Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 657 › Conversation 657-002
Butterfield on White House logistics and Oval Office operations
Wednesday, January 26, 1972 · 6:17 PM–11:59 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
Alexander P. Butterfield met with unidentified individuals in the Oval Office to discuss the President's schedule and physical location. Due to the unintelligible nature of the recording, no specific administrative decisions or substantive developments can be confirmed. The brief interaction serves primarily as an administrative record of movement logistics regarding the President's presence.
Audio
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 01:11:57 into the tape and ends around 01:13:11.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On January 26, 1972, Alexander P. Butterfield and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:17 pm and 11:59 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 657-002 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 657-2
Date: January 26, 1972
Time: Unknown between 6:17 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Oval Office
Alexander P. Butterfield me with unknown people.
[Unintelligible]
The President’s location
[Unintelligible]
Butterfield and the unknown people left at an unknown time before 11:59 pm.Also recorded on January 26, 1972
- 019-118 4:23 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George W. Romney, and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 4:23 pm to 4:24 pm.
- 318-007 4:23 PM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George W. Romney, George P. Shultz, John B. Connally, White House operator, Peter M. Flanigan, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:23 pm to 5:01 pm.
- 019-119 4:36 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 4:36 pm to 4:42 pm.
- 019-120 4:42 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:42 pm and 4:47 pm.
- 019-121 4:47 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Peter M. Flanigan talked on the telephone from 4:47 pm to 4:48 pm.
- 657-001 5:05 PM · 1 hr 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Page Belcher, White House photographer, White House operator, Clark MacGregor, Stephen B. Bull, Hyde H. Murray, Earl L. Butz, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:05 pm to 6:17 pm.
- 019-122 5:12 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:12 pm and 5:24 pm.
- 019-123 5:14 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 5:14 pm to 5:15 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 657-002, January 26, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/657-002 (accessed October 12, 2026).