On November 6, 2014, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum released 193 days of former White House Chief of Staff, H.R. (Bob) Haldeman's diary online.

Release Information

Within these 193 diary entries, the Library will make available 296 segments previously closed for national security reasons, including 285 segments declassified in full. Topics covered include the Pentagon Papers, Vietnam negotiations, India-Pakistani War, Israel, and U.S. relations with the Soviet Union and China. The release covers entries in the diary beginning on December 12, 1970, through March 13, 1973. Online assets include MP3 and WAV audio files for each entry, a Portable Document Format (PDF) transcript to assist with listening and identifying previously withheld information, downloadable PDF index for searching across the transcripts, and a newly enhanced collection-level finding aid detailing in-depth the collection and its history over the past 40 years.

Listen to entries and explore the collection

The Haldeman Diaries

During the Nixon administration, Haldeman kept a handwritten diary from January 18, 1969, until December 2, 1970. In late 1970, he transitioned to dictating his entries on audiocassette. The diaries documented his daily activities, often with candor.

Bob Haldeman

Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman was a long-time aide to Richard Nixon, meeting Nixon during the Eisenhower years, and then serving in campaign capacities. After serving as campaign manager for the 1968 Presidential campaign, Haldeman became Assistant to the President and White House Chief of Staff. He was responsible for running the administrative functions in the White House. As a key figure in the Watergate cover-up, he resigned from the White House on April 30, 1973. He was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice in 1975 and served 18 months in prison. He then worked in real estate, published his biography, and began to edit his diaries. He died in 1993 shortly before the publishing of his edited diaries.

To learn more about the Haldeman Diaries collection please visit our "Questions and Answers" fact sheet.