Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 718 › Conversation 718-006

Nixon & Butterfield on J. Edgar Hoover and Funeral arrangements

Wednesday, May 3, 1972 · 10:54 AM–10:56 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation718-006 onTape 718 (tape position 01:02:17–01:04:49)StartWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 10:54 AMEndWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 10:56 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 718-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to coordinate the scheduling of J. Edgar Hoover’s funeral services. They specifically discussed the timing of the funeral in relation to the President’s other standing speaking commitments. The brief discussion focused on ensuring the funeral arrangements could be accommodated within the President's existing calendar.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 60.1 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 01:02:17 into the tape and ends around 01:04:49.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

1:02:36They have to do something.

1:02:37They have to.

1:02:37I could do them, you know, do them for a half hour in the afternoon or something like that.

1:02:44My work's working out so it's done in the afternoon.

1:02:50It's 11 o'clock.

1:04:41I know when you're there, it's the 21st, but what's the date of the meeting?

NARA Description

On May 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:54 am to 10:56 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 718-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 718-6

Date: May 3, 1972
Time: 10:54 am - 10:56 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

                                          (rev. Dec-01)

     The President’s schedule
          -J. Edgar Hoover
                -Funeral
                      -Timing
                           -Compared with another scheduled speech
                      -Time

Butterfield left at 10:56 am.

Also recorded on May 3, 1972

718-002 10:06 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:06 am to 10:19 am.
718-003 10:19 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:19 am and 10:20 am.
718-004 10:20 AM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:20 am to 10:50 am.
718-005 10:50 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:50 am and 10:54 am.
718-007 10:56 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 10:59 am.
718-008 10:56 AM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 10:59 am.
718-009 10:59 AM · 1 hr 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:59 am to 12:11 pm.
718-010 12:14 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:14 pm and 12:18 pm.

All 63 conversations from May 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 718-006, May 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/718-006 (accessed September 18, 2026).