{"conversationCode":"237-040","tapeNumber":237,"conversationNumber":40,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-237-040","startDateTime":"1972-12-30T00:02:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-12-30T00:04:00.000Z","startDate":"29-Dec-1972","startTime":"7:02 PM","endDate":"29-Dec-1972","endTime":"7:04 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Johnson, U. Alexis;","description":"On December 29, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and U. Alexis Johnson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 7:02 pm to 7:04 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 237-040 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"CDHW","recordingDevice":"Camp David Hard Wire","latitudeEstimated":39.648333,"longitudeEstimated":-77.465,"chronCode":"5.2","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part II","chronReleaseDate":"2-Dec-2008","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 237-40\n\nDate: December 29, 1972\nTime: 7:02 pm - 7:04 pm\nLocation: Camp David Hard Wire\n\nThe President talked with U. Alexis Johnson.\n\n[See Conversation No. 158-32]","filename":["237-040.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Johnson, U. Alexis"],"prevCode":"237-039","nextCode":"237-041","transcript":[{"start":5.09,"end":34.29,"text":"Yeah, as a matter of fact,"},{"start":34.76,"end":45.41,"text":"I called, as a matter of fact, I told Warren today, if he was there, that I'd been in touch with Ron Phil, which I have."},{"start":45.44,"end":51.66,"text":"I talked to him on the phone three or four days ago, and he'll be fine."},{"start":51.68,"end":60.72,"text":"But, uh, right, good, go ahead."},{"start":60.74,"end":60.94,"text":"All right."},{"start":80.49,"end":87.8,"text":"That's good."},{"start":87.96,"end":89.72,"text":"That's good."},{"start":89.75,"end":91.41,"text":"That's good."},{"start":91.57,"end":92.07,"text":"Fine."},{"start":92.35,"end":106.01,"text":"It's the only safe way because otherwise, otherwise it's going to break all over the place."},{"start":106.03,"end":106.15,"text":"Right."},{"start":106.17,"end":106.45,"text":"That's right."},{"start":106.47,"end":106.71,"text":"That's good."},{"start":106.73,"end":106.97,"text":"That's good."},{"start":110.71,"end":119.33,"text":"Well, right."},{"start":119.64,"end":120.47,"text":"Yes."},{"start":121.87,"end":128.68,"text":"Well, it's a pretty rough Christmas, isn't it?"},{"start":129.48,"end":132.96,"text":"But I, you know, it was no decision."},{"start":133.68,"end":135.66,"text":"It was much harder than me, you know, because then we had an invasion."},{"start":135.69,"end":136.73,"text":"Now we only had a breakdown of negotiations."},{"start":136.75,"end":138.09,"text":"But I don't know any other things we could have done."},{"start":144.36,"end":157.19,"text":"Yes, they have."},{"start":157.21,"end":157.47,"text":"That's right."},{"start":157.49,"end":157.69,"text":"Very good."},{"start":159.33,"end":159.45,"text":"Right."},{"start":160.76,"end":161.34,"text":"Right."},{"start":161.36,"end":162,"text":"Good."},{"start":162.02,"end":162.54,"text":"Good."},{"start":162.56,"end":163.14,"text":"Fine, Alex."},{"start":163.16,"end":163.5,"text":"Fine."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and U. Alexis Johnson briefly conferred regarding the status of sensitive diplomatic negotiations and communications following a period of intense conflict. Nixon expressed that the recent breakdown in talks left him with no alternative course of action, framing the situation as a necessary challenge compared to previous wartime escalations. The discussion focused on maintaining operational security to prevent information leaks, with Nixon confirming his personal involvement in managing key contacts.","topics":["Diplomatic negotiations","Vietnam War","Operational security","Foreign policy","Communication management"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T11:19:53.975Z"},"topicSlugs":["diplomatic-negotiations","vietnam-war","operational-security","foreign-policy","communication-management"],"audioDurationSec":171,"audioFiles":[{"file":"237-040.mp3","bytes":4102023,"durationSec":170.79,"bitrate":192147,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:36.205Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/237-040.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/237-040","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/237/conversation-237-040","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}