Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 307 › Conversation 307-018

Nixon & Colson on John Mitchell and Personnel appointments

Wednesday, December 8, 1971 · 3:30 PM–3:39 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation307-018 on Tape 307 (tape position 00:37:28–00:39:56)StartWednesday, December 8, 1971 at 3:30 PMEndWednesday, December 8, 1971 at 3:39 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 307-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson confer regarding pressure from Attorney General John Mitchell to expedite a decision on a sensitive political appointment or matter involving a potential senator. Nixon expresses hesitation about the proposed course of action, indicating he intends to consult with Mitchell personally to resolve the impasse. The discussion underscores internal administration friction and the uncertainty surrounding personnel strategy and its broader political implications.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 47% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Yeah.
Uh, Chuck.
Mitchell, uh, uh, just on the whole of it, Mitchell is, you know, pressing to get a decision on a small thing.
And, uh, he has, um, cautioned on it, you know, on the first day for a thing, and they both leave doing it.
Now, uh, I, uh, just wondered what your latest view on what kind of senator is.
But he wants it now, huh?
Yeah.
He's talking about that.
I understand it's not true that they can see this, but what Mitchell's talking about is putting it on Chris's list.
I know, I think everybody would, but I'm going to talk to Mitchell again about it when he's told me.
I have.
I'll try again.
I'll try once again.
I'll say it.
I'll look at it.
I must throw a bullet.
It won't work.
That's enough of it.
That's it.
That's it.
That's it.
That's it.
effect on people that are involved in labor.
You know, they don't know what to do.
They don't know what to do.
They don't know what to do.
They don't know what to do.
They don't know what to do.
They don't know what to do.
They don't know what to do.
They don't know what to do.
They don't know what to do.
Take a crack at it.

NARA Description

On December 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:30 pm to 3:39 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 307-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 307-018

Date: December 8, 1971
Time: 3:30 pm - 3:39 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 16-53]

Also recorded on December 8, 1971

  • 016-053 3:30 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 3:30 pm to 3:39 pm.
  • 016-054 3:39 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:39 pm.
  • 307-019 3:39 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:39 pm.
  • 016-055 3:40 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Arthur S. Flemming talked on the telephone from 3:40 pm to 3:42 pm.
  • 307-020 3:40 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Arthur S. Flemming met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:40 pm to 3:42 pm.
  • 016-056 3:43 PM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 3:43 pm to 3:44 pm.
  • 307-021 3:43 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:43 pm to 3:44 pm.
  • 016-057 3:44 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:44 pm and 3:46 pm.

All 76 conversations from December 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 307-018, December 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/307-018 (accessed October 12, 2026).