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 · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation672-004 on Tape 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

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Position in tape: 03:46:35 – 03:49:17

part C, 2:28

672a.mp3

672b.mp3

672c.mp3

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.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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But also, I have talked to other people.

We've got a great one-hands and pickles and, you know, cold and summer.

And we have, uh, you know, it's good.

My view is that the Baker approach, therefore, falls.

And also you want to remember that Chief Justice may be sort of thinking of his court in terms of not wanting it to, he may want it to sort of have his arms close to the, see my point?

His interest may not be ours here.

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.

And then I say that hell with my appointees.

I am going to have a constitutional amendment.

You see, I think it's dangerous too because you never know what even some of our judges will say.

They'll there in their opinions may say constitutional amendment's wrong, broken, it's got to be done.

Then what do I do?

Oh, I'm really, I deal with it.

So that's what we have.

Okay, John, thank you.

Bye.

Oh, I'll see you later.

Thank you.

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 · 57 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 · 39 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 11 conversations from February 15, 1972 →

Nixon phone call with Poff on Supreme Court and Judicial Appointments October 5, 1971 · 4 min
Nixon phone call with Mitchell on Supreme Court and Lewis F. Powell Jr. October 19, 1971 · 10 min
Nixon phone call with Moore on Supreme Court and American Bar Association October 20, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Supreme Court October 20, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon phone call with Powell on Supreme Court and William H. Rehnquist December 6, 1971 · 3 min
Nixon phone call with Burger on Supreme Court and William H. Rehnquist December 25, 1971 · 3 min

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 November 2, 2026).