remarks, if i may. i m sorry. go right ahead. although i do not have a statement as such i would simply like to remind the committee membership that whereas i appear voluntarily this afternoon, i appear with only some three hours notice. i wanted them to know i was enjoying a haircut just at 11:00 today. mr. butterfield, are you aware of installation of listening devices in the oval office of the president? i tried to think is that direct? yeah, that s direct. that s a very direct question. i m not trying to sound dramatic here, but i knew then that the jig was up. i was aware of listening devices. yes, sir. i was under the assumption that this tape recording system was still deep, dark secret over
about, alex butterfield. deputy assistant. my first meeting with the president, my god. i can t tell it without acting. today, butterfield and the president nixon came out from behind his desk and looked tentative. he had no idea what to do. he began to gesture. no words came out. it s just this deep gutter all this is the president. i couldn t believe it. butterfield would play a crucial role in the investigation. he had knowledge of the secret taping system in the oval office. haldeman came to me. he said, the president wants a tape recording system. the secret service has a technical security division, electronics and communications guys. that s who i went to. the first thing, he indicated
i was aware of listening devices, yes, sir. i was under the assumption that this tape recording system was still deep dark secret over at the white house and well kept. think rose mary woods the secretary never knew about the tapes. henry kissinger never knew about the tapes. john ehrlichman never knew about the tapes. two people told me about it before it was public. i called bradley on a saturday night i believe and said nixon taped himself. what should we do? and ben said, oh, i wouldn t bust one on it. and it s kind of a b-plus story. okay. the boss says b-plus. i won t work on it. monday they called butterfield and i remember ben came by and knocked on my desk and said, okay, it s better than a b-plus. from that point on, of course, it s a fight for the tapes because they answer the
i was under the assumption that this tape recording system was still deep, dark secret over at the white house. that secret was well kept. when you stop and think, rosemary woods, his secretary, never knew about the tapes. henry kissinger, as close as henry was, never knew about the tapes. john ehrlichman never knew about the tapes. two people told me about it before it became public. i called bradley at home at 9:00 on a saturday night i believe and said nixon taped himself. what should we do? and ben said, i wouldn t bust one on it. and it s kind of a b-plus story. i thought, okay. the boss says b-plus. i won t work on it. i took sunday off and monday they called butterfield. i remember, ben came by and knocked on my desk and said, okay, it s better than a b-plus. from that point on, of course, it s a fight for the tapes because they answer the questions. am i telling the truth? is the president telling the truth? what else happened? you know. the prosecutors immediately subpoe
among them chief of staff bob haldeman and presidential adviser john ehrlichman would become the guardians of the clandestine activities. ehrlichman begins to monopolize more and more of their time. we know that because nixon had a secret tape recording system in the oval office. what s the dope on the watergate incident? there s nothing new. because i think the country doesn t give much of a [ bleep ] about it. and most people around the country think that this is routine, everybody s trying to bug everybody else. it s politics. the great thing about this is it is so totally [ bleep ] up and so badly done that nobody believes that we could have done it.