Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 500 › Conversation 500-035

Butterfield on Presidential location and Oval Office security

Tuesday, May 18, 1971 · 6:49 PM–10:43 PM ET · Oval Office · 33 sec

ParticipantsButterfield, Alexander P.; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation500-035 on Tape 500 (tape position 06:10:09–06:10:29)StartTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 6:49 PMEndTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 10:43 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 500-035 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417177303 ↗

AI Summary

Alexander P. Butterfield met with an unknown individual in the Oval Office to track the President's whereabouts. The brief exchange consists of logistical inquiries regarding the President's current location and movement. No substantive policy discussions or major decisions were recorded during this segment.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.3 MB

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 6:49 pm and 10:43 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 500-035 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 500-35

Date: May 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 6:49 pm and 10:43 pm
Location: Oval Office

Alexander P. Butterfield and an unknown man met.

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

[Previous PRMPA Federal Statute (A) withdrawal. This segment was rereviewed 06/11/2019
with new guidance. Segment cleared for release.]
[Federal Statute]
[500-035-w001]
[Duration: 3s]

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

     The President's location

Butterfield and the unknown man left at an unknown time before 10:43 am.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Where'd he go?
Where'd he go?
You got him?

Also recorded on May 18, 1971

  • 500-029 4:42 PM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John A. Scali, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, John D. Ehrlichman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:42 pm to 5:05 pm.
  • 500-030 5:05 PM · 1 hr 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Herbert G. Klein, Robert Lubar, James W. Michaels, Lewis H. Young, Robert M. Bleiberg, Joseph E. Evans, [Pawhatan] Jack Wooldridge, Jr., Raymond J. Brady, Thomas Mulloney, Howard W. Fleiger, Marshall Loeb, Lester Bernstein, Henry Gemmill, White House photographer, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:05 pm to 6:34 pm.
  • 003-060 6:34 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Herbert G. Klein talked on the telephone at 6:34 pm.
  • 003-061 6:34 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:34 pm to 6:35 pm.
  • 500-032 6:34 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:34 pm to 6:35 pm.
  • 500-033 6:35 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:35 pm and 6:38 pm.
  • 500-034 6:38 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:38 pm to 6:49 pm.
  • 003-189 8:14 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:14 pm.

All 43 conversations from May 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 500-035, May 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417177303). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/500-035 (accessed November 12, 2026).