Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-122

Nixon, Shultz & Butterfield on John B. Connally and Spiro T. Agnew

Monday, October 25, 1971 · 5:22 PM–5:25 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Butterfield, Alexander P.; Shultz, George P.; Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation012-122 on Tape 12 (tape position 05:10:59–05:14:41)StartMonday, October 25, 1971 at 5:22 PMEndMonday, October 25, 1971 at 5:25 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 012-122 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with Alexander P. Butterfield to review and modify his upcoming schedule for October 26, 1971. The discussion centered on managing meetings with Vice President Spiro Agnew, Senator Wallace F. Bennett, Vietnam veterans, and a National Security Council budget session involving George P. Shultz and John B. Connally. Seeking to accommodate more time with Connally before his departure, the President evaluated potential adjustments to the timing of his morning and afternoon appointments.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Mr. President, Mr. Butterfield, we have him now.
Yeah.
All right, thank you, sir.
Hello.
Hello?
Alex.
Yes, sir.
Do you know what the, on the schedule tomorrow, you know what we've got on that?
Are you home?
I was en route when I got the page, boy.
Oh.
I do know what we have.
Yeah, I'm going to have to make some changes in it in order to make room for something else, but what is the situation?
Okay, sir, 10 o'clock, the Vice President.
Oh, Agnew's at 10.
Right, 1115 Wally Bennett.
Yeah.
Yeah.
12 o'clock is 10 Vietnam veterans who, remember that one, who went back to Vietnam to help out with the parade, and they're back here now.
12.15 is the three-minute audio taping for NAMM.
Yeah.
And then 3 o'clock is the NSC budget meeting with Conley and Schultz and Haig and Weinberger.
That's 3 o'clock.
Yeah.
And 4 o'clock is John Conley only.
Oh, I see.
Fine.
Okay.
Bye.
Want to order that, sir?
Well, if you've got Connolly on for four.
Yes, sir.
That's a great crowd.
Oh, no, wait a minute.
The meeting with Connolly on the NSC meeting at 3 with Connolly, Schultz, Haig, et cetera, is that the one you're talking about?
No, that's on the budget.
I don't think he... And then it's a 4 o'clock meeting is also on Connolly.
Is yours at 4 o'clock?
sorry to tell you i don't know it's either three or four i can't i believe my recollection of the schedule is there's a we have a three o'clock meeting with connolly schultz weinberger right that was that's right is that the one you're talking about i recall connolly is down by himself a little later at four o'clock right well that is that is that all right that meets the big meeting is the one you thought of at three fine
But don't bother with it now.
Is it at 11?
11.15?
Well, the Agnew meeting doesn't need to take more than an hour.
That's right.
No, that shouldn't take.
No, 45 minutes should be enough.
Let's see if we could get, and what do you say you have, then the next thing's at 12?
Yeah, 11-15 at 12 o'clock is just a 10-minute stand-up for those Vietnam veterans.
Yeah, 11 to 12.
Let's see if we could get...
I need to... You see, Connolly's taking off Thursday, I think, and I'm going to have to see him quite a bit tomorrow.
See him a little early.
I'd like to see him at... 10-45?
No, no, I'd make it 11 o'clock.
Well, now, that isn't good.
Put him right after... That's not a good idea.
Uh... What's the start again?
You've got what?
10 o'clock and 11.15 is Bennett.
12 o'clock is the veterans.
12.15 is the tape, and that's all until 3.
Maybe we could... Well, the tape is no problem.
Of course, the veterans didn't take long, but let's try...
Has Bennett's thing been confirmed?
Yes, sir, he has.
Ah, let it go.

NARA Description

On October 25, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Alexander P. Butterfield, George P. Shultz, and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 5:22 pm to 5:25 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-122 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 012-122

Date: October 25, 1971
Time: 5:22 pm- 5:25 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     Alexander P. Butterfield

[See Conversation No. 304-17C]

The President talked with Butterfield.

     The President's schedule, October 25, 1971
          -Spiro T. Agnew
          -Wallace F. Bennett
          -Vietnam veterans
                -Vietnam tour of duty
          -National Associations of Manufacturers [NAM]
                -Taped message from the President

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

             -National Security Council [NSC]
                  -John B. Connally
                  -George P. Shultz
                  -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
                  -Casper W. Weinberger
             -Connally

The President conferred with George P. Shultz and John D. Ehrlichman at an unknown time
between 5:22 pm and 5:25 pm.

     Recounted schedule

[End of conferral]

     The President's schedule
          -Agnew
          -Connally
          -Bennett

Also recorded on October 25, 1971

  • 012-119 3:29 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 3:29 pm to 3:30 pm.
  • 304-015 3:29 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:29 pm to 3:30 pm.
  • 012-120 3:30 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:30 pm and 5:22 pm.
  • 012-121 3:30 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:30 pm and 5:22 pm.
  • 304-016 3:30 PM · 1 hr 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:30 pm and 4:35 pm.
  • 304-017 4:35 PM · 1 hr 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, unknown person(s), White House operator, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:35 pm to 6:01 pm.
  • 012-123 7:22 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:22 pm.
  • 012-124 7:22 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:22 pm and 7:27 pm.

All 50 conversations from October 25, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 012-122, October 25, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-122 (accessed October 9, 2026).