Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 451 › Conversation 451-025

Nixon White House recording on Oval Office and Unidentified Participants

Thursday, February 18, 1971 · 12:22 PM–1:09 PM ET · Oval Office ·2 min

Participants[Unknown person(s)]Conversation451-025 onTape 451 (tape position 00:56:02–02:01:43)StartThursday, February 18, 1971 at 12:22 PMEndThursday, February 18, 1971 at 1:09 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 451-025 ↗

AI Summary

This recording captures an unidentified meeting in the Oval Office consisting primarily of ambient room noise and muffled, indistinguishable background conversation. Because the audio quality is poor and contains no substantive dialogue, no specific policy topics, political developments, or administrative decisions were documented. The segment remains historically inconclusive due to the lack of clear verbal exchange.

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.7 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Now we're passing the light of the, uh, planet.
you

NARA Description

On February 18, 1971, unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:22 pm and 1:09 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 451-025 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 451-25

Date: February 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:22 pm and 1:09 pm
Location: Oval Office

Unknown men met

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

[Previous non-historical (H) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 08/05/2019. Segment
cleared for release.]
[Non-Historical]
[451-025-w001]
[Duration: 5m 40s]

[This portion of the tape is mostly room noise with some muffled background conversation.]

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

The unknown men left at an unknown time before 1:09 pm

Also recorded on February 18, 1971

  • 451-005 10:12 AM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:12 am to 10:30 am.
  • 451-006 10:30 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Mark I. Goode, and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:30 am to 10:36 am.
  • 451-007 11:13 AM · 1 hr 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Emilio Colombo, Neil A. Seidenman, and A. Jose De Seabra met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:13 am to 12:22 pm.
  • 451-008 12:40 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:40 pm and 1:09 pm.
  • 451-009 1:09 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ralph D. Albertazzie met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:09 pm to 1:10 pm.
  • 451-010 1:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:10 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 451-011 1:10 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:10 pm and 1:20 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.

All 24 conversations from February 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 451-025, 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/451-025 (accessed September 18, 2026).