Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 21 › Conversation 021-100

Nixon phone call with Finch on ITT affair and School busing

Thursday, March 16, 1972 · 11:19 PM–11:26 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Finch, Robert H.Conversation021-100 on Tape 21 (tape position 03:53:20–04:00:30)StartThursday, March 16, 1972 at 11:19 PMEndThursday, March 16, 1972 at 11:26 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 021-100 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Robert Finch discussed the political fallout surrounding the ITT controversy and the administration’s response to school busing. They evaluated potential negative impacts on the Republican Party and examined specific allegations involving Dita Beard and Edwin Reinecke. Nixon emphasized his lack of personal involvement in the California site selection process and strategized on managing public perception regarding these high-stakes political issues.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 71.1 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:53:20 into the tape and ends around 04:00:30.

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On March 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Robert H. Finch talked on the telephone from 11:19 pm to 11:26 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-100 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 21-100

Date: March 16, 1972
Time: 11:19 pm - 11:26 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Robert H. Finch.

     Busing speech
          -West Coast reaction
          -Finch’s location
          -Finch’s schedule
                -Forthcoming press conference in Los Angeles
                     -Constitutional amendment
                     -Moratorium
                            -Legislation
          -Delivery
          -California interest

         -New Hampshire
         -Wisconsin

    International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
          -Network coverage
                -Effect on administration
                -Effect on the Republican Party
                -Big business
          -Dita D. Beard memorandum
          -Peter M. Flanigan
          -Finch’s view
          -Edwin Reinecke
                -Involvement
          -Nixon’s lack of involvement in California site decision
                -Finch’s statement
                -Robert J. Dole’s statement
          -Nixon’s choices
                -Chicago
                -Midwest
                -San Diego
                -Miami
          -Contributions
          -Reinecke

    Busing speech

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
Duration: 2m 35s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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Also recorded on March 17, 1972

  • 021-093 10:40 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II talked on the telephone from 10:40 pm to 10:49 pm.
  • 021-094 10:57 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:57 pm to 11:07 pm.
  • 021-095 11:07 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:07 pm and 11:12 pm.
  • 021-096 11:12 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:12 pm.
  • 021-097 11:12 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:12 pm.
  • 021-098 11:13 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 11:13 pm to 11:18 pm.
  • 021-099 11:18 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:18 pm and 11:19 pm.
  • 095-001 12:00 AM · 1 hr 47 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Elliot L. Richardson, Richard G. Kleindienst, George P. Shultz, and bipartisan Congressional leaders, including Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield, Hugh Scott, Robert C. Byrd, Robert P. Griffin, Jacob K. Javits, Roman L. Hruska, James O. Eastland, Carl B. Albert, Gerald R. Ford, Albert H. Quie, William M. McCulloch, John D. Ehrlichman, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, Thomas C. Korologos, Richard K. Cook, Edward L. Morgan, Paul H. O'Neill, Patrick J. Buchanan, Kenneth W. Dam, Leonard Garment, Herbert G. Klein, White House photographer, and members of the press, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 9:54 am.

All 55 conversations from March 17, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 021-100, March 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/021-100 (accessed October 3, 2026).