Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 621 › Conversation 621-008
Nixon & Butterfield on Legislative strategy and Veto power
Thursday, November 18, 1971 · 6:01 PM–6:04 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to coordinate the presidential schedule and review pending legislative matters. The discussion centered on a memorandum from Clark MacGregor regarding key senators—James O. Eastland, John C. Stennis, and Russell B. Long—and evaluated the potential for a presidential veto. Additionally, the President addressed strategic communications involving Charles W. Colson and John B. Connally.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 168.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 4) · 60.0 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:09:33 into the tape and ends around 00:11:36.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On November 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:01 pm to 6:04 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 621-008 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 621-8
Date: November 18, 1971
Time: 6:01 pm - 6:04 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with an unknown person.
[Unintelligible]
The unknown person left and Alexander P. Butterfield entered at 6:01 pm.
The President's schedule
-Old Executive Office Building [EOB]
Pending legislation
-Note from Clark MacGregor
-James O. Eastland
-John C. Stennis
-Russell B. Long
-Possible veto
-Charles W. Colson's conversation with John B. Connally
The President and Butterfield left at 6:04 pm.Also recorded on November 18, 1971
- 015-041 5:09 PM · 2 min — Donald H. Rumsfeld, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:09 pm and 5:16 pm.
- 015-042 5:09 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:09 pm and 5:16 pm.
- 015-044 5:16 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:16 pm to 5:17 pm.
- 015-045 5:30 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:30 pm and 5:57 pm.
- 015-049 5:55 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 7:16 pm.
- 015-046 5:57 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 5:57 pm to 5:58 pm.
- 015-047 6:04 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:04 pm and 6:56 pm.
- 621-009 6:04 PM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:04 pm and 11:59 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 621-008, November 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/621-008 (accessed October 1, 2026).