White House tapes
The White House tapes are audio recording made of Presidential conversations for historic or political purposes. With limited exceptions such recordings are the property of the federal government and are treated as federal records which the United States archives make available at Presidential libraries.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first President to record conversations in 1940.[1]
Richard Nixon had a recording system installed in February 1971. A sound-activated taping system was first installed in the Oval Office, including in Nixon's Oval Office desk, using Sony TC-800B open-reel tape recorders[2] to capture audio transmitted by telephone taps and concealed microphones.[3] The system was subsequently expanded to include other rooms within the White House and Camp David.[3] The recording system was turned off on July 18, 1973, two days after it was disclosed at the Senate Watergate Committee hearings.[3] Nixon's refusal of a congressional subpoena to release the tapes was included as a basis for impeaching Nixon, and led to his subsequent resignation on August 9, 1974.[4]
References
- â Bennetts, Leslie. "SECRET OVAL OFFICE RECORDINGS BY ROOSEVE LT IN '40 DISCLOSED", January 14, 1982. Retrieved on May 12, 2017.Â
- â Nixon White House Tape Recorders. Retrieved on May 12, 2017.
- â 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Nixon White House Tapes", 2016-08-15.Â
- â Nixon impeachment articles. Retrieved on May 12, 2017.