Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 340 › Conversation 340-012
Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Media relations
Tuesday, June 6, 1972 · 9:21 AM–9:58 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss perceived anti-administration bias and propaganda in media coverage of the Vietnam War and Cambodia. Nixon characterizes reports by journalists such as Anthony Lewis and Selig Harrison as aligned with Communist interests and aimed at influencing the 1972 election. Consequently, the President directs his staff, specifically Charles Colson and Kenneth Clawson, to initiate efforts to discredit these reporters and expose their backgrounds.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 4.7 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 92.6 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 01:07:12 into the tape and ends around 01:20:04.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On June 6, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:21 am and 9:58 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 340-012 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 340-12
Date: June 6, 1972
Time: Unknown between 9:21 and 9:58 am
Location: Executive Office Building
The President dictated a memorandum to Henry A. Kissinger.
Vietnam
-Media and left-wing
-Tactics
-The President’s view
-South Vietnamese
-Cambodia
-Reporters
-The President’s view
-New York Times stories
-South Vietnam recession
-Cambodia
-Craig Whitney
-Anthony Lewis
-Reports from Hanoi
-The President’s view
-Selig Harrison
-Writing in Hanoi
-The President’s view
-Propoganda
-1972 election
-Statements from administration
-Cambodia
-Vietnam
-Efforts to discredit
-Harrison
-Lewis
-Charles W. Colson
-Kenneth W. Clawson
-Statement on Lewis’s background
-Administration liberals
-Possible statement on Harrison’s background
Copies of memorandum
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Colson
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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7m 50s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
*****************************************************************Also recorded on June 6, 1972
- 340-007 9:20 AM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and David C. Hoopes met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:20 am to 9:21 am.
- 025-008 9:21 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:21 am and 9:58 am.
- 340-008 9:21 AM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:21 am and 9:58 am.
- 340-009 9:21 AM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:21 am and 9:58 am.
- 340-010 9:21 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:21 am and 9:58 am.
- 340-011 9:21 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:21 am and 9:58 am.
- 340-013 9:21 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:21 am and 9:58 am.
- 340-014 9:21 AM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:21 am and 9:58 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 340-012, June 6, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/340-012 (accessed October 9, 2026).