Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 190 › Conversation 190-017

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Presidential decision-making

Wednesday, May 17, 1972 · 7:59 AM–8:05 AM ET · Camp David Hard Wire

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation190-017 on Tape 190 (tape position 01:00:17–01:03:49)StartWednesday, May 17, 1972 at 7:59 AMEndWednesday, May 17, 1972 at 8:05 AMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 190-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman met at the Aspen Lodge in Camp David to discuss matters of state, though the specific details of their dialogue remain classified or excised from the record. Due to significant discontinuities and the withdrawal of materials from the official archival transcript, the precise nature of the decisions reached during this brief morning session is not publicly available. The exchange serves as a record of high-level deliberation between the President and his Chief of Staff during a period of intense administration activity.

Audio

Download MP3 · 106.1 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:00:17 into the tape and ends around 01:03:49.

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On May 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:59 am and 8:05 am. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 190-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 190-17

Date: May 18, 1972
Time: Between 7:59 and 8:05 am
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

[Discontinuities appear in the original recording]

[See Conversation No. 131-23; two items have been withdrawn from this conversation]

Also recorded on May 17, 1972

  • 131-021 7:46 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at 7:46 am.
  • 190-013 7:46 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at 7:46 am.
  • 131-022 7:50 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at 7:50 am.
  • 190-014 7:50 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at 7:50 am.
  • 190-015 7:50 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:50 am and 7:59 am.
  • 190-016 7:50 AM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:50 am and 7:59 am.
  • 190-018 8:05 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 8:44 am.
  • 190-019 8:05 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 8:44 am.

All 63 conversations from May 17, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 190-017, May 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/190-017 (accessed September 18, 2026).