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    "label": "Butterfield Interview Summary",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Butterfield Interview Summary",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4492758",
    "collections": [
        "Alexander P. Butterfield Papers",
        "Alexander Butterfield Interview Notes and Transcript"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Watergate Affair, 1972-1974",
        "Governmental investigations"
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        "logicalDate": "1973-07-31",
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    "seq": 1,
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    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0187/648225/4492758.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 1, folder \"Interview Summary or Addendum\" of\nthe Alexander P. Butterfield Papers, 1973 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald R. Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nDigitized from Box 1 of the Alexander P. Butterfield Papers, 1973 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nINTERVIEW\nATTACHED IS ADDENDUM TO\nINTERVIEW OF\nALEXANDER P. BUTTERFIELD\nGERALD\n&\nLIBRARY FORD\nInterview with Alexander P. Butterfield on July 13, 1973 at 2:15 PM\nat G334, New Senate Office Building\nby Gene Boyce, Don Sanders, Scott Armstrong (M. Brazer also present)\nDictated 7-13-73\nTranscribed C\n7-13-73\nby Marianne\nPage l of\npages.\nADDENDUM\nALEXANDER P. BUTTERFIELD\nDuring the course of the interview, Mr.\nButterfield was shown a White House log of conversa-\ntions between the President and Mr. Dean (indicating\nthe date and substance of conversation). Butterfield\nalso recalled that Dean indicated during his testimony\nbefore our Hearings that he (Dean) had the impression\nthat he was being taped during his conversations in the\nOval Office.\nButterfield then stated, \"There is tape in\nthe Oval Office. This tape is maintained by the Secret\nService, and only four (4) Secret Service Men know\nabout it.\", \",\nThe system was installed about 2 1/2 years\nago ---- at the 18 month point of Nixon's term ---- \"the\nPresident is very history oriented about the role he is\ngoing to play, and is not subtle about it.\"\nBUTTERFIELD/ADDENDUM\nPage 2\nButterfield stated that \"Higby came to me\nand said the President wants you (Butterfield) to get\ntogether with the Secret Service and have the Oval\nOffice, the Cabinet Room, and the EOB set up for\ntapes. I got the Technical Security Division\nthey said okay. 11 The system was installed on a week-\nend when the President was out of town.\nButterfield stated that the only people\nwho knew of this system were: himself, the President,\nHaldeman, Higby, Wong (in charge of the Technical\nSecurity Division at this time), Zoomwalt (Secret Ser-\nvice man), the Secret Service telephone specialist\n(name cannot recall), Mary Sidley (Butterfield's secre-\nGERALD\ntary, whom he told one day long after the system was\nLISTATA\n'y\nFORD\ninstalled, reason was due to circumstances), and Lou\nSims (replaced Wong at TSD). Butterfield stated that\nhe feels certain that Dean suspected there was a taping\nsystem, could not document who would have told Dean\nabout it, but in Butterfield's \"own mind, it might have been\nHigby. \"\nBUTTERFIELD/ADDENDUM\nPage 3\nThe locator system in the White House is\noperated by the Secret Service. Whenever the President\nenters a room, the Secret Service man turns on the switch\nin this room which activates a locator light panel on the\ndesks of Haldeman, Butterfield and Bull (in this way it\nis known exactly where the President is).\nThe master tape system is located in the\nbasement under the White House. The taping units are\nlocated in the Oval Office (room and telephone), the EOB\ninner office (room), the Cabinet Room (room), the\nLincoln Room (telephone), Camp David (telephone/\nPresidential Study AKA Aspen Room).\nTaping in the Oval Office activated by the\nlocator system, the taping itself triggered by sound.\nMikes were located under the President's desk, on the\nmantel. There is no manual cut off switch in the Oval\nOffice.\nTaping in the Cabinet Room can be activated\nin two ways: 1) by the switches under the table of such room,\nand 2) by a push button on Butterfield's phone. The taping in\nBUTTERFIELD/ADDENDUM\nPage 4\nthe Cabinet Room could be cut off if desired. For example,\nthe President has had Cabinet Meetings and did not want\nanyone present (including Haldeman), \"this was not taped,\nas I (Butterfield) was sure that the President did not want\nthis taped. 11\nWith respect to Camp David, the tape unit\nwas placed in the phone in the President's own study\n(AKA Aspen Room). The Secret Service has been con-\ncerned about this because of State visitors lodging there.\nTaping equipment is basically simple, and in the phone,\nand it is possible that the Secret Service have it removed\nin the event of invited guests.\nButterfield stated that the quality of sound\nGERALD\nis good on the Oval Office and EOP Office tapes; however,\ny\nTIREST\nFORD\nthose taped in the Cabinet Room are poor (sometimes inaudible)\nWith respect to the results of the tapes,\nButterfield stated that the Secret Service changed the\ntapes at least once a day --- this was Zoomwald's responsi-\nbility. The tapes were taken off, dated, and placed in storage.\nThe tapes are stored in various security areas of the White House.\nBUTTERFIELD/ADDENDUM\nPAGE :5\nButterfield is aware of one storage area which is located\nin the main corridor back of the stairs in a small \"broom\ncloset\"; an iron gate was installed for security purposes.\nThe tapes have been made and stored, there\nhas been no transcription; to Butterfield's knowledge, the\nPresident has never requested a tape be brought to him,\nnor has he inquired of them. The plan had been that four\nor five trustworthy people would be employed to do nothing\nbut transcribe the tapes, and this material would be filed\nat the Archives. This has never been initiated.\nWith respect to the Oval Office, Butterfield\nstated that the President never requested that the Secret\nService not use the locator system which would activate the\ntapes.\nButterfield stated that he had heard that LBJ\nhad a lot of things recorded during the Johnson Administra-\ntion\nButterfield also said that the Secret Service indi-\ncated that they played this tape game before.\nButterfield stated that the above information\nwas not revealed to the Special Prosecutors as \"they did\nnot ask anything related to this. 11\nBUTTERFIELD/ADDENDUM\nPage 6\nDuring a recent phone conversation with\nHaig, Haldeman's replacement, Butterfield mentioned\nthe system. Haig interrupted and said \"I know, I know\nabout that. 11 Butterfield assumes that Higby, Haldeman\nor possibly the President informed him of this taping\nsystem.\nButterfield stated \"This is all something\nI know the President did not want revealed, but you\nasked me, and I feel it is something you ought to know\nabout in your investigations. I was told no one was to\nGERALD\nknow about the information I have told you. \"\nd\nLIBRARY\nFORD\nORIGINAL RETIRED TO\nSPECIAL DOCUMENTS FILE\nAn Addendum to the interview of\nAlexander P. Butterfield, on July 13,\n1973 at 2:15 PM at G 334, New Senate\nOffice Building, Washington, DC.\nFORD LIBRARY GREATO\nORIGINAL RETIRED TO\nSPECIAL DOCUMENTS FILE"
}