Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 672 › Conversation 672-004

Nixon & Butterfield on Judicial appointments and Supreme Court

Tuesday, February 15, 1972 · 12:47 PM–12:56 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation672-004 onTape 672 (tape position 03:46:35–03:49:17)StartTuesday, February 15, 1972 at 12:47 PMEndTuesday, February 15, 1972 at 12:56 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 672-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield consult on administrative scheduling and personnel matters, specifically addressing potential judicial appointments and the political optics of the Supreme Court. Nixon expresses deep concern regarding the predictability of his own appointees and contemplates the necessity of a constitutional amendment to override potential judicial opposition. The discussion underscores the President's anxieties about maintaining control over the judiciary's direction and his desire to avoid the political liability of a partisan-branded court.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 36.1 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 03:46:35 into the tape and ends around 03:49:17.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

3:46:42But also, I have talked to other people.
3:46:44We've got a great one-hands, and barrels, and, you know, coal, and some grand.
3:46:48We have a brother who's kind of, he's good.
3:47:13My view is that the Baker approach, therefore, falls.
3:47:20And also you want to remember the Chief Justice may be sort of thinking of his court in terms of not wanting it, he may want it to sort of have his arms close to the, see my point?
3:47:35His interest may not be ours here.
3:47:41Yeah, I'm trying, I'm trying.
3:47:43Now the point is that we just have to face the fact that we can't run the risk of having a so-called Nixon court
3:47:52And then I say, the hell with my appointees, I am going to have a constitutional amendment.
3:47:59You see, I think it's dangerous, too, because you never know what even some of our judges will say.
3:48:03They'll, in their opinions, may say constitutional amendment's wrong, broken, it's got to be done.
3:48:12And what do I do?
3:48:12Oh, I'm really, I deal with it.
3:48:13So that's what we have.
3:48:15Okay, John, thank you.
3:48:17Bye.
3:48:17Bye.
3:48:18Oh, I'll see you later.
3:48:32See you later, buddy.

NARA Description

On February 15, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:47 pm and 12:56 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 672-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 672-4

Date: February 15, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:47 pm and 12:56 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President’s schedule

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 12:56 pm.

Also recorded on February 15, 1972

  • 672-002 9:12 AM · 3 hr 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), Rose Mary Woods, Ronald L. Ziegler, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Dwight L. Chapin, White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:12 am to 12:47 pm.
  • 020-096 10:30 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:30 am and 10:45 am.
  • 020-097 10:45 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 10:45 am to 10:47 am.
  • 672-003 12:47 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:47 pm and 12:56 pm.
  • 672-005 12:47 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:47 pm and 12:56 pm.
  • 672-006 12:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:47 pm and 12:56 pm.
  • 672-007 12:56 PM · 33 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, Rose Mary Woods, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:56 pm to 1:30 pm.
  • 672-008 1:30 PM · 36 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:30 pm and 11:59 pm.

All 15 conversations from February 15, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 672-004, February 15, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/672-004 (accessed September 18, 2026).