Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 24 › Conversation 024-001

Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Abortion policy and Nelson Rockefeller

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 8:38 AM–8:43 AM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation024-001 on Tape 24 (tape position 00:00:22–00:04:32)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 8:38 AMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 8:43 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 024-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss an unauthorized letter sent to Cardinal Cooke supporting anti-abortion efforts, which has upset New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Concerned that the letter was perceived as a deliberate administration intervention in New York's sensitive state-level abortion legislation, Nixon directs Ehrlichman to investigate how the letter was released and to contact Rockefeller to apologize. The conversation concludes with a plan to rectify the political damage and a brief mention of potential delays regarding the administration's push for aid to parochial schools.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Mr. Ehrlichman, sir.
Yeah, morning.
Hi, John.
I was talking to him yesterday on another matter, and you might imagine he's pretty upset about some letter that I apparently wrote.
We're just talking about that.
I don't know what the letter is.
Apparently it's an anti-abortion letter.
Did I send it?
I'm going to check it this morning.
I don't know any of the circumstances, but I'll find out.
It's done, I suppose.
Yep.
uh was it uh but uh should have been cleared by probably in this case by you but uh well i'm trying to find out how it got out of here uh flannagate says he recommended against it and uh that's as much as i know so uh let me give me about a half hour to track it down well the main thing is you ought to get rockefeller call i sure will try to find uh hold his hand a little and uh because i mean after all he's got a bill up there that's right
you know, on this week or whatever it is, law or 18 weeks.
And it looks as if we deliberately intervened.
Right.
Also, whoever, however, anybody, I mean, it is our position, but on the other hand, well, it should have been cleared with him at the very least.
Well, when it's a political matter like that.
Right.
I'll track it down.
I don't understand how it got out of here.
Somebody must have just pushed it through.
Yeah, apparently.
Would you check it?
Yes, sir, I sure will.
And let me know.
Yes, sir.
In any event, would you call Rockefeller?
I sure will.
How could you handle it with him?
Well, I don't know.
Let me find out what the facts were.
I think the best thing to do is just explain to him how it happened and apologize to him for the goof.
see how, if he has any suggestions on how we might set it right.
Yeah, you see, however we feel on the abortion issue, and we do feel this way, that's a national problem.
We don't want to screw up Rockefeller and Clark.
Right, right.
I mean, and get in the middle of a fight between the Catholic clergy and the conservative party up there and Rockefeller.
That's what this is all about.
Right.
And that's a fight for, so I'd get a hold of him fairly soon.
I sure will.
And I'd say that I had called and expressed concern about it and that
this was simply uh frankly that i was a form that we have used on this that i put it that way all right and that we we have always carefully said that we didn't indicate any that i mean that each state of course it's a state matter that's what we always do anywhere i don't we
That's the form that we use for ourselves.
But what was the letter?
What did it say?
I don't know.
It said, you've been a courage.
It was to the Cardinal and said something, if the Times is right.
I read it in the paper yesterday.
It said something, in fact, you've been a courageous battler for the sanctity of human life and abortion laws are bad things and so on and so forth and you're leading the good fight and so on.
It was very pointed.
at the new york situation yeah i got right into it then yeah well we just raised it at the at the staff meeting to see if anybody knew how it had gotten out flanagan expressed great surprise and said he'd recommend it against it and uh so i made a note to myself to track it down without forcing the issue in the staff meeting because i didn't want to rub anybody's nose in it you know that damn thing is goes that's all there is to it but uh it just uh
Probably came out of the political group.
Well, it could have been.
Buchanan and Coulson.
A lot of pressure for things of this kind.
It also raises the question right now as to whether we ought to press right at this moment on the aid to parochial school thing, and that's something I want to talk to you about when you've got a little time.

NARA Description

On May 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 8:38 am to 8:43 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 024-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 24-1

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: 8:38 am - 8:43 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

[See also Conversation No. 721-2]

     Greetings

     Abortion
          -Nelson A. Rockefeller
          -The President's letter to Terence Cardinal Cooke
               -Rockefeller's response
               -Contents
               -Circumstances of drafting
                     -Clearance
               -Peter M. Flanigan's recommendation
               -Ehrlichman's Request for a call to Rockefeller
                     -Rockefeller's bill in New York
               -Problems
                     -Political
               -Check on situation
               -Ehrlichman's Request for a call to Rockefeller
                     -Apology
                     -Rectification
               -Abortion issue
                     -Political problems for Rockefeller
                     -The President's concerns
                     -State issue
               -Contents
                     -New York Times report
                     -Tenor
               -Release
                     -Flanigan
                     -Circumstances
                     -Responsibility
                           -Patrick J. Buchanan
                           -Charles W. Colson

     Aid to parochial schools
          -Ehrlichman's conversation with the President

Also recorded on May 8, 1972

  • 721-001 8:36 AM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:36 am and 8:38 am.
  • 721-002 8:38 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:38 am to 8:43 am.
  • 721-003 8:43 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:43 am and 8:54 am.
  • 721-004 8:54 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:54 am to 8:56 am.
  • 721-005 8:56 AM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:56 am and 8:59 am.
  • 721-006 8:59 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:59 am to 9:06 am.
  • 721-007 9:07 AM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:07 am to 9:08 am.
  • 024-169 10:45 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:45 am and 10:47 am.

All 94 conversations from May 8, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 024-001, May 8, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/024-001 (accessed October 9, 2026).