Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 556 › Conversation 556-006

Nixon & Butterfield on Council on Environmental Quality and John C. Whitaker

Friday, August 6, 1971 · 12:02 PM–12:06 PM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation556-006 on Tape 556 (tape position 01:47:30–01:48:38)StartFriday, August 6, 1971 at 12:02 PMEndFriday, August 6, 1971 at 12:06 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 556-006 ↗

President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to review the logistics of an upcoming signing ceremony for the Council on Environmental Quality report. They discussed the expected attendance, including John C. Whitaker, and the management of press involvement for the event. This discussion served to finalize the President's schedule and administrative preparations for the ceremony.

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Position in tape: 01:47:30 – 01:48:38

part A, 1:47:28

556a.mp3
556b.mp3

On August 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:06 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 556-006 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 556-6

Date: August 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:02 pm and 12:06 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     President’s schedule
          -Forthcoming meeting
                -[Signing ceremony of the report of the Council on Environment Quality]
                      -Attendees
                           -Number
                           -John C. Whitaker
                           -Press

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 12:06 pm.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Oh, yeah.
  • 556-007 12:02 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:06 pm.
  • 007-064 12:06 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:06 pm.
  • 007-065 12:06 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:06 pm.
  • 556-008 12:06 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:06 pm.
  • 556-009 12:06 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John C. Whitaker, Russell E. Train, Robert Cahn, Gordon J. F. MacDonald, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:06 pm to 12:13 pm.
  • 556-010 12:13 PM · 52 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:13 pm and 12:15 pm.
  • 556-011 12:13 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:13 pm and 12:15 pm.
  • 556-012 12:15 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:15 pm to 12:16 pm.

Conversation 556-006, August 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/556-006 (accessed November 2, 2026).