Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 291 › Conversation 291-022

Nixon & Haldeman on Judicial Appointments and Media Relations

Monday, October 18, 1971 · 5:54 PM–5:58 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation291-022 on Tape 291 (tape position 01:59:37–02:03:51)StartMonday, October 18, 1971 at 5:54 PMEndMonday, October 18, 1971 at 5:58 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 291-022 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed strategies regarding upcoming judicial appointments, emphasizing the need for a total media blackout among staff to avoid premature speculation. The conversation also touched upon logistical coordination for travel, specifically prioritizing Conway for backup plane access due to the duration of his upcoming mission. Additionally, the pair briefly coordinated on foreign policy concerns involving Moscow, noting an ego-related dispute that required resolution.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Yeah.
Well, any last-minute report before I go over to the agony of the old house?
Good, good.
All right.
On the court thing, incidentally, I'm going to suggest a bad thing.
Mitchell and I really couldn't handle this very closely, you know.
and we've got some ideas of some of them I don't know anything about, and I've delivered them and I'm not telling anybody about.
Just say about it.
Well, I have them all, and I have them all in mind, but I don't want a lot of warbling around in the press office.
I just want to put a total blackout on any discussion in the court at this point by our staff, because we will.
And we'll do all right.
Just don't assume anything.
Just don't assume anything.
And don't assume anything to change.
You see?
They all like to fear lies, okay?
And this is, this will, you'll see, John and I got a game going here with Peter, and we should go through.
It's funny that that, I hadn't realized that that pole was my gallop.
you know, you're going to add 5% for you and 10% for you, you know.
And the damn thing, it will, it will live.
That's right.
That's right.
And I talked to Katie about it, too.
About, you know, the Moscow thing.
So that's done.
He totally agrees with me.
And I said, it just won't do.
I think Al has a reason.
But, uh, and he sees that what he's involved here is just a little ego problem, and that it just isn't the right thing to do for other reasons, you know, for other policies.
Well, I'm cool with that myself, and I don't get bothered by it.
I don't care.
He's wrong, man.
Well, I think of his getting away and being on the plane, you know.
Oh, could I mention one other thing?
We've got one problem here that I want to make sure Don is very correct.
I want Conway to have the first choice on the plane.
You know, if you let both the adventure be gone, they will overlap their trips.
Now, Conway must have the, you know, what you know, the backup plane.
He should have that because he has the longer flights and, of course, the longer trip coverage.
Okay, fine, fine.

NARA Description

On October 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:54 pm to 5:58 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 291-022 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 291-22

Date: October 18, 1971
Time: 5:54 pm - 5:58 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

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

[See Conversation No. 11-122]

Also recorded on October 18, 1971

  • 011-118 5:25 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:25 pm and 5:32 pm.
  • 011-119 5:32 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 5:32 pm to 5:40 pm.
  • 291-019 5:32 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:32 pm to 5:40 pm.
  • 011-120 5:40 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:40 pm and 5:54 pm.
  • 011-121 5:40 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:40 pm and 5:54 pm.
  • 291-020 5:45 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 5:45 pm and 5:54 pm.
  • 291-021 5:45 PM · 12 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 5:45 pm and 5:54 pm.
  • 011-122 5:54 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:54 pm to 5:58 pm.

All 46 conversations from October 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 291-022, October 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/291-022 (accessed September 28, 2026).