Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 593 › Conversation 593-011
Nixon, Kissinger & Mitchell on Supreme Court appointments and Warren E. Burger
Friday, October 15, 1971 · 10:38 AM–11:32 AM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Henry Kissinger, John Mitchell, and John Ehrlichman to discuss high-level administration business, ranging from foreign policy to domestic personnel matters. The primary focus of the session was an extensive deliberation regarding potential Supreme Court nominees—specifically evaluating candidates like Herschel Friday and Mildred Lillie—amidst reports of Chief Justice Warren Burger’s dissatisfaction and rumored resignation threats. Additionally, the group reviewed internal FBI tensions, including the management of William C. Sullivan and the leadership status of J. Edgar Hoover, as well as various trade and political scheduling issues.
- Supreme Court appointments
- Warren E. Burger
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- J. Edgar Hoover
- William C. Sullivan
- US foreign policy
- Personnel management
Audio
part B, 36:46
Download MP3 (part 1) · 89.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 90.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 141.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 4) · 89.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 5) · 55.2 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the players above hold the full tape, shared with neighbouring conversations. By the archivists' log it runs from 01:42:16 to 02:35:30 into the tape; their log often drifts a minute or two from the audio, so listen for the subjects in the finding aid.
NARA Description
On October 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, John N. Mitchell, John D. Ehrlichman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:38 am to 11:32 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 593-011 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 593-11
Date: October 15, 1971
Time: 10:38 am - 11:32 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.
US foreign relations
-Aleksei N. Kosygin
-Message for Nixon
-[Forename unknown] Burns [sp?]
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 10:38 am.
The President's schedule
-John B. Connally
Bull left at an unknown time before 10:40 am.
News story
-Maxine Cheshire
-Kissinger’s view
-Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
-Newsday
-Unknown woman
-Taft Schreiber
Robert S. McNamara
-Pakistan
-World Bank loan
US foreign policy
-Soviets
-Edwin O. Reischauer
-W. Averell Harriman
John N. Mitchell and John D. Ehrlichman entered at 10:40 am.
-Dinner for visiting delegation
Kissinger left at 10:41 am.
Supreme Court appointments
-Chief Justice Warren E. BurgerShow the rest of the log (287 more lines)
-Letter to Mitchell
-Views on Court
-Woman
-Herschel H. Friday
-Possible appointees
-Visit with Mitchell, October 15, 1971
-Resignation threat
-The President’s view
-Mitchell’s conversation with Burger
-Health
-Funeral of former Supreme Court justice
-The President’s view
Administration's appointees
-Burger
-Arthur F. Burns
-Andrew F. Brimmer
-Federal Reserve Board [FRB]
Supreme Court appointees
-Burger
-Threats of resignation
-White House staff
-Burger's views
-Mildred L. Lillie
-Mitchell's forthcoming conversation with Burger
-Burger
-The President’s assessment of Burger’s appointment
-Cabinet
-Previous editorials
-William J. Brennan
-Thurgood Marshall
-Byron R. (“Whizzer”) White
-Harry A. Blackmun
-Hugo L. Black
-Burger
-Robert C. Byrd
-Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson's letter
-Edmund S. Muskie
-Edward M. Kennedy
-Friday
-News summary
-J. William Fulbright
-Wilbur D. Mills
-Burger's views
-Lewis F. Powell
-Women
-News summary
-The President’s view
-Connally
-Idanell B. (“Nellie”) Connally
-Equal Rights Amendment
-The President’s view
-Margaret M. (“Peggy”) Heckler
-Lillie
-Political affiliation
-Friday
-Political affiliation
-News summaries
-David Schumacher
-Lillie
-Don Farmer
-Friday
-Bill [David ?] Lawrence's comments
-Carl Stern
-National Broadcasting Company [NBC]
-American Bar Association [ABA]
-Friday
-Arkansas Gazette
-Joseph L. Rauh, Jr.
-Martha (Beall) Mitchell
-Lillie
-Jewish seat
-Burger
-Friday
-Background
-Possible Senate confirmation
-G. Harrold Carswell
-Need for Republican support
-Charles McC. Mathias
-Robert P. Griffin
-William H. Rehnquist
-Clark MacGregor
-Conservatives
-Friday
-Clement F. Haynsworth
-Washington Post
-Editorial
-Question of mediocrity
-Appointment of Hugo L. Black
-Burger
-Editorial comments
-John W. Dean, III
-Lillie
-Mrs. A. V. Falcone
-Husband
-Political philosophy
-Dean’s assessment
-Civil rights
-Southerners
-Law and order issues
-Sam J. Ervin, Jr.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
-Felix Frankfurter
-Burger's views
-Woman
-Women
-Rita E. Hauser
-Barbara (“Bobbie”) Greene Kilberg
-The President's law school class
-Maritime Commission
-Helen Delich Bentley
-Civil Service Commission
-The President's views
-Lillie
-India
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Burger's conversation with Mitchell
-Blackmun
-Friday
-Woman
-Earl Warren
-The President’s view
-Abe Fortas
-Black
-John M. Harlan
-Brennan
-William O. Douglas
-The President’s view
-Jewish appointment
-Edward H. Levi
-Possibility of appointment
-Burger's forthcoming conversation with Mitchell
-Possible appointees
-Mitchell's possible conversation with Burger
-Black
-Woman
-Poll
-Louis Harris
-Woman
-Democrats
**********************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 8s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
**********************************************************************
-Education
-The President and Mitchell’s view
-Domestic science
-Mitchell
-Equality
-Peter G. Peterson
-Sally Peterson
-Textiles
Donald M. Kendall
-Pepsi Cola
-Cartha D. (“Deke”) DeLoach
Supreme Court appointments
-Burger
-Mitchell's conversation
Unknown woman entered at an unknown time after 10:41 am.
Item to be delivered to Peterson
Unknown woman left at an unknown time before 11:32 am.
-Age criteria
-Burger
-Popular opinion
-Appointment of a woman
-Friday
-Woman
-Warren
-Workload and case load
-Burger
-Black
-Harlan
-White
-Potter Stewart
-Brennan
-Case assignments
-Age criteria
-The President’s view
-Lillie
-Dean
-Workload
-Opinion lengths
-Holmes view of opinions
-Warren Court
-Use of precedents
-Burger
-Possible resignation
-Possible motive
-Feelings on make-up of the Court
-Possible resignation
Textiles agreement
Resignation of Will R. Wilson
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-Wilson's wife
-Rationale
-Deputy
-Wilson’s efforts
J. Edgar Hoover
-DeLoach's comments
-Possibility of leaving office
-Richard E. Berlin
-DeLoach
-Lou Nichols
-Richard M. Helms
-Telephone call to Ehrlichman
-Time magazine
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
-Investigation of espionage
-William C. Sullivan
-Complaints
-Robert D. Novak
-Terence F. Smith
-New York Times
-Time magazine
-Hugh Sidey
-Ad Hoc Committee
-Sullivan
-Age
-Effect
-Conversation with Mitchell
-Conversation with the President
-FBI
-Internal operation
-Robert T. Mardian
-Sullivan
-Performance of FBI
-Ehrlichman’s view
-FBI
-Sullivan
-Internal discipline
-DeLoach
-Possibility of resignation
-Possibility of medal presentation
-DeLoach
-Medal of Freedom
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Possible impact on the President's reelection
-Possibility of resignation
-Time magazine
-Rowland Evans and Novak
-Possible impact on the President's reelection
-DeLoach
-Financial worth
-Recreation Association
-Medicine
The President's schedule
-North Carolina
-William F. (“Billy”) Graham
-F. Edward Hebert
-George H. Mahon
-Sequoia
-Youth groups
Protestantism
-Graham
-Appeal to youth
Supreme Court appointments
-Burger
-Woman
-Qualifications
Mitchell and Ehrlichman left at 11:32 am.Transcript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.
Also recorded on October 15, 1971
- 011-097 9:09 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald McI. Kendall talked on the telephone from 9:09 am to 9:10 am.
- 593-005 9:09 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald McI. Kendall met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:09 am to 9:10 am.
- 593-006 9:10 AM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, and Peter G. Peterson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:10 am to 9:36 am.
- 593-007 9:37 AM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:37 am to 9:52 am.
- 593-008 9:53 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Nobuhiko Ushiba met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:53 am to 9:58 am.
- 593-009 9:58 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:58 am and 10:08 am.
- 593-010 10:08 AM · 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, Henry A. Kissinger, Robert S. McNamara, White House photographer, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:08 am to 10:37 am.
- 593-012 11:32 AM · 44 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Rose Mary Woods, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:32 am to 11:36 am.
Related conversations
- Nixon, Mitchell & Ehrlichman on Supreme Court appointments and School busing October 8, 1971 · 43 min
- Nixon phone call with Buzhardt on Huston Plan and Watergate May 17, 1973 · 16 min
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- Nixon, Ehrlichman & Mitchell on Supreme Court nominations October 18, 1971 · 1 hr 13 min
- Nixon & Ehrlichman on J. Edgar Hoover and Ronald Ziegler May 3, 1972 · 2 min
- Ehrlichman phone call on Welfare reform and Ronald Reagan November 12, 1971 · 4 min
Cite this conversation
Conversation 593-011, October 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/593-011 (accessed November 1, 2026).