Alexander Butterfield, Watergate Tapes Revealer, Dies

Alexander Butterfield, the White House aide whose revelation of President Richard Nixon's secret taping system hastened Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal, has died at 99. Butterfield served as deputy assistant to Nixon from 1969 to 1973 and oversaw the voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office and other locations. His testimony in 1973 to Senate committee staffers, confirming the existence of the tapes, was a pivotal moment in the Watergate investigation. The tapes ultimately exposed Nixon's role in the cover-up of the 1972 burglary at the United States===Democratic National Committee headquarters, leading to his resignation in August 1974 to avoid impeachment. Butterfield later expressed mixed feelings about his role but believed justice had prevailed. He subsequently served as administrator of the United States===Federal Aviation Administration and worked as a business executive.