Nixon Library Releases “New” Alexander Butterfield Papers
Press Release · Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Yorba Linda, CA

Yorba Linda, CA… The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, CA, released today 13,000 pages of official White House materials of Alexander Butterfield, former Deputy Assistant to President Nixon. The materials are available for research in the Nixon Library Research Room.  

“The National Archives has a continuing obligation to preserve and make available the official files of the Nixon administration,” states Library Director Michael D. Ellzey. “This acquisition and release brings important original documents into our collection for public use, ready for the thousands of researchers we assist each year.”

The materials in this release include coordinating the President’s schedule, the organization and reorganization of the White House Office, personnel, the U.S. Secret Service, and the budget. Subjects covered include Vietnam, Cambodia, Safeguard, My Lai, China, Nixon administration accomplishments, and even the type of wine served at White House functions. There are no materials in this release related to the White House taping system.

This newly acquired collection includes many original documents with the handwriting of President Nixon, Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and Butterfield himself.  Documents with handwritten notes by Nixon include a congratulatory telegram sent to the President in 1972 by Democratic Presidential candidate George McGovern. The collection also includes an original handwritten thank you letter to the President from future Ohio Governor John Kasich, a copy of which did not previously exist in the Library’s holdings.

A few of these records have been scanned and are available online at www.nixonlibrary.gov. The Library will continue to make additional records from this collection available online. For more information about this release and the Alexander Butterfield collection please see our “Questions and Answers” fact sheet.

About Alexander Butterfield

Alexander Porter Butterfield served as H. R. Haldeman’s deputy on the President’s personal staff as Deputy Assistant to the President, from 1969 through early 1973. Butterfield was chief administrative officer, responsible for final review of all memoranda, briefing papers, and correspondence going to the President, as well as the conduct of the President’s daily non-public activities. He also oversaw the installation and operation of the White House taping system. He lives in La Jolla, California.

About the Nixon Library’s New Alexander Butterfield Records Collection

In the fall of 2015, the National Archives staff learned of this collection upon the release of Bob Woodward’s publication The Last of the President’s Men. The National Archives has continuing authority under the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 (PRMPA) to preserve and make available Nixon Presidential historical materials. National Archives officials worked with Woodward and Butterfield and their respective attorneys to take possession of the materials and review them under that law.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is one of 14 Presidential Libraries operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. The Nixon Library and Museum is located at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd, Yorba Linda, CA, and is open year round with the exception of Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.  The Museum is fully handicapped accessible. For more information about museum visitor hours and researcher hours, call 714-983-9120 or go to www.nixonlibrary.gov.