Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 500 › Conversation 500-005

Nixon & Butterfield on George P. Shultz and White House administration

Tuesday, May 18, 1971 · 7:55 AM–7:56 AM ET · Oval Office · 10 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation500-005 on Tape 500 (tape position 00:09:13–00:10:18)StartTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 7:55 AMEndTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 7:56 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 500-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met briefly with Alexander P. Butterfield to address administrative scheduling matters, specifically concerning the calendar of George P. Shultz. The discussion touched upon the potential involvement of Paul W. McCracken in these scheduling arrangements. This brief exchange served to coordinate high-level personnel availability within the administration.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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NARA Description

On May 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:55 am to 7:56 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 500-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 500-5

Date: May 18, 1971
Time: 7:55 am - 7:56 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     George P. Shultz's schedule

           -Paul W. McCracken [?]

Butterfield left at 7:56 am.

                                                                    Conv.
                                                                     Conversation
                                                                          No. 500-34
                                                                                  No.(cont.)
                                                                                      500-6

Date: May 18, 1971
Time: 7:58 am - 8:02 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.

     Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
           -William P. Rogers
           -H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
           -Gerard C. Smith
                -Forthcoming Talk with Kissinger
           -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                -President's schedule
           -Wording
           -Andrei A. Gromyko, Leonid I. Brezhnev
           -Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield amendment
                -Position of [Name unintelligible]
           -Timing
           -Wording
           -Dobrynin

The President and Kissinger left at 8:02 am.

Also recorded on May 18, 1971

500-001 7:26 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:26 am and 7:55 am.
500-002 7:26 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:26 am and 7:55 am.
500-003 7:26 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Landrum Bolling met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:26 am and 7:55 am.
500-004 7:26 AM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:26 am and 7:55 am.
500-006 7:58 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:58 am to 8:02 am.
058-001 8:02 AM · 1 hr 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Melvin R. Laird, and Republican Congressional leaders, including U. Alexis Johnson, Robert P. Griffin, Norris Cotton, Peter H. Dominick, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, John B. Anderson, Barber B. Conable, Jr., Richard H. Poff, Robert C. ("Bob") Wilson, John J. Rhodes, Robert T. Stafford, H. Allen Smith, Robert J. Dole, Peter G. Peterson, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, Harry S. Dent, Ronald L. Ziegler, Bryce N. Harlow, and Kenneth E. BeLieu, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 8:02 am to 9:33 am.
500-007 8:02 AM · 34 sec — Alexander P. Butterfield and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:02 am and 9:33 am.
003-058 9:33 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:33 am and 9:34 am.

All 42 conversations from May 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 500-005, May 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/500-005 (accessed September 28, 2026).