Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 468 › Conversation 468-018

Nixon & Butterfield on Official documentation and Executive workflow

Tuesday, March 16, 1971 · 5:30 PM–5:47 PM ET · Oval Office · 16 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation468-018 on Tape 468 (tape position 05:29:13–05:31:12)StartTuesday, March 16, 1971 at 5:30 PMEndTuesday, March 16, 1971 at 5:47 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 468-018 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417176211 ↗

A 16-second recording. What it contains is described by the archivists' log below; no AI summary is shown for recordings this short.

Audio

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NARA Description

On March 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:30 pm and 5:47 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 468-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 468-18

Date: March 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:30 pm and 5:47 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield

     President’s schedule
          -Items for the President’s signature
          -A statement
                -Timing

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 5:47 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Do you have a statement, sir?
Yeah.
Well, that's what it says on the wall.
Well, I've got some sign here.
There's a hole in my wall.
I want to get this finished.
Please.
I may not get it.
Does it have to be that thing?
No, it does not.
Well, if it does, I'll let you know.
I don't know.
I just don't have it.

Also recorded on March 16, 1971

  • 468-013 12:45 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:45 pm to 1:15 pm.
  • 468-014 1:15 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 2:23 pm.
  • 468-015 2:23 PM · 41 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, John B. Connally, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:23 pm and 3:06 pm.
  • 050-007 3:06 PM · 53 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Cabinet members as well as staffers, including William P. Rogers, John B. Connally, David Packard, John N. Mitchell, Winton M. ("Red") Blount, Jr., Rogers C. B. Morton, J. Philip Campbell, Maurice H. Stans, James D. Hodgson, George W. Romney, John A. Volpe, George P. Shultz, Robert H. Finch, Donald H. Rumsfeld, George H. W. Bush, John D. Ehrlichman, Robert J. Dole, Alexander P. Butterfield, Clark MacGregor, Robert J. Brown, Dr. Edward E. David, Jr., and Raymond K. Price, Jr., met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 3:06 pm to 4:00 pm.
  • 468-016 4:02 PM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, Robert J. Dole, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:02 pm to 4:50 pm.
  • 468-017 4:52 PM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, unknown person(s), and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:52 pm to 5:30 pm.
  • 468-019 5:47 PM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:47 pm to 6:22 pm.
  • 468-020 6:22 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:22 pm and 6:53 pm.

All 21 conversations from March 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 468-018, March 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417176211). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/468-018 (accessed October 31, 2026).