Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 147 › Conversation 147-002

Nixon phone call with Butterfield on Speechwriting and John D. Ehrlichman

Friday, October 6, 1972 · 8:32 PM–8:35 PM ET · Camp David Study Table · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation147-002 on Tape 147StartFriday, October 6, 1972 at 8:32 PMEndFriday, October 6, 1972 at 8:35 PMRecording deviceCamp David Study TableSourceNixon Library record for 147-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield coordinated the delivery of revised drafts for an upcoming speech. Butterfield clarified the status of documents being prepared by speechwriter Raymond K. Price, Jr. and a critical memorandum from John D. Ehrlichman. Nixon directed that all versions and accompanying feedback be consolidated and sent together rather than piecemeal, opting to review the final materials the following morning.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Go ahead, please.
Mr. President?
Yeah, this is Alex.
I want to tell you what we're doing, so we're not going off on a tangent here.
Ray Price told you he would send up a revised version.
He is now beginning to text to us two revised versions, about eight pages each, and Marge is receiving them and typing them, and the first of those two versions should be finished by about 9 o'clock.
I'm guessing, but that's close.
Meanwhile,
John Ehrlichman has talked to Ray Price and Ray has read these versions to John on the telephone.
John is going to call in to Marge and dictate a memo to you.
He has some argument with portions of it.
I don't know to what extent, but so Marge will also have a John Ehrlichman memo when she delivers version A to you.
Price is setting up version A and version B.
So we're getting a hell of a lot of material here, and I want to make sure we're doing the right thing by you.
May we just get it here?
Yeah.
All right, well, we'll be doing that as soon as we can.
As soon as we can get it over here.
Yeah.
And just tell Zigware we won't have it until, what time do they have it scheduled for tomorrow on the radio?
12.06.
12.06.
Yes, sir.
We won't have it for the press until then.
Yeah.
All right, I'll tell him.
Tell him because it'll take me, I'll just have to do it in the morning.
Okay, but we'll feed this into you this evening as quickly as we can.
Well, what time do you have now, 835?
Yeah, 835, sir.
I think Marge can have those first eight pages to you in 35 minutes.
We don't know what the hell it is.
We've got three different versions coming.
Yeah, well, two.
That's right, two.
And I don't know how much...
And plus a memo from Ehrlichman, right?
I don't want to see any until I see them all.
Okay, sir.
When do we expect Ehrlichman to come in?
Well, that I don't know.
He's doing whatever he's doing there, a TV thing, and as soon as he gets out of there, he's going to lift up the phone and call us.
Fine, fine.
Well, I'll tell you what we'll do.
Why don't you just hold them all?
I mean, I don't know why he's doing two versions, but whatever he's doing, get them done.
I have one here that he's already sent.
Right, I saw that one.
We can...
and have them get it as soon as the Ehrlichman memorandum and the rest is in.
Just fire them over here.
All right, yeah, if you want to hurry.
There's no hurry, and I'll look at them in the morning, and I'll work on it starting about 8.30 in the morning and have it finished by 11 o'clock.
Okay, sir.
Well, I hope it's not too late.
I hope we can have everything for you soon.
Well, they aren't going to have it tonight, that's for sure, because if Ehrlichman hasn't dictated his, it means I just have to do too much work on the goddamn thing.
But just...
I don't want to look at three different versions and have to do it over again.
Yeah, I see that.
It's all in.
All in.
Yes, sir.
Send it over.
Don't send anything in until everything is in.
Okay.
And I assume it would be around 10 o'clock.
Probably.
That's realistic.
Yes, sir.
Okay.
All right, sir.
I don't expect anything from me until about 11 in the morning.
All right, sir.
Right on.
All right.

NARA Description

On October 6, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone at Camp David from 8:32 pm to 8:35 pm. The Camp David Study Table taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 147-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 147-2

Date: October 6, 1972
Time: 8:32 pm - 8:35 pm
Location: Camp David Study Table

The President talked with Alexander P. Butterfield.

[See Conversation No. 217-4]

        Schedule
            -Speech
                -Transmittal of revised drafts via telecopier
                    -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
                    -Marjorie P. Acker
                -Completion of typing
                    -Timing
                    -John D. Ehrlichman's recommendations on possible changes
                         -Previous conversation with Price
                -Receipt of drafts by the President
                    -Scheduled broadcast time of speech
                         -Ronald L. Ziegler
                              -Notification on speech release to the press
                              -Timing

                     -The President’s instructions to Butterfield
                         -Acker
                         -Ehrlichman’s memorandum
                             -Ehrlichman’s possible television appearance
                             -Upcoming telephone call from Ehrlichman
                         -Timing

Also recorded on October 7, 1972

  • 147-001 8:30 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:30 pm and 8:32 pm.
  • 217-004 8:32 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 8:32 pm to 8:35 pm.
  • 147-003 8:35 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:35 pm and 8:40 pm.
  • 217-005 8:35 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:35 pm and 8:40 pm.
  • 147-004 8:40 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 8:40 pm to 9:00 pm.
  • 217-006 8:40 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 8:40 pm to 9:00 pm.
  • 217-007 9:00 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 9:00 pm on October 6, 1972 and 10:16 am on October 7, 1972.
  • 217-008 9:00 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 9:00 pm on October 6, 1972 and 10:16 am on October 7, 1972.

All 41 conversations from October 7, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 147-002, October 7, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/147-002 (accessed October 11, 2026).