Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 345 › Conversation 345-015

Nixon & Buchanan on Capital punishment and Supreme Court

Thursday, June 29, 1972 · 5:55 PM–6:00 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Buchanan, Patrick J.; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation345-015 on Tape 345 (tape position 01:58:35–02:03:10)StartThursday, June 29, 1972 at 5:55 PMEndThursday, June 29, 1972 at 6:00 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 345-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Patrick J. Buchanan to discuss the political and legal implications of capital punishment in light of recent Supreme Court opinions. The brief consultation focused on the administration's stance and reaction to judicial developments regarding the death penalty. No specific policy shift was finalized during the session, which served primarily as a briefing on the evolving constitutional landscape.

Capital punishment
Supreme Court
Judicial policy
Patrick J. Buchanan
Legal rulings

Audio

Download MP3 · 4.2 MB

This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 01:58:35 – 02:03:10

part A, 1:58:33

345a.mp3

345b.mp3

NARA Description

On June 29, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Patrick J. Buchanan, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:55 pm to 6:00 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 345-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 345-15

Date: June 29, 1972

Time: 5:55-6:00 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Patrick J. Buchanan.

     Capital punishment
          -Supreme Court opinions

Buchanan spoke to an unknown person at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:00 pm.

[Conversation 345-15A]

     Capital punishment

[End of conversation]

     Capital punishment
          -Supreme Court opinion

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 2m 28s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

*****************************************************************

Buchanan left at 6:00 pm.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

I think it was state cases.

They apply to federal cases as well as state cases.

They apply to federal cases also.

Is there anything else?

I don't think it's... Look at that.

Does the federal government look at it the same way the states can?

Okay.

They're trying to...

They're not accepting it.

Should I have to look at the guy up in 31st?

with regard to the study of the second.

— 1 min 51 s with no transcribed speech —

Thank you.

Right.

They're not accepted.

I'm not accepted, sir.

Sure.

Also recorded on June 29, 1972

345-013 4:35 PM · 13 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 4:35 pm and 5:55 pm.
345-016 6:00 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:25 pm.
345-017 6:00 PM · 3 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 6:00 pm and 6:25 pm.
345-018 6:00 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:25 pm.
345-019 6:25 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:25 pm.
345-020 6:54 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and David C. Hoopes met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:54 pm to 6:55 pm.
345-021 6:55 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:55 pm and 8:27 pm.
345-022 6:55 PM · 31 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 6:55 pm and 8:27 pm.

All 60 conversations from June 29, 1972 →

Nixon phone call with Agnew on Capital punishment and Supreme Court June 30, 1972 · 8 min
Nixon & Buchanan on Supreme Court and Judicial Philosophy October 21, 1971 · 10 min
Nixon & Ehrlichman on School busing and Detroit June 20, 1972 · 3 min
Nixon & Burger on National Conference on the Judiciary and Legal reform March 11, 1971 · 4 min
Nixon phone call with Eisenhower on Capital punishment and John C. Stennis March 11, 1973 · 4 min
Nixon, Woods & Bull on Capital punishment and George C. Wallace August 1, 1972 · 8 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 345-015, June 29, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/345-015 (accessed November 14, 2026).