Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 763 › Conversation 763-018
Nixon & Butterfield on Camp David and White House Staffing
Monday, August 7, 1972 · 2:48 PM–3:01 PM ET · Oval Office ·10 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Alexander Butterfield met to curate the attendee list for an upcoming dinner at Camp David, emphasizing a desire to keep the group small and focused by excluding staff who had already heard recent presentations. The President expressed a preference for maintaining exclusive, hard-working meetings rather than large social gatherings that might dilute the impact of discussions. They also reviewed logistics for a forthcoming meeting with Virginia legislators, including plans for individual photographs, a White House tour, and the selection of appropriate, cost-effective gifts for the guests.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On August 7, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:48 pm and 3:01 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 763-018 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No.763-18
Date: August 7, 1972
Time: Unknown between 2:48 pm and 3:01 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.
The President’s schedule
-Dinner at Camp David, August 8, 1972
-Maurice Stans, Clark MacGregor
-H.R. “(Bob”) Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman
-Peter M. Flanigan, William E. Timmons
-Herbert G. Klein, Ronald L. Ziegler
-Raymond K. Price, JR.
-Robert J. Brown
-Charles W. Colson
-Harry S. Dent
-Brown
-Price
-Cabinet meeting
-Robert J. Dole
-Robert H. Finch
-Melvin R. Laird
-Ehrlichman, Flanigan, Henry A. Kissinger
-Haldeman
-Frederic V. Malek, Jeb Stuart Magruder, Kenneth S.
-Rietz
-Cabinet
-MacGregor, Stans, John N. Mitchell
-Dent
-Colson
-Brown
-Butterfield
-Price
-Minutes of the meeting
-Butterfield
-Klein
45
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Nov-03)
-Cabinet
-Ziegler
-Ehrlichman, Klein, Price
-Malek, Magruder, Rietz
-Butterfield
-Brown
-Colson
-Dole
-Keneth R. Cole, Jr.
-Ehrlichman
-Cabinet meetings
-Nature of dinner
-Cabinet
-Butterfield's role
-Finch
-Donald H. Rumsfeld
-Elliot L. Richardson
-Possible meeting with [Boris V. Petrovsky]
-Bryce N. Harlow
-Cole
-Ehrlichman
-Alternate dining facilities
-Forthcoming meetings
-Butterfield’s review of possible attendees
-Klein
-Ziegler
-Moore
-John A. Scali
-Klein
-Virginia legislators
-Colson
-Flanigan
-Butterfield's conversation with Haldeman
-Colson
-Flanigan
-Ambassadorships
-International trade policy
-Kissinger's staff
46
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Nov-03)
Stephen B. Bull entered and Butterfield left at an unknown time before 3:01 pm.
The President’s schedule
-Forthcoming meeting with Virginia legislators
-Number of attendees
-Photographs
-Mills E. Godwin
-Introductions
-Tour of White House
-Charles [Last name unknown]
-Gifts
-Cufflinks
-Bow pins
-Watches
-CostAlso recorded on August 7, 1972
- 362-010 1:22 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:22 pm and 3:01 pm.
- 362-011 1:22 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:22 pm and 3:01 pm.
- 763-019 3:01 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Virginia Democratic leaders, including Leslie D. Campbell, Jr., Warren Davis, William M. Dudley, Walther B. Fidler, Calvin W. Fowler, Elmon T. Gray, Frederick T. Gray, Charles W. Gunn, Jr., Edward E. Lane, Paul W. Manns, George N. McMath, B.R. Middleton, William F. Parkerson, Jr., Lacy E. Putney, Randall O. Reynolds, Eleanor P. Sheppard, D. French Slaughter, Jr., W. Roy Smith, Edward E. Willey, J. D. Stetson Coleman, John O. Marsh, Jr., J. Smith Ferebee, Richard T. Short, James F. Olmsted, Richard D. Obenshain, Thomas R. Glass, Fitzgerald Bemiss, Mills E. Godwin, Russell M. Carneal, Robert B. Ball, Sr., and Herbert Bateman, as well as Stephen B. Bull, Herbert Bateman, as well as the White House photographer, met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:01 pm to 3:45 pm.
- 763-020 3:45 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:45 pm and 3:46 pm.
- 763-021 3:46 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Otto E. Passman, and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:46 pm to 3:51 pm.
- 763-023 3:51 PM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Peter M. Flanigan, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:51 pm to 4:12 pm.
- 763-024 4:12 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 4:13 pm.
- 763-025 4:13 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:13 pm to 4:25 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 763-018, August 7, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/763-018 (accessed September 18, 2026).