Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 281 › Conversation 281-053
Nixon & Haldeman on Supreme Court and judicial appointments
Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 5:43 PM–5:50 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 12 sec
AI Summary
President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman met to discuss the timing of impending Supreme Court vacancies. The primary focus of the brief consultation was to manage the political strategy surrounding potential judicial appointments. No final decisions were recorded, but the discussion highlights the administration's active planning regarding the composition of the high court.
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
Listen to the full tape segment
Position in tape: 04:14:53 – 04:15:02
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 October 21, 1971, 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 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 281-053 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 281-53
Date: October 21, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
Dates of vacancy on Supreme CourtAlso recorded on October 21, 1971
- 012-049 5:42 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:42 pm.
- 012-050 5:42 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 5:42 pm to 5:43 pm.
- 281-050 5:42 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 5:42 pm.
- 281-051 5:42 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:42 pm to 5:43 pm.
- 281-052 5:43 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm.
- 281-054 5:43 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm.
- 281-055 5:50 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:50 pm and 5:55 pm.
- 012-051 5:52 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:52 pm to 5:53 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 281-053, 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/281-053 (accessed September 28, 2026).