11:24 AM · 14 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 11:24 am and 11:29 am.
  • 298-005 11:29 AM · 1 hr 42 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), White House operator, and Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfeldt met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:29 am to 1:16 pm.

All 91 conversations from November 11, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 014-034, November 11, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/014-034 (accessed October 1, 2026).