Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 281 › Conversation 281-038

Nixon, Haldeman & Woods on Supreme Court nominations and Judicial philosophy

Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 1:58 PM–2:25 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 12 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation281-038 on Tape 281 (tape position 02:58:01–03:10:13)StartThursday, October 21, 1971 at 1:58 PMEndThursday, October 21, 1971 at 2:25 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 281-038 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Rose Mary Woods and H. R. Haldeman to discuss ongoing judicial vacancies and the broader implications of his Supreme Court selections. The group reviewed candidate credentials—specifically those of Herschel H. Friday and William H. Rehnquist—while evaluating the judicial philosophies of current and prospective Justices. Additionally, Nixon provided Woods with instructions regarding specific revisions for upcoming speech materials.

Audio

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Position in tape: 02:58:01 – 03:10:13

281a.mp3
281b.mp3
281c.mp3

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Swords, please.
He said, no, no, no, I won't be able to do that.
Now I gotta work first.
And then I want you to bring, yeah, your bell doesn't ring, so you come over now, please.
Hell yes.
That's why they were against Friday, because of civil rights.
Nothing to do with their legal qualities.
It's not that easy.
That's why the American virus kept these two on point until they were knocked off on the plane.
It would be a total deterioration of our Constitution.
And then, no, no, it's certain.
By judicial philosophy, I do not mean agreeing with the President on every issue.
It would be a total rejuvenation of our constitutional system.
If judges on the Supreme Court, or if judges on the Supreme Court, or any federal court for that matter,
The puppet's on a string.
Pulled by the president.
You got that?
That comes at the bottom of the page.
That page is missing.
It's on page two.
We're on March 29.
It goes over to the top of the next page.
The next thing is when I apply the chief of district.
Before the second paragraph begins, this does not mean
The judges who adhere to this philosophy will find that they always agree in their interpretation of the Constitution.
We have an excellent example.
We have an excellent example of this in the record of the two judges.
This is Mr. Augustine Black as the head of the state.
Most observers, when they retire from the bench, when they retire from the court, most observers label Mr. Justice Black as a liberal and Mr. Justice Harlan as a conservative.
They disagree.
It is true that they disagreed in many cases.
They disagreed sharply in many cases.
I will say that both were constitutional.
It may be charged.
It may be charged.
They were conservatives.
So this is proof that only in a traditional, not political sense.
During my campaign for the presidency,
The thing is, 21 months ago, the peace forces must not be denied the legal tools they need to protect innocent people.
We're after the word tomorrow.
Yes.
Back to the next.
You see what I mean?
Put in this B after the words tomorrow and then follow where it was caused from here.
Then comes C right after that.
He was then awarded one of the highest honors, a law graduate, and received, he was chosen as law clerk for Mr. Robert, for Mr. Justice Robert H. Dent, one of the most outstanding members of the court.
And then he is discharged.
with such great distinction.
With Attorney General and I.
Who served the federal government.
Mr. President, he has discharged William Reckless.
He is a top expert in constitutional law, very top, as a constitutional lawyer,
We'll add distinction and excellence in the highest degree to the Supreme Court of the United States.
That's what certain places have sent us here.
We're growing rather than maintaining tendency.
We can sometimes even bite off the base over the years, but the world is pretty quick.
Throughout our history, we've had many historic and sometimes violent events over the years of our history.
Throughout our history, a lot of the roles were important.

NARA Description

On October 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:58 pm to 2:25 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 281-038 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 281-38

Date: October 21, 1971
Time: 1:58 pm - 2:25 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 1m 19s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

**********************************************************************

     Supreme Court nominations
          -Herschel H. Friday
               -Civil rights record
          -American Bar Association [ABA]

     Speech revisions

     Justices' responsiveness to the President
           -Judicial philosophy
           -Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
           -Hugo L. Black
           -John M. Harlan
           -Walter Lippmann quote
           -Word changes
           -William H. Rehnquist
                 -Robert H. Jackson
                 -Credentials
                 -Wording

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman at an unknown time between 1:58 pm and
2:25 pm.

[Conversation No. 281-38A]

     Notification of the President's selections
          -Burger
                -John N. Mitchell

[End of telephone conversation]

     Speech revisions
          -Instructions for Woods

Woods left at 2:25 pm.

Also recorded on October 21, 1971

  • 281-035 1:55 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 1:57 pm.
  • 281-036 1:55 PM · 24 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 1:55 pm and 1:57 pm.
  • 281-037 1:55 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 1:57 pm.
  • 012-039 1:57 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:57 pm.
  • 012-040 1:57 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 1:57 pm to 1:58 pm.
  • 012-041 1:58 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:58 pm and 3:53 pm.
  • 281-039 2:25 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:25 pm and 2:30 pm.
  • 281-040 2:25 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:25 pm and 2:30 pm.

All 107 conversations from October 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 281-038, October 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/281-038 (accessed October 13, 2026).