President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place an outgoing call to Lewis F. Powell, Jr. The purpose of this communication was to facilitate a direct conversation between the President and the future Supreme Court nominee. This interaction served as a logistical step in the administration's judicial appointment process.
On October 19, 1971, 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 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 292-004 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 292-4 Date: October 19, 1971 Time: Unknown between 1:45 pm and 2:53 pm Location: Executive Office Building The President talked with White House operator. [See Conversation No. 11-136] Request for a call to Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
No transcript is available for this conversation. The audio may not contain audible speech, or the recording may not yet have been processed.