Stretching Art and Tradition

Artist: Meggan Czapigga

On July 16, 1973 White House aide Alexander Butterfield shocked the Senate Watergate Committee with his revelation of a secret recording system in the White House. Butterfield reveals that since 1971, President Nixon has been recording every conversation and telephone call in the Oval Office; it was possible to concretely verify what the president said, and when he said it. It was a pivotal moment in the unfolding Watergate scandal. Only a few White House employees had ever been aware that this system existed. According to his memoirs, Chief of Staff Alexander Haig ordered the removal of the taping system after viewing Butterfield's testimony. The system was removed July 18, 1973.

© 2015 Meggan Czapigga