Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 575 › Conversation 575-004
Nixon, Ziegler & Burger on Hugo Black and Supreme Court
Friday, September 17, 1971 · 4:24 PM–4:33 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon consulted with staff and Chief Justice Warren E. Burger regarding the public announcement of Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black's sudden resignation. The participants coordinated a messaging strategy for press secretary Ronald Ziegler to handle media inquiries, specifically emphasizing that the President would seek the "best qualified" successor rather than committing to geographic or ideological litmus tests. The discussion also addressed the timeline of when the White House received Black's formal letter and the necessary coordination with Attorney General John Mitchell.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.7 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:24:20 into the tape and ends around 01:32:59.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On September 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Alexander P. Butterfield, White House operator, Warren E. Burger, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:24 pm to 4:33 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 575-004 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 575-4
Date: September 17, 1971
Time: 4:24 pm - 4:33 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler and Alexander P. Butterfield.
[This recording begins at an unknown time while the meeting is in progress]
John D. Ehrlichman
Deferment of action
Butterfield left at an unknown time before 4:28 pm.
Supreme Court
-Hugo L. Black
-Letter of resignation
-Timing
-Ziegler's announcement
-Time
-John N. Mitchell
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Ehrlichman
-Warren E. Burger
The President talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 4:24 pm and
4:28 pm.
[Conversation No. 575-4A]
[See Conversation No. 575-4B]
Call to Burger
[End of telephone conversation]
Supreme Court
-Resignation of Black
-Information
-Ziegler’s statement
-Time
-Letter
-Time
-Meeting
-Ehrlichman
-Health reasons for resignation
-Burger
-Call to Ehrlichman
-Time
-The President's statement
-Supreme Court appearances
-Black's qualities as Justice
-Handling of issues
The President talked with Burger between 4:28 pm and 4:32 pm.
[Conversation No. 575-4B]
[See Conversation No. 9-63]
[End of telephone conversation]
Supreme Court
-Resignation of Black
-Announcement
-Burger's idea
-Ziegler's forthcoming call to Mitchell
-Resignation of Black
-Press questions
-Anticipation
-Successor
-Qualifications
-The President’s previous comments
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 4:32 pm.
President’s schedule
Robert T. Stafford
Bull left at an unknown time before 4:33 pm.
Supreme Court
-Successor to Black
-Answers to press
-Qualifications
-Geography
Stafford meeting
-Photographers
Black
-Forthcoming story
-Supreme Court
Ziegler left at 4:33 pm.Also recorded on September 17, 1971
- 076-001 2:30 PM — President Richard M. Nixon and bipartisan Congressional leaders, including John G. Tower, Wallace F. Bennett, William Proxmire, Allen J. Ellender, Milton R. Young, John J. Sparkman, Norris Cotton, Harrison A. Williams, Jr., Jacob K. Javits, Herman E. Talmadge, Jack R. Miller, Robert C. Byrd, Hugh Scott, Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield, Wright Patman, George H. Mahon, Frank T. Bow, William L. Springer, Albert H. Quie, William R. Poage, Page Belcher, [Thomas] Hale Boggs, Gerald R. Ford, Carl B. Albert, George P. Shultz, Herbert Stein, Charls E. Walker, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, and John B. Connally [?], met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 4:24 pm.
- 575-003 2:32 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, Stephen B. Bull, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 2:37 pm.
- 076-002 4:24 PM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 4:24 pm and 4:26 pm.
- 009-063 4:28 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Warren E. Burger talked on the telephone from 4:28 pm to 4:32 pm.
- 009-064 4:32 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:32 pm and 7:48 pm.
- 575-005 4:34 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert T. Stafford, Helen C. Stafford, Neil Houston, William E. Timmons, and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:34 pm to 4:41 pm.
- 575-006 4:41 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:41 pm and 4:43 pm.
- 575-007 4:43 PM · 1 hr 39 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, John D. Ehrlichman, Manolo Sanchez, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Eugene V. Risher met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:43 pm to 6:24 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 575-004, September 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/575-004 (accessed October 12, 2026).