{"conversationCode":"639-001","tapeNumber":639,"conversationNumber":1,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-639-001","startDateTime":"1971-12-18T17:37:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-12-18T17:42:00.000Z","startDate":"18-Dec-1971","startTime":"12:37 PM","endDate":"18-Dec-1971","endTime":"12:42 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.;","description":"On December 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 639-001 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":2,"chronRelease":"Second Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"26-Oct-2000","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 639-001\n\nDate: December 18, 1971\nTime: Unknown between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.\n\n     The President's schedule\n          -Press picture\n          -Butterfield's call to Ronald L. Ziegler\n\nButterfield left at an unknown time before 12:42 pm.","filename":["639-001.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:02:01","tapeEnd":"00:03:50","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Butterfield, Alexander P."],"prevCode":"638-014","nextCode":"639-002","transcript":[{"start":36.84,"end":37.26,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":38.08,"end":38.82,"text":"Hello, sir."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to coordinate administrative logistics regarding his official schedule. The discussion focused on arrangements for an upcoming press photo opportunity and a follow-up communication Butterfield was tasked to conduct with Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler. This interaction served to finalize brief scheduling adjustments required for the President's public engagements.","topics":["Presidential schedule","White House staff","Ronald Ziegler","Press relations","Administrative coordination"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T01:35:11.543Z"},"topicSlugs":["presidential-schedule","white-house-staff","ronald-ziegler","press-relations","administrative-coordination"],"audioDurationSec":42,"audioFiles":[{"file":"639-001.mp3","bytes":1685504,"durationSec":42.02,"bitrate":320893,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:54.662Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:11.547Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/639-001.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/639-001","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/639/conversation-639-001","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}