Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-060
Nixon phone call with Colson on Jimmy Hoffa and Commutation of sentence
Wednesday, December 8, 1971 · 5:08 PM–5:14 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min
AI Summary
President Nixon directs Charles Colson to coordinate the release of Jimmy Hoffa through a commutation of sentence handled by Attorney General John Mitchell, rather than the parole board. Nixon instructs Colson to manage the expectations of labor leader Frank Fitzsimmons by channeling all future communications through Mitchell. Additionally, the pair discusses the health of George Meany and an attempt by Meany's associates to mend relations following recent public criticisms of the administration.
- Jimmy Hoffa
- Commutation of sentence
- John Mitchell
- Frank Fitzsimmons
- George Meany
- Labor relations
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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Yeah.
Mr. Coulson, sir.
Yes, sir, Mr. President.
I think it's important in handling this thing now that you of course will know it's going to be handled.
Right.
But I would say nothing.
I've had a long talk with Mitchell.
It cannot be done through the parole board.
All right.
It has to be done through its commutation of sentence rather than pardon, which of course means he still
does not have his civil rights which is good uh Mitchell will handle it all himself he will uh I we they do have some other things uh on Hoffa he I told him to discuss the situation directly with Fitz good tell him what we had and that and that uh and I didn't let on that we'd had any other channels at all no no and also and he Mitchell will also uh do the little bit
Loeb has been in contact with him anyway.
He says it's terribly dangerous.
But Mitchell has his own ways.
He's pretty clever this way.
But we've decided to go on it, and that's that.
And I said, well, John, it's in your hands.
I don't want to hear anything more about it, and I'll just be surprised when it's on the list.
That's fine.
Now, Fitz was supposed to call me by the end of the day today.
You just tell him that you'll hear from him.
You just tell him the president...
You raised it with him.
The president has had a talk with Mitchell.
He'll hear directly from Mitchell.
And that Mitchell will work out whatever is satisfactory, but it has to be totally that
You know, he and Mitchell, he'll understand.
Oh, yeah.
All the messages have been conveyed, and Mitchell's completely on salvo.
Well, that's all I need to say, and I'll take care of it.
You just tell him that you're not there.
So Fitz will know you talked to me, I talked to Mitchell.
Right.
We're all agreed, but that Mitchell's got to handle it now, Fitz, and, gee, Fitz, will you?
Believe us, play our game now, boy.
Well, he... Tell him that the President's concern was to be sure that he wants this done and done the right way, and he talks to Mitchell without his...
He should not convey to Mitchell.
He's talked to you, of course.
No, no, he knows that.
But he's to say to him that...
But tell him to tell Mitchell everything he wants, and then Mitchell will do it.
How's that sound?
Oh, that's perfect.
I mean, that's all I need to do.
He just needs that signal and the power, right?
i think that'll that that'll pay enormous dividends well that's the way it goes we'll take a little heat but uh oh the hell with heat yeah it's not gonna eat a lot of other things too that's right and you're you're solid enough now to do it if you went in the position you're in i'd be very reluctant but okay i saw a love stone today and yeah he confirms me he is in tough shape he
First wouldn't admit it, and then he kind of came around to it.
Does he think he's going to get out, though?
No.
What he says, no, no.
Christ, he'll take him out feet first.
No, no, no, no, no.
But is he going to get out of the hospital?
Oh, yes, yes.
He'll be out of the hospital.
No, no, no.
I'm sorry.
Not that tough, I hope.
No.
He said no.
He said that he's planning to leave the hospital at the end of this week.
He has been ordered to take a month or six weeks off, which he will do.
lose 20 pounds, that it's an angina-type condition.
He let that kind of slip out.
He wanted to let me know.
Yeah, I know.
But he hoped he'd be back in swing by the February meetings, but he wasn't.
yeah and and you you let him know that i was personally very concerned about meanie's health and all i did and i and i and there's nobody bombing him or anything he's let me meanie could do himself a little good by not being quite so rough on us at the moment well he did this was love stone's whole point in coming to see me and i'm sure he was sent to me he doesn't ever come to me very rarely comes to me unless he's got a message his whole message to me was that meanie is sorry
lost his head.
It was a one-day thing.
And I hope you point out Lovestone.
I've never said a word about him.
I made that point very firmly.
I said, you know, I told Jay, I said, you know, sometime when you're talking to Meany, tell him that it's a fact that I've been in many meetings with the president when people have bad-mouthed Meany, and the president has always said, damn it, he is an American.
He stood with us when we needed it.
And I said, you know, it's just
It's tragic.
I said, I mean, he did himself in that day on television.
He said, of course he did.
He said, but the thing that gave him the heart attack was that he knew he'd done it.
And he said that bothered him more than anything else because he knew he'd done it to himself.
And it just really ate him apart.
All right.
I'll move on this, Mr. President.
I think that's great.
Fine.
Fine.
Fine.
It'll be that.
Okay.
Thank you, sir.
All right.
Thank you.
NARA Description
On December 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 5:08 pm to 5:14 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-060 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 16-60
Date: December 8, 1971
Time: 5:08 pm - 5:14 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Charles W. Colson.
[See Conversation No. 307-30]
James R. (“Jimmy”) Hoffa parole
-John N. Mitchell
-Conversation with the President
-Parole board
-President's instructions
-Communication of sentence
-Pardon
-Mitchell
-Frank E. Fitzsimmons
-William Loeb
President's instructions to Colson
-Fitzsimmons
-Mitchell’s direct contact
-George Meany
-Health
-Jay Lovestone
-Schedule
-Health
-President’s concern
-Lovestone
-Meany’s apology
-The President’s attitude
-Meany’s television appearance
-HealthAlso recorded on December 8, 1971
- 307-028 5:01 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:01 pm and 5:08 pm.
- 307-029 5:01 PM · 6 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 5:01 pm and 5:08 pm.
- 307-035 5:01 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:01 pm and 5:08 pm.
- 307-030 5:08 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:08 pm to 5:14 pm.
- 016-061 5:14 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:14 pm and 5:16 pm.
- 307-031 5:14 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:14 pm and 5:16 pm.
- 307-032 5:14 PM · 8 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 5:14 pm and 5:16 pm.
- 016-062 5:16 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:16 pm to 5:17 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 016-060, December 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-060 (accessed October 12, 2026).