Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 37 › Conversation 037-089

Nixon phone call with Brennan on Law enforcement and Death penalty

Sunday, March 11, 1973 · 2:33 PM–2:39 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Brennan, Peter J.Conversation037-089 on Tape 37StartSunday, March 11, 1973 at 2:33 PMEndSunday, March 11, 1973 at 2:39 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 037-089 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Patrick Buchanan discuss the positive press coverage surrounding the President's recent radio address on crime and law enforcement. The two agree that advocating for the death penalty and criticizing lenient judges and probation officers is a politically advantageous strategy that resonates with both their base and urban Democrats. Additionally, the President outlines his plan to deflect inquiries regarding the Watergate scandal during upcoming press conferences by refusing to comment on ongoing Senate committee hearings.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes, sir.
Hello.
Yes, sir.
Well, how'd you like to play that soft-line crime statement?
Good.
It's a terrific ride.
Have you seen all the morning papers?
Yeah, that's right.
I saw the papers.
Yeah, yeah.
It led all the first editions.
Mort was telling me that some of the later ones, apparently, was a killing of this Bermuda prime minister, which might have taken the headlines in the later editions.
Who did they kill?
Penling?
No, not Penling.
It's Bermuda, I think.
Oh, Bermuda, Bermuda, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
No, it got terrific.
Nassau, yeah.
Terrific play.
Yeah.
Well, we've got to get across this law enforcement thing, and the only way we can do it is to break through with some strong statements on it and some follow-up with legislative proposals, which I think will come next week with...
In other words, we'll get a second right on it about Wednesday or Thursday, I think, when they have the message go up to the Congress.
Well, there's no question we're on the right side of this thing, both substantively and politically, Jason.
One of the things about it, of course, is that during the campaign, there were many that said, oh, don't do this.
We'll lose the votes and so forth.
But the point is that after what really mobilized opinion, if it had to be mobilized here, the
was the killing of that ambassador.
Because, as Rogers was saying to me Friday, he said, you can't, on the one hand, call for the death penalty for the people that killed our Prime Minister, and then say, let this fellow who killed Bobby Kennedy have life imprisonment.
Right?
That's right.
That's right.
Well, this is the line I think we ought to continue to try to work into our...
statements and so forth.
And the fact that we'll get some opposition to it will make the issue.
Did you see the New York Times?
They ran a parallel story to yours right on the front page.
About the state legislatures?
Yeah, the death penalties and the demands that are being made by various governors and the like and how they're getting...
The only thing that got a round of applause from some governor was when he mentioned that death penalty.
Is that right?
Yeah.
The only thing he said, I forget who it was, one of those governors, the only thing in his entire speech was when he mentioned the death penalty.
So...
We're on the right side of this.
Well, some will say we're only appealing, Pat, to our own constituency, but on the other hand, what's wrong with that?
Well, here's the thing.
I think that, I mean, this is broader than just conservatives and Republicans.
There's a hell of a lot of these lower-income Democrats who are 100% in favor of it.
Why, sure.
The people that live in the central cities are petrified at these people running around, you know.
And also, I think, sticking it to them on the soft-headed judges and soft-headed probation officers.
That gets through, too, because they are really the main cause of the problem.
It's the way the judges, you know, on the handling, when they get these people in, the cop killers and the rest, they just sort of let them out after three or four years in good behavior, and they go out and kill again.
Right.
We are going to try to get another press thing for Thursday.
Right.
And so we'd like something by Tuesday night.
Right, I'm working on something.
You don't have to...
Don't have to make it too... Yeah, the last one was too long.
Well, it was because it could be delayed, you know.
We had a few other...
But we have a pretty good idea what the questions will be.
With regard to the whole business on Watergate and the rest, I'm going to take a very hard line on that.
I'm going to say, well, I've responded to that, and Ziegler's answered on the others, and...
I'm not going to comment on hearings while they're still in process.
You see what I mean?
Right.
Along that line, that's the matter.
Don't you agree?
Yeah.
Otherwise, you're getting the position.
You can't get into all that stuff.
Well, if I get into responding to, well, what about this charge and that charge?
And I say, well, that's being considered by the Senate.
committee and i'm not going to comment upon it while the hearings are in process and then just let them because it's basically a pr thing really it's the what makes the news the minute i say something about it it just escalates it oh yeah oh yeah right we'll stick it right in the headlines if you said something about those uh uh that's what it's going to focus in on the um did you know that capon hired uh yeah that's right well i'm just going to say i'm not going to comment on that that's a matter that's being considered by the committee
Let him look into it.
Let him go.
Okay, Pat, thank you.
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On March 11, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Peter J. Brennan talked on the telephone from 2:33 pm to 2:39 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 037-089 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 37-89

Date: March 11, 1973
Time: 2:33 pm-2:39 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Patrick J. Buchanan.

       President's crime radio address
              -Press coverage
                       -Lyndon K. ("Mort") Allin
                       -Richard Sharples
                              -Bermuda
                              -Assassination
                              -Lynden O. Pindling
                                      -Nassau
              -Law enforcement
                       -Legislative proposal
                                           - 61 -

                          NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

                            -Richard G. Kleindienst
                     -Administration’s position
                     -Sudan
                            -Killing of ambassador
                            -William P. Rogers
                            -Death penalty
                                    -Robert F. Kennedy
                                    -Sirhan Sirhan
             -Opposition
             -New York Times
                     -Death penalty
                            -State legislatures
                            -Governors
             -Administration’s position
                     -President’s supporters
                            -Conservative Republicans
                     -Democrats
                            -Central cities
             -“Soft headed judges”
                     -Probation officers
                     -Repeat offenders

      Press conference
             -Schedule
             -Preparation for questions
             -Watergate
                    -President’s comment
                    -Ronald L. Ziegler's response
                    -Senate committee hearings
                    -Dwight L. Chapin
                            -Donald H. Segretti

Also recorded on March 11, 1973

  • 037-084 1:55 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 2:17 pm.
  • 037-085 2:17 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 2:17 pm to 2:18 pm.
  • 037-086 2:27 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:27 pm.
  • 037-087 2:27 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:27 pm.
  • 037-088 2:27 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:27 pm and 2:33 pm.
  • 037-090 2:46 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:46 pm and 2:56 pm.
  • 037-091 2:46 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:46 pm and 2:56 pm.
  • 037-092 2:56 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 2:56 pm to 3:01 pm.

All 18 conversations from March 11, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 037-089, March 11, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/037-089 (accessed October 12, 2026).