Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 8 › Conversation 008-058

Nixon phone call with Butterfield on Presidential speeches

Wednesday, September 8, 1971 · 8:33 PM–8:34 PM ET · White House Telephone · 33 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation008-058 on Tape 8 (tape position 01:48:06–01:48:38)StartWednesday, September 8, 1971 at 8:33 PMEndWednesday, September 8, 1971 at 8:34 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 008-058 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield discussed the status of a draft speech intended for delivery to Congress. Nixon instructed Butterfield to wait until the document was fully completed by typist Nellie L. Yates rather than reviewing it in partial segments. The President emphasized that there was no urgency in receiving the draft, opting to review the entire 21-page document once it was ready.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Mr. President, it would be helpful to you if I brought up two-thirds of this.
It's going to run 21 pages about, and I've got 14 of them.
Oh, no, no.
Just wait until she finishes it all and she brings it up, and I can look it over and tell her if there's any page I want to change, okay?
Fine, no.
Don't rush her, though, because she hasn't done it for the first time.
No hurry, no hurry.
I'm in good shape.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On September 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 8:33 pm to 8:34 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-058 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 8-58

Date: September 8, 1971
Time: 8:33 pm - 8:34 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Alexander P. Butterfield talked with the President.

     The President's forthcoming speech to Congress
          -Draft
               -Typing
                      -Progress
               -Nellie L. Yates
               -Yates' delivery to the President
                      -Lincoln Sitting Room

Also recorded on September 9, 1971

  • 008-059 11:01 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 11:01 pm to 11:02 pm.
  • 008-060 9:04 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:04 am and 10:11 am.
  • 008-061 10:11 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 10:11 am to 10:20 am.
  • 008-062 10:20 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 11:01 am.
  • 008-063 11:01 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 11:01 am to 11:13 am.
  • 008-064 11:13 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:13 am and 11:18 am.
  • 008-065 11:18 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 11:18 am to 11:23 am.
  • 568-001 1:18 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:22 pm.

All 58 conversations from September 9, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 008-058, September 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-058 (accessed October 12, 2026).