{"conversationCode":"028-027","tapeNumber":28,"conversationNumber":27,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-028-027","startDateTime":"1972-08-01T12:31:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-08-01T12:37:00.000Z","startDate":"1-Aug-1972","startTime":"8:31 AM","endDate":"1-Aug-1972","endTime":"8:37 AM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.;","description":"On August 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 8:31 am to 8:37 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 028-027 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":4,"chronRelease":"Fourth Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"10-Dec-2003","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 28-27\n\nDate: August 1, 1972\nTime: 8:31 am - 8:37 am\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with John N. Mitchell.\n\n[See Conversation No. 758-4]\n\n*****************************************************************\nBEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1\n[Personal returnable]\n[Duration: 1m 32s ]\n\nEND WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1\n\n*****************************************************************\n\n     John L. McClellan\n          -The President's talk with John B. Connally\n          -Republican opponent\n               -Winthrop Rockefeller role\n               -Senate Appropriations Committee\n                     -McClellans’ position as chairman\n\n               -Withdrawal from race\n                     -Eastland’s opponent\n                     -Pressure from Mitchell on Republican candidate\n                         -James O. Eastland’s opponent\n         -Eastland's, McClellan's key roles in the Senate\n         -Support for the President's policies\n\n*****************************************************************\n\nBEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2\n[Personal returnable]\n[Duration: 1m 32s ]\n\nEND WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2\n\n*****************************************************************\n\n    Republican opponents of McClellan and Eastland\n        -Possible jobs in government\n\n*****************************************************************\n\nBEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3\n[Personal returnable]\n[Duration: 54s ]\n\nEND WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3\n\n*****************************************************************","filename":["028-027.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Mitchell, John N."],"prevCode":"028-026","nextCode":"028-028","transcript":[{"start":0.39,"end":24.91,"text":"John McClellan mentioned something that I mentioned to Connolly when he was in yesterday and that I told Connolly that you probably wouldn't want to handle it."},{"start":25.87,"end":28.63,"text":"McClellan says he's got a Republican opponent."},{"start":28.65,"end":28.89,"text":"He says it's"},{"start":29.27,"end":34.26,"text":"and Rockefeller indicated that he, Rockefeller, don't give their opponent any money."},{"start":34.48,"end":49.75,"text":"McClellan, of course, there's no prayer for the Republican win, but in any event, with McClellan now the chairman of appropriations and so forth, if we could get that guy just to drop out of sight, I mean, McClellan says that just washes the thing out in Arkansas."},{"start":50.31,"end":52.33,"text":"He says we'll all work together and so forth."},{"start":65.86,"end":67.8,"text":"I think we can get both of them out of there."},{"start":67.84,"end":78.97,"text":"We should on the basis that I don't want to be an appearance, John, of opposing the president pro tem or the chairman of appropriations, particularly when they have supported us."},{"start":79.33,"end":81.36,"text":"Well, listen, that is not in our interest."},{"start":81.38,"end":83.56,"text":"It's not in our interest in terms of winning the states."},{"start":83.68,"end":84.76,"text":"That's for darn sure."},{"start":95.38,"end":98.1,"text":"Yes, sir, and I'll take care of those other two."},{"start":98.12,"end":99.94,"text":"I think we're going to be able to do it in both places."},{"start":100.1,"end":100.36,"text":"You do?"},{"start":100.44,"end":100.72,"text":"Great."},{"start":100.94,"end":101.46,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":102.14,"end":110.41,"text":"Of course, just to say, if we, these fellows that get out, need some positions, why, we can look at that, too."},{"start":110.73,"end":113.3,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":113.32,"end":115.02,"text":"We do that if they're qualified."},{"start":115.08,"end":115.54,"text":"Right."},{"start":115.72,"end":117.46,"text":"We do it from time to time."},{"start":117.48,"end":117.72,"text":"Right."},{"start":117.9,"end":119.18,"text":"Right, I've heard that."},{"start":119.2,"end":120.14,"text":"Right."},{"start":120.16,"end":120.78,"text":"It should be."},{"start":121.47,"end":121.58,"text":"Right."},{"start":131.12,"end":132.5,"text":"All right, sir."},{"start":132.53,"end":132.93,"text":"Okay."},{"start":133.09,"end":133.33,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":133.39,"end":134.16,"text":"Well, take care, John."},{"start":134.28,"end":135.16,"text":"We shall."},{"start":135.3,"end":136.99,"text":"Bye."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and John Mitchell discuss strategies to neutralize Republican opposition against influential Democratic senators John McClellan and James O. Eastland. Recognizing the strategic importance of these chairmen to the administration's legislative agenda, Nixon and Mitchell agree to pressure their Republican challengers to withdraw from their respective races. As an incentive, they consider offering qualified candidates alternative government positions to facilitate their exit from the campaigns.","topics":["John L. McClellan","James O. Eastland","Senate Appropriations Committee","Republican Party","Political strategy","Patronage"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T03:31:52.349Z"},"topicSlugs":["john-l-mcclellan","james-o-eastland","senate-appropriations-committee","republican-party","political-strategy","patronage"],"audioDurationSec":137,"audioFiles":[{"file":"028-027.mp3","bytes":3298165,"durationSec":137.33,"bitrate":192136,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:27.842Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:39.450Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/028-027.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/028-027","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/28/conversation-028-027","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}