{"conversationCode":"188-012","tapeNumber":188,"conversationNumber":12,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-188-012","startDateTime":"1972-05-18T21:56:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-05-19T00:22:00.000Z","startDate":"18-May-1972","startTime":"5:56 PM","endDate":"18-May-1972","endTime":"8:22 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\");","description":"On May 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. (\"Bob\") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 5:56 pm and 8:22 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 188-012 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"CDHW","recordingDevice":"Camp David Hard Wire","latitudeEstimated":39.648333,"longitudeEstimated":-77.465,"chronCode":3,"chronRelease":"Third Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"28-Feb-2002","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 188-012\n\nDate: May 18, 1972\nTime: Unknown between 5:56 pm and 8:22 pm\nLocation: Camp David Hard Wire\n\nThe President dictated a memorandum to H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.\n\n     Criticism of the Administration\n           -Mining of Haiphong harbor editorials\n           -Smear books\n           -Staff response\n                 -A memorandum\n                       -Movies, books, pamphlets, columns\n                       -Statements by Senators and Congressmen\n                       -Possible use","filename":["188-012.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:41:56","tapeEnd":"00:44:01","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haldeman, H. R. (\"Bob\")"],"prevCode":"188-011","nextCode":"188-013","transcript":[{"start":11.74,"end":20.01,"text":"reading the materials on the landing."},{"start":21.06,"end":29.47,"text":"I know there's one that listed a number of the smear books that have come out against RN."},{"start":31.59,"end":40.37,"text":"I want somebody on the research staff with an understanding of this type of thing."},{"start":42.08,"end":70.69,"text":"to get up a chapter in verse, a story, a memorandum on how vicious the smears have been, including the movies, both pamphlets, and of course, column."},{"start":71.68,"end":76.34,"text":"You might also include some statements by senators in Congress."},{"start":76.36,"end":79.51,"text":"This could be very useful."},{"start":79.53,"end":89.66,"text":"For a speaker, if the going gets rough a little later, have somebody get on this project right away and scan the memorandum at the end of the tape."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon directed H. R. Haldeman to assign a research staffer to compile a comprehensive dossier documenting the various 'smear' campaigns launched against the administration. This memorandum was intended to catalog vicious attacks found in books, films, pamphlets, and political statements by members of Congress. Nixon envisioned this research as a strategic resource to be utilized by administration surrogates if political criticism intensified later in the year.","topics":["H. R. Haldeman","Administration strategy","Public relations","Political opposition","Research staff","Haiphong harbor mining"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T09:46:38.512Z"},"topicSlugs":["h-r-haldeman","administration-strategy","public-relations","political-opposition","research-staff","haiphong-harbor-mining"],"audioDurationSec":90,"audioFiles":[{"file":"188-012.mp3","bytes":3590060,"durationSec":89.62,"bitrate":320477,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:33.323Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:43:00.999Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/188-012.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/188-012","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/188/conversation-188-012","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}