Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 500 › Conversation 500-007
Butterfield on Oval Office operations and Office logistics
Tuesday, May 18, 1971 · 8:02 AM–9:33 AM ET · Oval Office · 34 sec
AI Summary
Alexander P. Butterfield and unidentified participants engage in a brief, informal exchange characterized by unclear dialogue regarding a document delivery and the installation of an unknown item. The recording, which consists largely of unintelligible remarks and casual banter, appears to be unrelated to substantive White House business or policy-making. The interaction concludes abruptly without any official decisions or actionable developments recorded.
- Alexander P. Butterfield
- Oval Office operations
- Office logistics
- White House administrative procedures
Audio
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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, 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. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 500-007 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 500-7
Date: May 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:02 am and 9:33 am
Location: Oval Office
Alexander P. Butterfield and unknown persons met.
[Unintelligible]
Installation of unknown item
Delivery of paper
The conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 9:33 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.
- 500-005 7:55 AM · 10 sec — 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 500-007, 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/500-007 (accessed September 28, 2026).