Nixon White House TapesTape 451 › Conversation 451-017

Nixon White House recording on Microgrid and BLS majority

Thursday, February 18, 1971 · 3:40 PM–3:52 PM ET · Oval Office

Participants[Unknown person(s)]Conversation451-017 onTape 451 (tape position 03:23:40–03:24:17)StartThursday, February 18, 1971 at 3:40 PMEndThursday, February 18, 1971 at 3:52 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 451-017 ↗

This brief and largely unintelligible interaction involves two unidentified individuals discussing administrative or technical concerns, specifically referencing a "microgrid" and "BLS majority." The conversation concludes with a participant expressing the intent to step away and return within ten minutes. Due to the high volume of background noise and unclear audio, the substantive purpose of the meeting remains inconclusive.

Download MP3 (part 1) · 166.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 167.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 143.0 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:23:40 into the tape and ends around 03:24:17.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

3:23:40We don't do that, you know what I mean?
3:23:42This is the microgrid, the BLS majority.
3:23:53Let me get this, I'll be back in about 10 minutes.
3:23:55I'll be back in about 10 minutes.
3:23:56I'll be back in about 10 minutes.

On February 18, 1971, unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:40 pm and 3:52 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 451-017 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 451-17

Date: February 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:40 pm and 3:52 pm
Location: Oval Office

An unknown woman met with an unknown person

******************************************************************************

[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 08/05/2019.]
[Unintelligible]
[451-017-w001]
[Duration: 36s]

     Candice [surname unknown]’s boyfriend

******************************************************************************

The unknown people left at an unknown time before 3:52 pm
  • 451-013 2:32 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:32 pm and 3:32 pm.
  • 451-014 3:32 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 3:32 pm.
  • 451-015 3:32 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Mark I. Goode, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:32 pm to 3:40 pm.
  • 451-016 3:40 PM · 20 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:40 pm and 3:52 pm.
  • 451-018 3:52 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Mark I. Goode met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:52 pm to 3:55 pm.
  • 451-019 3:55 PM · 1 hr 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:55 pm to 4:52 pm.
  • 451-020 5:10 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:10 pm to 5:14 pm.
  • 451-021 5:14 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:14 pm and 5:25 pm.

Conversation 451-017, February 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/451-017 (accessed September 18, 2026).