Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 281 › Conversation 281-041

Nixon & Butterfield

Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 2:30 PM–2:33 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 23 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation281-041 on Tape 281 (tape position 03:13:43–03:14:03)StartThursday, October 21, 1971 at 2:30 PMEndThursday, October 21, 1971 at 2:33 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 281-041 ↗

A 23-second recording. What it contains is described by the archivists' log below; no AI summary is shown for recordings this short.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.4 MB

This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 03:13:43 – 03:14:03

part B, 1:11:13

281a.mp3
281b.mp3
281c.mp3

NARA Description

On October 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:30 pm to 2:33 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 281-041 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 281-41

Date: October 21, 1971
Time: 2:30 pm - 2:33 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     Item for the President

Butterfield left at 2:33 pm.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

I think I mentioned that to him or you earlier, I don't know much.
No, no.
No, no.
Yes, he's going to leak.
He'll leak.
I prefer he not tell him unless he... What's his reason for not telling him about it?

Also recorded on October 21, 1971

  • 012-039 1:57 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:57 pm.
  • 012-041 1:58 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:58 pm and 3:53 pm.
  • 281-038 1:58 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:58 pm to 2:25 pm.
  • 281-039 2:25 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:25 pm and 2:30 pm.
  • 281-040 2:25 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:25 pm and 2:30 pm.
  • 281-042 2:33 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:33 pm and 3:53 pm.
  • 281-043 2:33 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:33 pm and 3:53 pm.
  • 281-044 2:33 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:33 pm and 3:53 pm.

All 128 conversations from October 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 281-041, October 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/281-041 (accessed November 14, 2026).