According to technical experts consulted by TIME, the 18 minutes of steady tone overriding conversation on a presidential recording raises the possibility that the noise was introduced during an attempt to erase or re-record on that portion of the tape.
Prime authority for that hypothesis is a Government electronics expert and "wireman" who has carried out bugging and tapping operations for a federal agency. Familiar with the White House recording equipment, he told TIME that the tone could not have been accidentally picked up on the tape while it was being played back for...