Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 705 › Conversation 705-004

Nixon & Butterfield on James F. Byrnes and Public Relations

Monday, April 10, 1972 · 11:30 AM–11:33 AM ET · Oval Office · 51 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation705-004 on Tape 705 (tape position 02:17:31–02:20:45)StartMonday, April 10, 1972 at 11:30 AMEndMonday, April 10, 1972 at 11:33 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 705-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to review and finalize a formal statement regarding the death of former Supreme Court Justice and Secretary of State James F. Byrnes. The discussion focused on the President's personal oversight of the document's language prior to its official release to the press. The meeting concluded once the statement was prepared for dissemination.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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About to go, this Timmy Burns statement, would you like to look at it first?
I got it.
Well, we told the press about it.
This is a formal statement.

NARA Description

On April 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:30 am to 11:33 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 705-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 705-4

Date: April 10, 1972
Time: 11:30 am - 11:33 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     Statement on the death of James F. Byrnes
          -The President's review
          -Release to press
          -Formal statement
Butterfield left at 11:33 am.

Also recorded on April 10, 1972

  • 705-005 11:33 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:33 am and 11:41 am.
  • 705-006 11:33 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:33 am and 11:41 am.
  • 705-007 11:41 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:41 am to 11:44 am.
  • 705-008 11:44 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:44 am and 11:45 am.
  • 705-009 11:45 AM · 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William J. Porter, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:45 am to 12:23 pm.
  • 705-010 12:23 PM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:23 pm and 12:25 pm.
  • 705-011 12:25 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert W. Barker, Arch N. Booth, William N. Burch, George Champion, Jr., Mary Pillsbury Lord, James P. Low, Leonard H. Marks, Herbert E. Marks, J. Willard Marriott, Alice (Sheets) Marriott, William J. McManus, Charles S. O???Malley, Jr., A. Pollard Simons, Katherine (Merrill) Swim, Walter E. Washington, C. Robert Yeager, John P. Cosgrove, John B. Kelly, Jr., David C. Hoopes, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:25 pm to 12:38 pm.
  • 705-012 12:38 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:38 pm and 12:44 pm.

All 36 conversations from April 10, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 705-004, April 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/705-004 (accessed October 1, 2026).