Alexander Butterfield, Nixon's Key Aide Who Unveiled Watergate Tapes, Passes Away at 99

WASHINGTON — Alexander Butterfield, the White House aide whose disclosure of Richard Nixon’s secret Oval Office recordings played a pivotal role in the president's downfall, has passed away at the age of 99.

His wife, Kim, along with John Dean, who served as Nixon’s White House counsel during the Watergate scandal, confirmed his death. Dean, who worked alongside Butterfield to expose the administration's misconduct, reflected on Butterfield’s significant burden. “He had the heavy responsibility of revealing something he was sworn to secrecy on, which is the installation of the Nixon taping system,” Dean stated. “He stood up and told the truth.”

In his role as deputy assistant to the president, Butterfield managed a sophisticated taping system that included voice-activated devices hidden in four key locations, notably Nixon’s office and Camp David. He later indicated that only a select few, including White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman and a handful of Secret Service agents, were aware of this clandestine operation.

“Everything was taped … as long as the president was in attendance,” Butterfield testified under oath during preliminary investigations into Watergate.

The tapes would ultimately reveal Nixon’s involvement in the cover-up following the infamous 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Facing imminent impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, shortly after the Supreme Court mandated he release the tapes to investigators.

Butterfield expressed mixed feelings about his role in Nixon’s fate. “I didn’t like to be the cause of that, but I felt that I was, in a lot of ways,” he recounted in a 2008 oral history for the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

A college acquaintance of Haldeman from UCLA, Butterfield joined Nixon’s administration as deputy assistant from 1969 until 1973. His responsibilities included serving as secretary to the Cabinet and overseeing various White House operations.

After leaving the White House to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, Butterfield was questioned by Senate committee staffers on July 13, 1973. This inquiry was sparked by Dean’s earlier testimony suggesting that a conversation with Nixon might have been recorded.