Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 617 › Conversation 617-021

Nixon & Butterfield

Friday, November 12, 1971 · 5:55 PM–6:03 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation617-021 on Tape 617 (tape position 03:42:01–03:42:08)StartFriday, November 12, 1971 at 5:55 PMEndFriday, November 12, 1971 at 6:03 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 617-021 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417179793 ↗

A 6-second recording. What it contains is described by the archivists' log below; no AI summary is shown for recordings this short.

Audio

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NARA Description

On November 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:03 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 617-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 617-21

Date: November 15, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:55 pm and 6:03 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President’s schedule
          -Meeting

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 6:03 pm.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Sir, I want to ask you a question.

Also recorded on November 12, 1971

  • 082-002 5:03 PM · 1 hr 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the National Security Council, including Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, William P. Rogers, Melvin R. Laird, Gen. George A. Lincoln, John N. Mitchell, John N. Irwin, II, Richard M. Helms, [Name withdrawn], Gen. John D. Ryan, Ronald I. Spiers, Gerard C. Smith, Philip J. Farley, Spurgeon M. Keeny, Jr., John J. McCloy, Gen. Royal B. Allison, J. Graham Parsons, Paul H. Nitze, Col. Richard T. Kennedy, Dr. K. Wayne Smith, Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfedlt, Henry A. Kissinger, Gen. Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Gardiner L. Tucker, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 617-008 5:03 PM · 16 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 617-019 5:55 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 5:55 pm.
  • 617-020 5:55 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 5:55 pm.
  • 617-022 5:55 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:03 pm.
  • 617-023 6:03 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, Hugh Scott, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:03 pm to 6:19 pm.
  • 617-024 6:20 PM · 33 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:20 pm to 6:55 pm.
  • 617-009 6:22 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William P. Rogers, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, Alexander P. Butterfield, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:22 pm to 6:37 pm.

All 64 conversations from November 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 617-021, November 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417179793). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/617-021 (accessed November 2, 2026).