Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 282 › Conversation 282-032

Nixon, Ziegler & Mitchell on Supreme Court and Press relations

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 5:40 PM–5:49 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.; Sanchez, Manolo; White House operator; Mitchell, John N.Conversation282-032 on Tape 282 (tape position 02:31:34–02:38:59)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 5:40 PMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 5:49 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 282-032 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler and Attorney General John Mitchell to strategically manage the media coverage and timing of his upcoming Supreme Court nominations. Nixon decided to delay his public announcement until the following evening to create media confusion and effectively control the narrative. The participants also discussed the necessity of withholding information from the American Bar Association and coordinated messaging regarding the President's upcoming schedule, including a Veterans Day speech and price control initiatives.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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I just want to comment about the announcement tonight on the 7th, 13th, and I had a few, and I want to expressly say to cover directly with you.
The stories today that are moving grow on this line.
The president is considering possible Supreme Court nominees whose names are currently submitted to the American Law Association.
He has not ruled out the possibility of selecting a candidate
without prior discussion with the association.
But then it goes on to say that Ziffers said it's still a very good possibility that the choice would be announced this week.
But he said to the president, and then I referred to the timetable.
Right.
In other words, what exists here, and it says, as we've done consistently, the six names, since the six names, we will have public decline to say how many nominees were submitted to associations over.
So what we have tonight
And I, quite frankly, would like to see him kind of wallow in confusion tonight.
By not announcing the 7.30 thing tonight.
But by doing it tomorrow evening at 11 o'clock.
And just walk out very calmly and say, the president will have the address tonight at 7.30.
then I think it makes it seem more smooth and will give them time to give people more of those speculations.
I won't announce it tonight.
I won't say anything until 11 o'clock.
Rob?
Yes, sir.
Well, let's see.
This is what I would like.
That's what I'd like.
Yeah.
John, guess I'll do it.
No.
We're going to announce this.
We want to wait until we get the network time.
So we're going to announce at 11 tomorrow.
We're on briefing that I'm going on tomorrow at 7.30.
So that will sort of, anyway, we'll talk through number two call.
It's not in yet on the airport.
Okay.
Clark, tomorrow night, I'm not going to give that number two call any more time.
He either comes tonight or we go over to the other call.
Okay.
Fair enough, because I got to get this stuff in a row.
Fair enough.
No.
What?
There you go.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
You'll pick up the background notes the best you can.
I mean, there's a strong sales pump on each, particularly where they, I mean, if they were, if they were at the top of their class or near the top, say so, things of that sort, you know.
You know, the kind of thing that shows their scholars and all that bullshit.
Okay.
See, what'll happen tonight, I think, is they'll go on the air.
So what they're going to do, you know, what they're going to do is go on the air tonight and say, the White House today tended to back off the President's statement that he was going to make the announcement tonight and indicated that maybe the speculation that occurred wouldn't happen but still left that possibility.
So now I don't want to land there.
Then tomorrow at 11 o'clock, we're totally covered in terms of credit.
Well, as I said, it's possibly this week that we're going to land.
Then we walk up to our rental car and say, let's drag it out.
And I think that's it.
Now, it may leak out of the car.
Are we consoled?
It may leak.
Oh, that's it.
It may leak out of the car and then turn it down to a lot of people.
Oh, I see.
Now, that comes.
Just say, I have no comment on that.
You get that tonight, you'll need to call me and say, well, I have no comment on that.
Then the bar will let us withdraw something else.
And then don't go beyond that.
Don't comment on everything else.
We'll withdraw what the bar has said.
I cannot tell you how you'll have an announcement.
This is going to be clear to the bar.
I cannot tell you.
Because we're going to divorce the bar.
Okay.
We should be sure to tell I think people that you might tell Rumsfeld that we should not announce the date of the mission.
We plan to do that by the end of the month.
That's certainly right.
I'm going to make a better stage radio station.
I want to tell them about that.
Okay, I'll do that for you.

NARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:40 pm and 5:49 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 282-032 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 282-32

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:40 pm and 5:53 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Supreme Court appointments
          -Ziegler's previous conversation with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
          -Press statements
                -Announcement
                -American Bar Association [ABA]
                -Media
          -Timing of announcement
          -Attorney General
          -Announcement

Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 5:40 pm.

     Dogs

Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:49 pm.

     The President's forthcoming announcement of Supreme Court appointments

The President talked with White House operator at an unknown time between 5:40 pm and 5:49
pm.

[Conversation No. 282-32A]

[See Conversation No. 12-16]
[End of telephone conversation]

     Ziegler's daily briefing

The President talked with John N. Mitchell between 5:49 pm and 5:50 pm.

[Conversation No. 282-32B]

[See Conversation No. 12-17]

[End of telephone conversation]

     Supreme Court appointments
          -Ziegler's daily press briefing
               -Timing of announcement

     Ziegler's forthcoming meeting with Donald H. Rumsfeld
          -Price Board

     The President's schedule
          -Veteran's Day speech

Ziegler left at 5:53 pm.

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

  • 012-015 5:33 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 5:33 pm to 5:40 pm.
  • 282-030 5:33 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:33 pm to 5:40 pm.
  • 012-016 5:40 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:40 pm and 5:49 pm.
  • 282-031 5:40 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 5:40 pm and 5:49 pm.
  • 012-017 5:49 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 5:49 pm to 5:50 pm.
  • 012-018 5:50 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:50 pm and 6:05 pm.
  • 282-033 5:53 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:53 pm to 6:05 pm.
  • 282-034 5:53 PM · 13 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 5:53 pm and 6:05 pm.

All 83 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 282-032, October 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/282-032 (accessed September 28, 2026).