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October 20, 1971, 6:17 p.m.
President Nixon: one thing that occurred to me is that you'll have to fend off your friend Volpe, we put off Toro, and isn't Toro 65?
John Mitchell: 66 I think
RMN: Well you can say we needed someone younger than 65. But let you handle it; I'll stay out of it.
JM: Yeah he talked to me about it, constantly and uh--
RMN: Tell him we're preparing for it. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure Toro would slide through it as well as Powell, anyway, would he?
JM: No, I don't believe he would.
RMN: He isn't that distinguished. Is he? Or is he?
JM: No, I think he'd get by all right--
RMN: Why do you think they pissed on Friday of all things? Gee whiz.
JM: Civil rights.
RMN: I'll be damned. Really?
JM: Yes, that's what Ed Voss told me.
RMN: Then they'd do the same on Powell, won't they?
JM: They're not gonna - nobody's gonna have a chance.
RMN: Because I will have named them?
JM: Because you'll have named 'em and it won't be this pressure, you know. From all over the country - civil rights and all-
RMN: I'll be goddamned.
JM: Walsh admitted to me that was it.
RMN: Well, the woman thing, that's got to get out some way. I mean, naturally the vote will get out, won't it? Everything else has leaked out of there. Now believe me, we're going to leak this out if they don't.
JM: You can rest assured; we'll get it out one way or the other. And Walsh knows it's coming. He's been well programmed -
RMN: And the eleven to one?
JM: Yes.
RMN: And I think the eleven to one is brilliant, because it's a jury that way, a stacked jury. All men. Huh?
JM: Absolutely.
RMN: And not one qualified--and she's the best-qualified woman but she's not qualified for the Supreme Court. Jesus, that's great. That's great.
JM: We just have to program it and we can't go too far until you go tomorrow night, otherwise, the surprise of the operation will be destroyed.
RMN: That's right.
JM: We're working on the letters, and so forth, we'll have it pretty well set.
RMN: Right, Now, in preparing my remarks, in the morning I'm going to use Safire, because he's our fastest writer, on this sort of thing. So-- when all that stuff gets over here, he may ask a question or two but you know it will be by my authority.
JM: Fine.
RMN: My deal - it's going to be brief, I want to point out that we've searched the country for the two best candidates-
JM: He's the biggest leaker in the place. Can you turn him off?
RMN: Well, I'm not going to tell him until the morning.
JM: Oh, I see.
RMN: Oh hell, I'm not going to tell him tonight.
JM: I see.
RMN: Oh Christ yeah, that's my point. He's a leaker. That's why once we decide, I'll start him running and lock him up. That's what we did with phase two and phase one, he did that two--
JM: Great.
RMN: Oh Christ. I know he leaks. Oh, he doesn't have the slightest idea that he's going to even be asked to do this job. But he writes quickly, that's the main thing, gets it done.
JM: All right, good, sir. I hear Howard Baker has just landed at the airport and he's waiting to talk to me.
RMN: Waiting to talk to you?
JM: Mmm hmm.
RMN: At the airport? Call me back.
JM: I will directly sir
RMN: Fine
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