Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 237 › Conversation 237-020

Nixon phone call with Kennedy on Security and Confidentiality

Friday, December 29, 1972 · 12:08 PM–12:09 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 1 min

ParticipantsKennedy, Richard T. (Col.); Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation237-020 on Tape 237StartFriday, December 29, 1972 at 12:08 PMEndFriday, December 29, 1972 at 12:09 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 237-020 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consults with Colonel Richard T. Kennedy regarding the logistical arrangements for an upcoming meeting. The President instructs Kennedy to limit the number of attendees to ensure discretion and emphasizes the need for a controlled approach when discussing potential points of contact. The conversation concludes with a directive for the participants to travel to the President's location.

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 29, 1972, Col. Richard T. Kennedy and President Richard M. Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 12:08 pm to 12:09 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 237-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 237-20

Date: December 29, 1972
Time: 12:08 pm - 12:09 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

Col. Richard T. Kennedy talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 158-16]

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

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Yeah.
Yeah.
Hello.
Yeah, hi.
All right.
All right.
All right.
And, uh... Yeah, yeah.
That's right.
Just flip over.
Come on up.
Come on up.
And, uh...
So that he can at least when he's asked if he's been in contact with me, that's another thing too, because he's a discreet way of handling that side of it too.
And let me ask you to do this so you can get a hold of... Oh, not necessarily anybody else, but I think it's best just the two of you come.
Okay.

Also recorded on December 29, 1972

  • 158-014 11:59 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:59 am and 12:01 pm.
  • 158-015 12:01 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at Camp David from 12:01 pm to 12:08 pm.
  • 237-019 12:01 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 12:01 pm to 12:08 pm.
  • 158-016 12:08 PM · 1 min — Col. Richard T. Kennedy and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at Camp David from 12:08 pm to 12:09 pm.
  • 158-017 12:09 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:09 pm and 12:13 pm.
  • 237-021 12:09 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:09 pm and 12:13 pm.
  • 158-018 12:13 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 12:13 pm to 12:37 pm.
  • 237-022 12:13 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 12:13 pm to 12:37 pm.

All 63 conversations from December 29, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 237-020, December 29, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/237-020 (accessed November 8, 2026).