Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 493 › Conversation 493-001
Nixon & Butterfield on Camp David and White House Staff
Thursday, May 6, 1971 · 8:45 AM–8:55 AM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield discussed the administration of Camp David, specifically focusing on the usage of the facility by staff members and Cabinet officials. They reviewed logistical concerns regarding guest access and the potential overuse of the presidential retreat by insistent personnel. Nixon expressed a desire for more oversight regarding scheduling and access protocols to manage the facility's limited resources effectively.
- Camp David
- White House Staff
- Logistics
- Facility Management
- Scheduling
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 160.2 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 00:05:53 into the tape and ends around 00:13:01.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On May 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:45 am and 8:55 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 493-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 493-1
Date: May 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:45 am and 8:55 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield
Camp David
-Use by staff and Cabinet
-Patrick J. Buchanan, James P. Hughes
-William J. Baroody, Jr.
-Facilities
-Hughes
Rose Mary Woods
Butterfield left at an unknown time before 8:55 amAlso recorded on May 6, 1971
- 002-102 8:37 AM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:37 am and 9:10 am.
- 002-107 8:37 AM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:37 am and 8:51 am.
- 002-108 8:53 AM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 8:53 am to 9:11 am.
- 493-002 8:55 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:00 am.
- 493-003 9:00 AM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Manolo Sanchez, Gerald R. Ford, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:00 am to 10:00 am.
- 002-103 9:10 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:10 am.
- 002-104 9:20 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone from 9:20 am to 9:26 am.
- 493-004 10:00 AM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:00 am and 10:08 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 493-001, May 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/493-001 (accessed October 3, 2026).