Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 282 › Conversation 282-040

Nixon & Haldeman on Supreme Court appointments and Speechwriting

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 6:11 PM–6:17 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 59 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation282-040 on Tape 282 (tape position 02:45:01–02:46:05)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 6:11 PMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 6:17 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 282-040 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed the strategic communication and drafting process for the upcoming announcement of Supreme Court nominees. Nixon emphasized the necessity of employing a skilled writer, specifically mentioning William L. Safire, to ensure the speech is effectively crafted for public delivery. The conversation focused on the importance of selecting the right tone and reporter-like precision to articulate the appointments clearly.

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.2 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

You have to have a very fast writer, of course, on this.

It's important.

I think it's better to stop by on the line.

The line is you take, you don't need to know the net.

There's a way to know whether it's easy to read, but it's just something to say.

You have to be a writer.

You have to be a reporter.

NARA Description

On October 20, 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 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 282-040 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 282-40

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: Unknown between 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman [?]

     Announcement of Supreme Court appointees
         -Writer
              -William L. Safire
              -Contents of speech

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

012-022 6:09 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:09 pm and 6:10 pm.
282-037 6:09 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:09 pm to 6:10 pm.
012-023 6:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:10 pm to 6:11 pm.
282-038 6:10 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:10 pm.
282-039 6:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:10 pm to 6:11 pm.
012-024 6:11 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm.
282-041 6:11 PM · 8 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 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm.
282-042 6:11 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:11 pm and 6:17 pm.

All 83 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 282-040, 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/282-040 (accessed September 28, 2026).