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This file contains materials relating to Edward Levi.
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1671551
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Press Secretary Briefings, 11/22/75
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1671551
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document
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Press Secretary Briefings, 11/22/75
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This file contains materials relating to Edward Levi.
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Ron Nessen Files (Ford Administration)
Ron Nessen's Press Briefing Transcripts
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White House (Washington, D.C.)
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1975-11-22
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11
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1975
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1975-11-22
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11
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1975
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Digitized from Box 14 of The Ron Nessen File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
This Copy For
NEWS CONFERENCE
#379
AT THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH RON NESSEN
AT 12:15 P.M. EST
NOVEMBER 22, 1975
SATURDAY
MR. NESSEN: Let me give you a few details of the
President's day today and then put a lid on.
He is at a luncheon now in the Residence with
mostly staff primarily to talk about State of the Union and
legislative proposals and he will be back in the office this
afternoon and plans to work all afternoon up until about
6:00 or 7:00 in the office.
I think Bill, based on some earlier information,
may have indicated that he was going to watch the football
game, but that has been scrubbed now because of meetings in
the office this afternoon.
He may catch a snatch or so of the game in between
meetings but he is not going to be able to watch the game.
As you know, he had a two-hour budget meeting
this morning, he will have a two-hour budget meeting tomorrow
afternoon, Sunday afternoon, beginning at 1:00.
Q I am sorry. Could you go back over that?
MR. NESSEN: Budget meeting at 1:00 Sunday
afternoon lasting about two hours.
Also, delivered to him this morning were two rather
thick books of briefing papers on China and he will be working
on those over the weekend, too -- beginning to work his way
through those.
Q
Are those from the State Department?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
MORE
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- 2 -
#379-11/22
Then, looking ahead just a little bit, aside from the
budget meeting tomorrow afternoon, on Monday he has, among other
things, the swearing-in of the new FAA Administrator and
Monday evening there will be a dinner honoring the Federal
Judiciary. This is an annual event traditional dinner at
the White House.
The invitees include the Justices of the Supreme
Court, the Chairmen and ranking Republicans of the Senate
and House Judiciary Committees the Chief Justices, Chief
Judges of the various Circuit Courts and other members of the
Federal bench, the Chairman of the Conference of State Chief
Justices. From the Justice Department, the Attorney General,
Deputy Attorney General and Solicitor General, and from
the White House, Buchen, Marsh, Ed Schmults and Ken Lazarus
and Dick Parsons.
It begins at 8 o'clock.
Q
About how many Judges all together is that?
MR. NESSEN: I don't have a total number of give
you.
Q
Over, like, 40? In that neighborhood, a couple
dozen?
MR. NESSEN: I just don't have the list.
Q
Is that going to be open, Ron, for any kind
of coverage?
MR. NESSEN: I don't think SO,
Q
Ron, will there be pool coverage?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, a pool coverage of the arrivals and
toasts.
Q
Will he have decided on who is going to be the
new Justice?
MR. NESSEN: I just don't have a timetable.
Q
Who is the FAA Administrator being sworn in?
MR. NESSEN: John L. McLucas. That is at 11:30 on
Monday.
Q
What time is he going to meet with Moynihan?
MORE
#379
- 3 -
#379-11/22
MR. NESSEN: Moynihan will be in on Monday and I
don't have a time for you on that.
Q
Did the President ask him to come?
MR. NESSEN: Well, I don't know exactly how the
meeting was set up but, yes, the President did ask him to
come in.
Q
When did he ask him to come in? Yesterday?
MR. NESSEN: The President has not talked to him
directly but the word was passed to Pat to come Monday.
Q
Was it because of the publicity yesterday?
MR. NESSEN: Pat indicated that he wanted to talk
to the President and the President indicated he wanted to talk
to Pat.
Q
That was done yesterday?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, the meeting was arranged.
Q
Is Moynihan going to stay on?
MR. NESSEN: The President certainly wants him to
and the Secretary of State certainly wants him to.
Q
Ron, what is the status of the New York review?
I was never quite clear on whether the President is going to
make another statement or is simply going to keep in under
review.
MR. NESSEN: I think it depends on what the review
shows, Bob.
Q
In other words, he has not committed himself
to making any kind of public statement or taking any kind of
public action. He simply is saying "I am going to review it
for a week?"
MR. NESSEN: "I am going to review it early next week"
is what he said and I feel that the rest of it was to determine
what, if any, Federal legislation was needed.
Q
But he has not committed himself to
making a public statement after his review?
MR. NESSEN: No.
MORE
- 4 -
#379-11/22
Q
But to a decision?
MR. NESSEN: To review it, to determine whether any
is needed.
Q
What about energy, do you have anything on
that?
MR. NESSEN: No, the bill has not gotten anywhere.
I don't know whether the completed conference report is here
in writing or not. Of course, no Presidential action is
required until the Senate and House approve the conference.
Q
Would you expect that the President might make
his feelings of the bill known before they take final
action?
MR. NESSEN: I just don't know one way or the other
on that one.
So why don't we put a lid on for the day.
Q
Ron, excuse me. You said you don't have a
timetable for the Supreme Court nomination.
MR. NESSEN: No, I don't have a timetable.
Q
Does that mean, in effect, that it is certainly
possible that he would not make his choice known before going
to China?
MR. NESSEN: I just don't have a timetable, Dick.
Q
Why isn't he going to the Kennedy Center with
Mrs. Ford tonight? He is just going to stay home and
play poker with the boys?
MR. NESSEN: What is the event?
Q
Kennedy Center with Dobrynin and Kissinger.
Q
Does it have anything to do with international
diplomacy, not going to a Soviet concert a week before he goes
to China?
MR. NESSEN: No, it does not have any foreign policy
implications.
Q
Does the President's decision to hold this budget
meeting tomorrow afternoon represent a snub to the football game?
(Laughter)
Q
What is he working on when he comes back this
afternoon? You said he is going to be in the office until
6:00 or 7:00.
MORE
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- 5 -
#379-11/22
MR. NESSEN: He has a couple of staff people working
on those two books on China.
Q
Do you know what the subject of tomorrow's
budget session is? Yesterday we were told it was defense.
MR. NESSEN: Today was State Department aid and
Export-Import Bank.
I have to check. I have not seen the briefing
paper.
MR. GREENER: I will go look.
Q
Ron, has the President had any discussions with
anybody on the Supreme Court nomination at this point?
MR. NESSEN: He has talked to Levi about it.
Q
When he was in to see him on busing or apart
from that?
MR. NESSEN: No, he talked to him aside from that.
Buchen is really the contact with Levi.
MORE
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- 6 -
#379-11/21
Q
Has Levi's name been submitted?
MR. NESSEN: I am not going to comment on any
particular names.
Q
In other words, the President essentially
is waiting to see what selections come to him?
MR. NESSEN: No, Levi is part of the process.
The President has some ideas of his own and I think some other
people have given him some ideas.
Q
You say you have no timetable.
MR. NESSEN: Right.
Q
I can appreciate that but I am just
wondering how much time the President himself is devoting
to this question at this point or are we really at a stage
where there are a whole lot of considerations that have to
be made at a lesser level before he can really begin to
evaluate different individuals?
MR. NESSEN: Well, I don't know if I can give
you the exact number of minutes a day he spends on it but he
is spending time on it by himself.
Q
Was the first list that was given to the
ABA Committee compiled by Levi or was it compiled by the
President?
MR. NESSEN: Compiled by Levi.
Q
And the second list was compiled by the
White House and the President, or I mean was there a differ-
ence in the way the two lists were compiled?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know how the second list
was put together.
Q
It would not be before he goes to China
though that he makes his decision?
MR. NESSEN: I don't have any timetable on it.
Q
Is there a possibility of church tomorrow?
MR. NESSEN: He usually decides in the after-
noon to get the word around.
Q
Does this mean then that we have a lid
through the weekend?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
MORE
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- 7 -
#379-11/22
Q
Except for church.
MR. NESSEN: Unless there is church.
Did you find out?
MR. GREENER: Didn't have the paper.
Q
Who else is going to China -- Mrs. Ford,
Jack, Susan?
MR. NESSEN: Susan.
Q
Is Jack going?
MR. NESSEN: Not that I know of.
Q
Mrs. Ford is going.
MR. NESSEN: At the moment it is shaping up
that way.
Q
But it is not actually finalized?
MR. NESSEN: The whole list of people has not
been finalized yet; that is what we have been working on for
the past couple of days.
Okay. That is the lid.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
END
(AT 12:24 P.M. EST)