American Experience (1988–…): Season 3, Episode 4 - Nixon: Part III - full transcript
Richard M. Nixon was one of American history's most powerful figures. Recalling events etched in U.S. memory, this three-hour program explores a fateful mix of strength and weakness that made him president, and then brought him down. Events revealing Nixon's distinctive signature in American politics, from a meteoric rise to Congress to the presidency and the morass of Watergate, unfold in three parts: The Quest, Triumph, and The Fall. This is the third of three parts.
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
Narrator:
MIAMI BEACH, AUGUST 1972.
TWO MONTHS AFTER
THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN,
A TRIUMPHANT RICHARD NIXON
TOOK COMMAND
AT THE REPUBLICAN
NATIONAL CONVENTION.
NARROWLY ELECTED
FOUR YEARS EARLIER,
NIXON NOW WANTED TO WIN
THE BIGGEST LANDSLIDE
IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY.
TONIGHT, I AGAIN PROUDLY
ACCEPT YOUR NOMINATION
FOR PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND LET US PLEDGE OURSELVES
TO WIN AN EVEN GREATER VICTORY
THIS NOVEMBER, IN 1972.
♪ VOTE NIXON NOW ♪
♪ NIXON NOW ♪
♪ HE'S MADE THE DIFFERENCE ♪
♪ HE'S SHOWN US HOW... ♪
Narrator:
NIXON'S CAMPAIGN AMASSED
HUGE SUMS OF MONEY.
SKILLFUL TELEVISION ADS
APPEALED TO DEMOCRATS,
BLUE COLLAR WORKERS,
THE SOUTH.
NIXON HAD ALWAYS CAMPAIGNED HARD
FOR OTHER REPUBLICANS.
NOW HE ABANDONED THEM,
EVEN DROPPED THE PARTY LABEL.
RICHARD NIXON CAMPAIGNED
AS "THE PRESIDENT."
YOU'RE GREAT.
THANK YOU,
YOU'RE GREAT.
Narrator:
AS THE PRESIDENT
PURSUED VICTORY,
THE WHITE HOUSE CONTINUED TO
DENY INVOLVEMENT IN WATERGATE.
A FEW REPORTERS FOLLOWED
THE STORY,
BUT MOST VOTERS DISMISSED
THE BREAK-IN
AS A "CAMPAIGN CAPER."
WATERGATE NEVER THREATENED
NIXON'S BIG WIN.
NIXON OVERWHELMED HIS DEMOCRATIC
RIVAL, SENATOR GEORGE McGOVERN.
HE CARRIED EVERY STATE
BUT MASSACHUSETTS.
BUT HIS VICTORY
WAS NOT COMPLETE.
THE DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION
RETAINED CONTROL
OF BOTH THE HOUSE
AND THE SENATE.
Man:
IT TURNED OUT TO BE
A LONELY LANDSLIDE.
HE MONOPOLIZED ALL OF
THE RESOURCES, ALL OF THE MONEY,
ALL OF THE POLITICAL TALENT
IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
AND ANYTHING ELSE
THAT HE COULD ANNEX
FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL VICTORY
AND DIDN'T SHARE THE WEALTH AND
THE OPPORTUNITY WITH HIS PARTY.
IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARILY
SELFISH VICTORY, IN MY VIEW.
Announcer:
WE ARE SHOWING
PRESIDENT NIXON...
Narrator:
ON ELECTION NIGHT,
NIXON WATCHED THE RETURNS
WITH TWO OF HIS CLOSEST AIDES...
CHIEF OF STAFF H.R. HALDEMAN
AND SPECIAL COUNSEL
CHUCK COLSON.
Colson:
AND I COULDN'T FEEL
ANY SENSE OF JUBILATION.
IT WAS JUST SORT OF
A VERY DEPRESSED ATMOSPHERE.
HERE WE WERE SUPPOSEDLY WINNING,
AND IT WAS MORE LIKE
WE'D LOST.
THE ATTITUDE WAS KIND OF,
"WELL, WE SHOWED THEM.
WE GOT EVEN WITH OUR ENEMIES
AND WE BEAT THEM."
INSTEAD OF "WE'VE BEEN GIVEN
A WONDERFUL MANDATE
TO RULE OVER
THE NEXT FOUR YEARS."
WE WERE REDUCED
TO OUR PETTY WORST
ON THE NIGHT OF WHAT SHOULD
HAVE BEEN OUR GREATEST TRIUMPH,
AND THAT'S INDICATIVE OF KIND OF
THE PARADOX OF THE NIXON YEARS.
"I'M AT A LOSS TO EXPLAIN
THE MELANCHOLY
THAT SETTLED OVER ME
ON THAT VICTORIOUS NIGHT,"
NIXON LATER WROTE.
"TO SOME EXTENT THE MARRING
EFFECTS OF WATERGATE
"MAY HAVE PLAYED A PART,
"TO SOME EXTENT OUR FAILURE
TO WIN CONGRESS,
"AND TO A GREATER EXTENT,
"THE FACT THAT WE HAD NOT BEEN
ABLE TO END THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
"WHATEVER THE REASONS,
"I ALLOWED MYSELF ONLY A FEW
MINUTES TO REFLECT ON THE PAST.
I WAS CONFIDENT THAT A NEW ERA
WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN."
Ehrlichman:
THE NEXT MORNING
AFTER THE ELECTION,
NIXON CAME IN THE CABINET ROOM...
THE CABINET, SOME OF THE WHITE
HOUSE STAFF WERE THERE.
EVERYBODY STOOD AND APPLAUDED,
AND HE SAT DOWN
AND IMMEDIATELY
WANTED TO GET DOWN TO WORK.
AND WORK WAS, "BY GOLLY, WE'RE
GOING TO CHANGE THIS GOVERNMENT.
"AND EVERYBODY'S GOING TO
GIVE ME HIS RESIGNATION.
"BOB HALDEMAN HERE WILL TELL YOU
WHAT I HAVE IN MIND
"WHERE THAT'S CONCERNED.
"I THANK YOU ALL
FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
YOU DID A WONDERFUL JOB;
I APPRECIATE IT."
AND HE GOT UP AND LEFT.
AND THEN HALDEMAN
GOT UP AND SAID,
"THE PRESIDENT WANTS
EVERYBODY'S RESIGNATION."
AND THIS HIT LIKE
A COLD SLAP IN THE FACE.
IT WASN'T INTENDED THAT WAY.
WHAT HE WANTED TO DO
WAS TO HAVE HIS SECOND
ADMINISTRATION START FRESH...
A FRESH BEGINNING.
Narrator:
NIXON LEFT WASHINGTON
AND FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS
REMAINED IN VIRTUAL ISOLATION.
Nixon:
ONE CONSTANTLY
HAS THE PROBLEM
OF EITHER GETTING
ON TOP OF THE JOB
OR HAVING THE JOB
GET ON TOP OF YOU.
I FIND THAT UP HERE
ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN
IT IS EASIER FOR ME
TO GET ON TOP OF THE JOB.
Broder:
THIS WAS A PERIOD
THAT IS SO NIXONIAN.
I MEAN, YOU COULD
JUST FOCUS ON THAT
AND SAY, "THIS IS
THE ESSENCE OF THE MAN."
INSTEAD OF SAVORING
THE VICTORY,
INSTEAD OF REACHING OUT
AND EMBRACING PEOPLE,
HE WITHDREW WITHIN HIMSELF.
Narrator:
ALONE ON HIS MOUNTAINTOP,
NIXON BROODED OVER THE ISSUE
THAT HAD HAUNTED HIS FIRST TERM
AND NOW THREATENED HIS SECOND...
THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
THE PARIS PEACE TALKS
WERE AGAIN STALLED.
REELECTED BY
AN OVERWHELMING MARGIN,
HE NOW RESOLVED TO USE
OVERWHELMING FORCE
TO BREAK THE DEADLOCK
ONCE AND FOR ALL.
IN DECEMBER, NIXON ORDERED
THE MOST INTENSIVE BOMBING
OF THE ENTIRE WAR.
IT BECAME KNOWN
AS "THE CHRISTMAS BOMBING."
THE RAIDS WENT ON FOR 12 DAYS.
IGNORING THE PLEAS
OF HIS CLOSEST AIDES,
NIXON GAVE NO PUBLIC EXPLANATION
FOR HIS ACTION.
Price:
HE THOUGHT IT WAS
DIPLOMATICALLY VITAL
THAT HE MAKE THIS LOOK AS COLD
AN OPERATION AS POSSIBLE
AND SO HE WOULD NOT EXPLAIN IT.
HE HELD HIMSELF APART UP ON
THE MOUNTAINTOP IN CAMP DAVID,
KNOWING HIS SILENCE WOULD
MAKE IT MORE EFFECTIVE.
Narrator:
THE NEW YORK TIMES DENOUNCED
WHAT IT CALLED NIXON'S
"STONE-AGE BARBARISM."
THE MASSIVE,
UNEXPLAINED DESTRUCTION
ALARMED EVEN
HIS LOYAL SUPPORTERS.
Interviewer:
YOU WERE QUOTED
RECENTLY AS SAYING
THAT THE PRESIDENT
HAD TAKEN LEAVE
OF HIS SENSES.
I FEEL THAT
HE'S DONE THINGS HERE
THAT A REASONABLE MAN
WOULD NOT HAVE DONE.
AND I CAN'T FIND
AN EXPLANATION FOR IT.
Narrator:
THE BOMBING STOPPED.
THE CONTROVERSY SUBSIDED.
AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER,
ALL SIDES RETURNED TO PARIS.
NIXON BELIEVED
THE CHRISTMAS BOMBING
HAD DRIVEN HANOI BACK
TO THE BARGAINING TABLE.
TWO WEEKS LATER,
IN A QUIET CEREMONY,
THEY SIGNED AN AGREEMENT.
NIXON'S CRITICS CHARGED
HE COULD HAVE HAD
THE SAME TERMS MONTHS BEFORE.
BUT AFTER 20 YEARS
OF AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT,
THE LOSS OF OVER
50,000 AMERICAN LIVES,
THE CONFLICT THAT HAD
TORN APART THE NATION
AT LONG LAST CAME TO A CLOSE.
Nixon:
A CEASE-FIRE WILL BEGIN
AT 7:00 P.M. THIS SATURDAY,
JANUARY 27, WASHINGTON TIME.
WITHIN 60 DAYS
FROM THIS SATURDAY
ALL AMERICANS HELD PRISONERS
OF WAR THROUGHOUT INDOCHINA
WILL BE RELEASED.
DURING THE SAME 60-DAY PERIOD
ALL AMERICAN FORCES WILL BE
WITHDRAWN FROM SOUTH VIETNAM.
Narrator:
IN VIETNAM, THE FIGHTING
LATER RESUMED
BUT IN AMERICA, THE WEARY TROOPS
AND THE PRISONERS OF WAR
WERE FINALLY COMING HOME.
Man:
I HAVE THREE WORDS FOR AMERICA...
GOD BLESS AMERICA.
Narrator:
H.R. HALDEMAN RECALLED
THAT THE DAY THE WAR ENDED
RICHARD NIXON HAD NEVER
LOOKED SO HAPPY.
HIS POPULARITY SOARED
TO THE HIGHEST POINT
OF HIS ENTIRE CAREER.
ALMOST 70% OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE SUPPORTED THE PRESIDENT.
IT WAS NOT TO LAST.
Narrator:
ONE MONTH BEFORE THE WATERGATE
BURGLARS WENT ON TRIAL,
A 737 CRASHED IN CHICAGO.
AMONG THE DEAD WAS DOROTHY HUNT,
WIFE OF WATERGATE BURGLAR
HOWARD HUNT.
HER PURSE, FOUND IN
THE WRECKAGE,
CONTAINED $10,000 IN CASH.
LATER IT WOULD BE REVEALED THAT
MRS. HUNT HAD ACTED AS A COURIER
DELIVERING MONEY DRAWN FROM
SECRET WHITE HOUSE FUNDS...
HUSH MONEY USED TO BUY
THE BURGLARS' SILENCE.
FROM THE MOMENT
THEY WERE CAUGHT,
THE BURGLARS LIED TO CONCEAL
THEIR TIES TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
QUESTIONED BY THE F.B.I.,
G. GORDON LIDDY,
WHO'D PLANNED THE BURGLARY,
AND JAMES McCORD,
FORMER C.I.A. AGENT WHO
HAD HELPED TO CARRY IT OUT,
INSISTED THEY HAD ACTED
ON THEIR OWN.
SO DID THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.
NIXON'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER
AND FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL
JOHN MITCHELL, WHO HAD
APPROVED THE BREAK-IN,
DENIED RESPONSIBILITY.
THE PRESIDENT'S CHIEF OF STAFF,
H.R. HALDEMAN,
AUTHORIZED HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS
TOTALLING MORE THAN $350,000.
THE PRESIDENT'S DOMESTIC
ADVISOR, JOHN EHRLICHMAN,
LIED TO THE F.B.I. AND GRAND
JURY INVESTIGATING THE BREAK-IN.
THE PRESIDENT'S COUNSEL,
JOHN DEAN, WITHHELD EVIDENCE,
COACHED WITNESSES, AND MONITORED
THE F.B.I. INVESTIGATION.
THE COVER-UP WAS HOLDING
BUT BY EARLY '73, IT WAS
CONSUMING THE TIME AND ATTENTION
OF NIXON'S CLOSEST AIDES,
HALDEMAN AND EHRLICHMAN.
BY FEBRUARY, JOHN DEAN HAD
ASSUMED MORE RESPONSIBILITY
FOR MANAGING THE COVER-UP.
HE BEGAN TO MEET FREQUENTLY
WITH THE PRESIDENT.
WHEN I FIRST STARTED DEALING
WITH THE PRESIDENT,
MY FIRST CONCERN WAS
WHETHER I SHOULD EVEN BE DEALING
WITH HIM ON THIS,
BECAUSE I FELT THAT
NOT ONLY HAD I BEEN COMPROMISED,
I THOUGHT HALDEMAN,
EHRLICHMAN, MITCHELL,
ALL OF US HAD, BECAUSE BY NOW,
I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE
A CRIMINAL LAWYER;
I KNEW WE WERE IN THE MIDST
OF SOMETHING BAD.
I MEAN, THIS IS A COVER-UP.
THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND.
Narrator:
NIXON NOTED IN HIS DIARY,
"I AM GLAD THAT I AM
TALKING TO DEAN NOW
"RATHER THAN GOING THROUGH
HALDEMAN OR EHRLICHMAN.
"I THINK I'VE MADE A MISTAKE
IN GOING THROUGH OTHERS
"WHEN THERE IS A MAN
WITH THE CAPABILITY OF DEAN
I CAN TALK TO DIRECTLY."
BOTH NIXON AND DEAN SENSED
GROWING DANGER
FROM CAPITOL HILL.
THE SENATE, UNDER
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP,
WAS FORMING A SPECIAL
WATERGATE COMMITTEE
TO INVESTIGATE THE BREAK-IN
AND THE CONDUCT OF NIXON'S
REELECTION CAMPAIGN.
BUT THE MOST IMMEDIATE THREAT
CAME FROM WATERGATE BURGLAR
HOWARD HUNT.
DESPAIRING OVER
THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE,
CONCERNED OVER
THE FATE OF HIS CHILDREN,
HE NOW DEMANDED $120,000
OR HE WOULD REVEAL, HE SAID,
THE "SEAMY THINGS" HE HAD DONE
FOR THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME
ONE OF THESE THREATS HAD EVER
BEEN BROUGHT DIRECTLY TO ME
AND I DIDN'T LIKE BEING
IN THAT ROLE.
BECAUSE I KNEW ABOUT THE MONEY
OUT THERE,
BUT I HAD NEVER BEEN A CONVEYOR
OF MESSAGES BACK AND FORTH,
AND HOW SUDDENLY
I'M RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE
OF ANOTHER UGLY SIDE OF THIS.
Narrator:
HUNT'S DEMAND WAS
A TURNING POINT FOR JOHN DEAN.
THE WHITE HOUSE COULD
NO LONGER CONTROL THE COVER-UP.
ON MARCH 21, A WORRIED DEAN
TRIED TO PERSUADE NIXON
TO END THE CONSPIRACY.
HE DESCRIBED THE COVER-UP
AS A CANCER ON THE PRESIDENCY
AND WARNED THAT
HALDEMAN, EHRLICHMAN
AND DEAN HIMSELF
HAD BROKEN THE LAW.
THE PRESIDENT STARTED
KNOCKING DOWN
EVERY ONE OF THESE HORRIBLES
I KEPT RAISING.
FINALLY I GOT AROUND TO SAYING,
"WELL, YOU KNOW, THESE GUYS
WANT A LOT MORE MONEY
"TO REMAIN QUIET,
AND THERE'S JUST NO TELLING
HOW MUCH THEY WANT."
HE SAID, "WELL, HOW MUCH
COULD THEY WANT?"
AND I PULLED OUT OF THIN AIR
WHAT I THOUGHT WAS
A PRETTY ASTRONOMICAL NUMBER.
I SAID, "WELL, IT COULD COST
A MILLION DOLLARS."
HE LOOKED AT ME AND HE SAID,
"JOHN, I KNOW WHERE WE CAN GET
A MILLION DOLLARS."
Narrator:
NIXON APPROVED MORE HUSH MONEY.
HE LET THE COVER-UP CONTINUE.
TWO DAYS LATER,
THE COVER-UP BLEW WIDE OPEN.
THERE WAS A MAJOR BREAK
IN THE WATERGATE TRIAL TODAY.
ON THIS DAY OF SENTENCING,
ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS,
JAMES McCORD, PROMISED
TO REVEAL HIDDEN DETAILS
ABOUT THE BUGGING OF
THE DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS.
Narrator:
IN A LETTER
TO THE PRESIDING JUDGE,
JAMES McCORD ADMITTED
THAT THE WATERGATE BURGLARS
HAD NOT ACTED ON THEIR OWN.
HIS TESTIMONY IMPLICATED
THE WHITE HOUSE
AND GALVANIZED
THE NATIONAL PRESS.
EVEN BEFORE McCORD'S LETTER,
NIXON HAD ORDERED JOHN DEAN
TO WRITE A REPORT
THAT WOULD EXONERATE THE WHITE
HOUSE OF WRONGDOING.
Ehrlichman:
THE PRESIDENT ASKED HIM
TO REDUCE HIS UNDERSTANDING
OF THE WHOLE PROBLEM TO WRITING.
HE ASKED HIM TO DO THAT FOUR OR
FIVE TIMES AND NOTHING HAPPENED.
AND FINALLY THE PRESIDENT
SENT JOHN DEAN
TO CAMP DAVID
IN THE MIDDLE OF MARCH
TO SIT DOWN, DO NOTHING BUT
WRITE A REPORT FOR THE PRESIDENT
ON WHAT THIS WATERGATE BUSINESS
WAS ALL ABOUT...
WHO WAS INVOLVED, WHO WAS
AT FAULT, ALL OF THAT.
WHILE DEAN WAS UP THERE,
HE HAD AN EPIPHANY
WHICH WAS THAT HE WAS IN
DEEP TROUBLE, OR SO HE SAYS.
WELL, IT WAS MUCH CLEARER
AFTER THE FACT,
BUT I SUSPECTED AT THE TIME
I WAS BEING SET UP
AND THE WHOLE PLAN WAS TO GIVE
THE PRESIDENT THIS REPORT
SO HE COULD SAY, "THIS IS
ALL I'VE EVER KNOWN
AND MY COUNSEL
LIED TO ME, CLEARLY."
AND I JUST WASN'T GOING
TO BE PART OF THAT.
Narrator:
THE COVER-UP WAS DISINTEGRATING
AND DEAN FEARED THAT HE MIGHT
BECOME NIXON'S SCAPEGOAT.
IN EARLY APRIL,
HE TELEPHONED HALDEMAN
TO SAY HE WAS TALKING
WITH THE PROSECUTORS.
HALDEMAN CAUTIONED HIM, "I THINK
YOU OUGHT TO THINK ABOUT IT
"BECAUSE ONCE THE TOOTHPASTE
IS OUT OF THE TUBE
IT'S HARD TO GET IT BACK IN."
"IF DEAN IS TOTALLY OUT OF
CONTROL," EHRLICHMAN TOLD NIXON,
"YOU COULD GET
AN ARTICLE OF IMPEACHMENT."
HALDEMAN LATER REMEMBERED
THAT NIXON LOOKED STUNNED.
IN PRIVATE,
THE PRESIDENT CONTINUED
TO SEARCH FOR A SCAPEGOAT
AND STRUGGLED TO SALVAGE
THE COVER-UP.
IN PUBLIC, HE ACTED AS IF
HE WERE UPHOLDING THE LAW.
I CAN REPORT TODAY
THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MAJOR
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CASE
CONCERNING WHICH IT WOULD BE
IMPROPER TO BE MORE SPECIFIC NOW
EXCEPT TO SAY THAT REAL
PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE
IN FINDING THE TRUTH.
I CONDEMN ANY ATTEMPTS
TO COVER UP IN THIS CASE,
NO MATTER WHO IS INVOLVED.
THANK YOU.
Narrator:
EVENTS WERE SPINNING
OUT OF NIXON'S CONTROL.
JOHN DEAN, BARGAINING
FOR IMMUNITY
WITH WATERGATE PROSECUTOR
EARL SILBERT
MADE A STUNNING REVELATION.
DEAN'S LAWYER SAID, "DEAN HAS
ONE MORE THING TO TELL YOU
THAT YOU MIGHT WANT
TO KNOW ABOUT."
AND DEAN AT THAT POINT SAID...
WE'RE IN THE HALLWAY
AND DEAN IS IN THE OFFICE...
HE SAID, IN SUBSTANCE,
THAT LIDDY AND HUNT
WERE INVOLVED IN A BREAK-IN
INTO THE OFFICE
OF ELLSBERG'S PSYCHIATRIST,
DAN ELLSBERG'S PSYCHIATRIST.
I KNOW MY JAW MUST HAVE
FALLEN DOWN TO THE FLOOR.
THAT WAS A BOMBSHELL
OF INFORMATION.
Narrator:
FOR TWO YEARS, THE BURGLARY OF
ELLSBERG'S PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE
HAD REMAINED ONE OF THE MOST
CLOSELY GUARDED SECRETS
OF THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
NOW DEAN'S REVELATION SUGGESTED
THAT THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN
WAS NOT AN ISOLATED EVENT.
IT WAS PART OF A WEB
OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
ORDERED BY THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.
VACATIONING IN KEY BISCAYNE,
NIXON KNEW DEAN HAD TALKED
TO THE PROSECUTORS.
BUT HE STILL HOPED TO APPEAL
TO DEAN'S LOYALTY
NOT TO REVEAL ANY MORE.
ON EASTER SUNDAY,
NIXON CALLED DEAN.
People:
HAPPY EASTER!
AND HE SAID HE'D BEEN
OUT WITH THE FAMILY
TO EASTER SUNDAY
OR WHAT HAVE YOU,
AND HE SAID, "I WANT YOU
TO KNOW, JOHN,
YOU'RE STILL MY COUNSEL."
AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,
"B.S., I'M ABOUT AS CLOSE
TO BEING HIS COUNSEL NOW
AS THE MAN IN THE MOON."
HE JUST WAS KEEPING
LITTLE FEELERS OUT THERE.
BUT I MADE IT PRETTY CLEAR
TO ALL OF THE...
THE WORD I WAS PUTTING
BACK TO EVERYBODY...
I WASN'T MAKING ANY DEALS.
I WASN'T INTERESTED
IN ANY DEALS.
I THINK NIXON HOPED THAT HE
COULD MAKE A BARGAIN WITH DEAN
AND SAY, IN EFFECT, "YOU HAVE
TO PROTECT YOUR PRESIDENT."
BUT THE MUCH STRONGER VOICE
THAT DEAN WAS HEARING
WAS THE PROSECUTOR SAYING,
"BOY, I'M GOING TO
NAIL YOU TO THE WALL
UNLESS YOU GIVE ME
ALL THE DIRT."
Narrator:
AS DEAN AND OTHER AIDES
SCRAMBLED FOR IMMUNITY,
RUMORS SWIRLED ABOUT
THE WHITE HOUSE,
COMING EVER CLOSER
TO THE OVAL OFFICE.
IN APRIL, ACCUSATIONS AGAINST
HALDEMAN AND EHRLICHMAN
DOMINATED THE HEADLINES.
THE TWO MEN HAD PROTECTED
THE PRESIDENT,
GUARDED HIS PRIVACY,
SHARED HIS AMBITIONS.
BUT NOW, NIXON WOULD SACRIFICE
HIS CLOSEST AIDES.
THE LAST SUNDAY IN APRIL,
HE SUMMONED THEM TO CAMP DAVID.
THE FIRST THING
HE SAID TO ME WAS,
"WHEN I WENT TO SLEEP
LAST NIGHT,
I PRAYED THAT I WOULD NOT
WAKE UP THIS MORNING."
AND HE BEGAN TO REALLY CRY.
HE BEGAN TO REALLY CRY
AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
I HAD JUST NEVER SEEN HIM
OUT OF CONTROL THIS WAY.
HE FINALLY SAID, BASICALLY...
THE WORDS HAVE GONE,
I'VE FORGOTTEN.
I WENT BACK AND MADE
VERY CAREFUL NOTES
SO THAT SOMEWHERE I HAVE
NOTES OF THIS CONVERSATION...
BUT THE GIST OF IT WAS THAT
THE ACCUSATIONS WERE SO SERIOUS
THAT HE COULDN'T KEEP US ON.
HE THOUGHT MAYBE WE COULD
STAY ON, BOB AND I,
ON A LEAVE OF ABSENCE
OR SOME SUCH FORM.
BUT HE SAW THAT
HE HAD TO CUT IT OFF
THAT HE WAS GOING TO FIRE DEAN
AT THE SAME TIME
AND THAT HE WAS GOING TO FIRE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
AT SOME POINT HE ASKED ME
IF THERE WAS ANYTHING
THAT HE COULD DO FOR ME.
I SAID, "YEAH, I'D LIKE YOU
TO EXPLAIN THIS ALL TO MY KIDS
"BECAUSE I'M HAVING TROUBLE
EXPLAINING TO THEM
WHY YOU WOULD DO THIS."
AND... HE DIDN'T
RESPOND TO THAT.
SO WE ENDED UP IN A HUG.
WE HUGGED EACH OTHER
AND I COULD SEE THAT HE HAD
SAID EVERYTHING THAT HE COULD
AND THAT WAS THE END OF IT.
Narrator:
IN MAY, THE PRESIDENT
AND MRS. NIXON
WELCOMED THE RETURNING P.O.W.s
TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
Nixon:
IT IS ALWAYS THE CUSTOM
AT A DINNER AT THE WHITE HOUSE
TO HAVE A TOAST
TO THE HONORED GUEST.
THE DIFFICULTY TONIGHT IS
THAT THERE ARE
SO MANY HONORED GUESTS
THAT WE WOULD BE DRINKING
ALL NIGHT AND INTO THE DAY.
SOMEBODY JUST SAID,
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?"
Narrator:
NEW WATERGATE CHARGES
WERE ERUPTING DAILY,
BUT THE P.O.W.s REMAINED LOYAL
TO THEIR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
AND, SIR, I WOULD LIKE
TO STATE FOR ALL OF US
THAT WE NEVER LOST FAITH IN
YOUR INTEGRITY OR YOUR COURAGE
AND WE ARE PROUD TO BE CITIZENS
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
BUT THE PUBLIC'S FAITH
IN THE PRESIDENT
WOULD SOON BE SEVERELY TESTED.
THE SENATE WATERGATE COMMITTEE
BEGAN HEARINGS
THAT WOULD KEEP THE NATION
SPELLBOUND
THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
Announcer:
THE HISTORIC CAUCUS ROOM WAS
JAMMED TODAY WITH CAMERAS,
NEWSMEN, 200 SEATED SPECTATORS
AND MORE STANDING.
THIS ROOM HAS BEEN THE SCENE...
Narrator:
ONE OF THE LARGEST AUDIENCES
IN TELEVISION HISTORY
WATCHED ON MAY 17
AS SENATOR SAM ERVIN OPENED
THE INVESTIGATION
OF NIXON'S REELECTION CAMPAIGN
AND THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN.
THE COMMITTEE
WILL COME TO ORDER.
Narrator:
EVEN THE PRESIDENT'S STAFF
WATCHED
AS A PARADE OF WITNESSES
IMPLICATED HALDEMAN, EHRLICHMAN
AND OTHERS HIGH
IN THE ADMINISTRATION
AND THE NIXON CAMPAIGN.
BUT IN THE FIRST
MONTH OF TESTIMONY,
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF ESCAPED
DIRECT CHARGES OF WRONGDOING.
THEN THE COMMITTEE SUMMONED
ITS STAR WITNESS... JOHN DEAN.
IN A SEVEN-HOUR
OPENING STATEMENT,
DEAN DESCRIBED THE ATMOSPHERE
OF THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
Dean:
THE WATERGATE MATTER
WAS AN INEVITABLE OUTGROWTH OF
A CLIMATE OF EXCESSIVE CONCERN
OVER THE POLITICAL IMPACT
OF DEMONSTRATORS,
EXCESSIVE CONCERN OVER LEAKS,
AN INSATIABLE APPETITE
FOR POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE,
ALL COUPLED WITH A DO-IT-
YOURSELF WHITE HOUSE STAFF
REGARDLESS OF THE LAW.
HE SPOKE IN ALMOST A MONOTONE
AS HE BEGAN TO TELL SOME OF
THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS STORIES
ABOUT WHAT HAD OCCURRED,
AND COMING FROM A MONOTONE,
IT WAS THE FACTS
RATHER THAN HIS PERSONALITY
THAT CAME OUT AT THE PUBLIC.
Narrator:
DEAN DESCRIBED HIS MEETING
ON MARCH 21,
WHEN HE WARNED NIXON ABOUT THE
BURGLARS' ESCALATING DEMANDS.
I TOLD THE PRESIDENT ABOUT
THE FACT THERE WAS NO MONEY
TO PAY THESE INDIVIDUALS
TO MEET THEIR DEMANDS.
HE ASKED ME HOW MUCH
IT WOULD COST.
I TOLD HIM I COULD ONLY
MAKE AN ESTIMATE
THAT IT MIGHT BE AS HIGH AS
A MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE.
HE TOLD ME THAT
THAT WAS NO PROBLEM.
HE ALSO LOOKED OVER AT HALDEMAN
AND REPEATED THE SAME STATEMENT.
THAT STORY CAME OUT,
IT WAS THE VERY FIRST TIME
IN THE HEARING,
THE VERY FIRST TIME
ANY EVIDENCE CAME FORWARD
THAT REALLY PUT THE PRESIDENT IN
ON THE OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE...
THE PRESIDENT WHO SAID HE KNEW
NOTHING ABOUT THESE THINGS,
THE PRESIDENT WHO SAID
HE HAD STARTED AN INVESTIGATION
TO FIND OUT WHO WAS INVOLVED.
AND HERE WAS A EYEWITNESS,
A PERSON WHO WAS INVOLVED
WHO WAS TESTIFYING
TO THE PRESIDENT'S
VERY DEEP INVOLVEMENT
IN THE OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
AND THE COVER-UP.
Narrator:
IT WAS NOW THE WORD
OF THE PRESIDENT
AGAINST HIS 34-YEAR-OLD
FORMER COUNSEL.
THE WHITE HOUSE TRIED
TO UNDERMINE DEAN'S TESTIMONY
BY SPREADING RUMORS ABOUT
HIS CREDIBILITY AND CHARACTER.
WITH NO WAY TO DETERMINE
WHO WAS TELLING THE TRUTH,
NIXON BELIEVED HE WOULD PREVAIL.
THEN ON JULY 16, EVERYTHING
CHANGED FOR RICHARD NIXON.
Man:
MY NAME IS ALEXANDER
PORTER BUTTERFIELD.
Man:
MR. BUTTERFIELD,
ARE YOU AWARE
OF THE INSTALLATION
OF ANY LISTENING DEVICES
IN THE OVAL OFFICE
OF THE PRESIDENT?
I WAS AWARE OF LISTENING
DEVICES, YES, SIR.
SO THAT IF EITHER
MR. DEAN, MR. HALDEMAN,
MR. EHRLICHMAN,
MR. COLSON HAD
PARTICULAR MEETINGS
IN THE OVAL OFFICE
WITH THE PRESIDENT
ON THE PARTICULAR DATES
THAT HAVE BEEN TESTIFIED
BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE,
THERE WOULD BE
A TAPE RECORDING
WITH THE PRESIDENT
OF THAT FULL
CONVERSATION,
WOULD THERE NOT?
YES, SIR.
ONE LAST QUESTION.
IF ONE WERE,
THEREFORE,
TO RECONSTRUCT
THE CONVERSATIONS
AT ANY PARTICULAR DATE
WHAT WOULD BE
THE BEST WAY
TO RECONSTRUCT
THOSE CONVERSATIONS,
MR. BUTTERFIELD?
WELL, IN THE OBVIOUS MANNER,
MR. DASH:
TO OBTAIN THE TAPE AND PLAY IT.
Dash:
I HAVE NO FURTHER
QUESTIONS, MR. CHAIRMAN.
Narrator:
NIXON WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
WITH VIRAL PNEUMONIA
WHEN HE LEARNED ABOUT
BUTTERFIELD'S TESTIMONY.
HE WROTE ON A BEDSIDE PAD,
"SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED THE TAPES
AFTER APRIL 30."
NIXON KNEW CONTROLLING THE TAPES
WAS THE KEY TO HIS SURVIVAL.
HE WOULD APPEAL
TO HISTORICAL PRECEDENT
AND ARGUE THAT THE TAPES
WERE LIKE PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS...
THEY BELONGED TO THE PRESIDENT,
NOT TO CONGRESS OR THE COURTS.
THE PRESIDENT HAD A RIGHT
TO KEEP THEM PRIVATE.
THE BATTLE FOR THE TAPES BEGAN
WITH THE PRESIDENT
RALLYING THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF.
Nixon:
I WAS RATHER AMUSED
BY SOME VERY WELL-INTENTIONED
PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT
THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME
OF THE RATHER ROUGH ASSAULTS
THAT ANY MAN IN THIS OFFICE
GETS FROM TIME TO TIME
BRINGS ON AN ILLNESS
AND THAT AFTER GOING THROUGH
SUCH AN ILLNESS
I MIGHT GET SO TIRED
THAT I WOULD CONSIDER EITHER
SLOWING DOWN OR...
OR EVEN, SOME SUGGESTED,
RESIGNING.
WELL, NOW, JUST SO WE
SET THAT TO REST,
I'M GOING TO USE A PHRASE THAT
MY OHIO FATHER USED TO USE.
"THAT'S JUST PLAIN POPPYCOCK."
WE'RE GOING TO STAY ON THIS JOB
TILL WE GET THE JOB DONE.
AND LET OTHERS WALLOW
IN WATERGATE...
WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR JOB.
Narrator:
THE CONTINUING INVESTIGATIONS
PLACED NEW PRESSURES
ON THE WHITE HOUSE.
THE WATERGATE COMMITTEE
ISSUED A SUBPOENA
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S TAPES.
NIXON REFUSED TO COMPLY
AND RISKED BEING FOUND
IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.
BUT EVEN THAT WAS NOT
HIS BIGGEST CONCERN.
PRESSURED BY CONGRESS,
ATTORNEY GENERAL
ELLIOT RICHARDSON AGREED
TO APPOINT AN INDEPENDENT
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
HE CHOSE ARCHIBALD COX,
AND GAVE HIM SWEEPING POWERS
TO INVESTIGATE
THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
Reporter:
WHAT IF THIS
TRAIL LEADS
INTO THE OVAL OFFICE
OF THE WHITE HOUSE?
AS I REPLIED THEN,
THE TRAIL SHOULD BE FOLLOWED
WHEREVER IT LEADS.
Narrator:
NIXON LATER DESCRIBED COX
AS "THE PARTISAN VIPER
WE HAD PLANTED IN OUR BOSOM."
Price:
WE SAW ARCHIE COX IN POLITICAL
RATHER THAN LEGAL TERMS.
HE WAS SORT OF THE HIGH GURU
OF THE KENNEDY GOVERNMENT-
IN-WAITING IN CAMBRIDGE.
THE IDEA THAT THESE KENNEDY AND
McGOVERN POLITICAL OPERATIVES
WERE GOING TO BE DEMANDING
TO RUN BAREFOOT
THROUGH ALL THE MOST PRIVATE
FILES OF THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE
WAS UTTERLY APPALLING
AND ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS.
Narrator:
COX AND HIS STAFF REQUESTED
SENSITIVE WHITE HOUSE FILES.
NIXON RELUCTANTLY COMPLIED.
COX ALSO DEMANDED NINE
OF THE PRESIDENT'S TAPES.
NIXON REFUSED.
COX TOOK HIS CASE TO COURT.
AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, I AM SURE
THE PRESIDENT'S LEGAL POSITION
IS PRESENTED IN GOOD FAITH.
I THINK IT'S QUITE WRONG...
Narrator:
BY THE END OF SUMMER,
NIXON'S REFUSAL
TO TURN OVER THE TAPES
AND JOHN DEAN'S TESTIMONY
HAD BADLY ERODED THE PUBLIC'S
SUPPORT FOR THE PRESIDENT.
BUT AFTER MONTHS
OF UNRELENTING PRESS COVERAGE,
NIXON SENSED THAT AMERICANS
WERE GROWING WEARY OF WATERGATE.
HE MOVED TO TAKE THE OFFENSIVE.
MR. PRESIDENT!
MR. PRESIDENT!
Narrator:
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 14 MONTHS
NIXON HELD A TELEVISED
NEWS CONFERENCE
AND TRIED TO TURN THE PERSISTENT
QUESTIONING TO HIS ADVANTAGE.
Reporter:
AT ANY TIME DURING
THE WATERGATE CRISIS,
DID YOU EVER CONSIDER RESIGNING
AND WOULD YOU
CONSIDER RESIGNING
IF YOU FELT
THAT YOUR CAPACITY
TO GOVERN HAD BEEN
SERIOUSLY WEAKENED
AND IN THAT CONNECTION,
HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK
YOUR CAPACITY TO GOVERN
HAS BEEN WEAKENED?
THE ANSWER TO THE FIRST
TWO QUESTIONS IS NO.
THE ANSWER TO THE THIRD
QUESTION IS THAT IT IS TRUE
THAT AS FAR AS THE CAPACITY
TO GOVERN IS CONCERNED
THAT TO BE UNDER A CONSTANT
BARRAGE 12 TO 15 MINUTES A NIGHT
ON EACH OF THE THREE MAJOR
NETWORKS FOR FOUR MONTHS
TENDS TO RAISE SOME QUESTIONS
IN THE PEOPLE'S MIND
WITH REGARD TO THE PRESIDENT,
AND IT MAY RAISE SOME QUESTIONS
WITH REGARD TO
THE CAPACITY TO GOVERN.
THE POINT THAT I MAKE NOW IS
THAT WE ARE PROCEEDING
AS BEST WE KNOW HOW
TO GET ALL THOSE GUILTY
BROUGHT TO JUSTICE IN WATERGATE.
BUT NOW WE MUST MOVE ON
FROM WATERGATE
TO THE BUSINESS OF THE PEOPLE,
AND THE BUSINESS OF THE PEOPLE
IS CONTINUING
WITH THE INITIATIVES WE BEGAN
IN THE FIRST ADMINISTRATION.
Reporter:
Mr. President...
JUST A MOMENT.
WE'VE HAD 30 MINUTES
OF THIS PRESS CONFERENCE.
I HAVE YET TO HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE,
ONE QUESTION
ON THE BUSINESS OF THE PEOPLE,
WHICH SHOWS YOU HOW
WE'RE CONSUMED BY THIS.
Narrator:
BUT EVENTS OVERWHELMED THE
PRESIDENT'S COUNTEROFFENSIVE.
IN A SCANDAL
UNRELATED TO WATERGATE,
NIXON'S VICE-PRESIDENT, SPIRO
AGNEW, WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION
FOR BRIBERY, TAX EVASION
AND EXTORTION.
GENTLEMEN, I BELIEVE
YOU'VE ALL RECEIVED COPIES
OF THE PREPARED STATEMENT
THAT I READ TO THE COURT.
Narrator:
ON OCTOBER 10, AGNEW PLED
"NO CONTEST" TO TAX EVASION
AND RESIGNED.
AGNEW'S DEPARTURE MADE
NIXON MORE VULNERABLE.
UNLIKE AGNEW,
HIS NEW VICE-PRESIDENT
AND POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR
WAS POPULAR WITH REPUBLICANS
AND DEMOCRATS ALIKE.
OUR DISTINGUISHED GUESTS
AND MY FELLOW AMERICANS,
I PROUDLY PRESENT TO YOU
THE MAN WHOSE NAME I WILL SUBMIT
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED
STATES FOR CONFIRMATION
AS THE VICE-PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES
CONGRESSMAN GERALD FORD
OF MICHIGAN.
Narrator:
ON CAPITOL HILL, GERALD FORD
WAS ALREADY SEEN
AS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE
TO THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF.
THAT SAME DAY,
THE COURT OF APPEALS RULED
THAT NIXON MUST YIELD THE TAPES
TO SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
ARCHIBALD COX.
BUT NIXON SAW THE RULING
AS AN OPPORTUNITY
FOR A SHOWDOWN WITH COX.
HE MADE AN OFFER
HE THOUGHT WOULD SOUND
REASONABLE TO THE PUBLIC
BUT THAT HE WAS CERTAIN
COX WOULD REJECT.
NIXON WOULD TURN OVER
SUMMARIES OF THE TAPES
BUT NOT THE TAPES THEMSELVES,
AND HE ORDERED COX NOT TO ASK
FOR ANY MORE MATERIAL.
AS NIXON EXPECTED, COX REFUSED.
THIS IS JIM DOYLE
FROM ARCHIBALD COX'S OFFICE.
I HAVE A LONG STATEMENT.
ARE YOU READY?
"IN MY JUDGMENT,
THE PRESIDENT
IS REFUSING...
TO COMPLY... WITH
THE COURT DECREES."
Cox:
I THINK IT IS MY DUTY
TO BRING TO
THE COURT'S ATTENTION
WHAT SEEMS TO ME
TO BE NONCOMPLIANCE
WITH THE COURT'S ORDER.
Narrator:
WITHIN HOURS, NIXON ORDERED
ELLIOT RICHARDSON
TO FIRE ARCHIBALD COX.
BUT NIXON HAD MISCALCULATED.
RICHARDSON REFUSED.
Richardson:
HE SAID, "DO YOU
REALIZE, ELLIOT,
"THAT BREZHNEV MAY CONCLUDE
THAT I'M LOSING CONTROL
OF MY OWN ADMINISTRATION?"
BUT I SAID, "MR. PRESIDENT,
I AM COMMITTED
"TO THE INDEPENDENCE
OF THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
"FOR ME TO HAVE ACQUIESCED
IN HIS BEING FIRED WOULD BE
A TOTAL BETRAYAL
OF THAT COMMITMENT."
HE SAID, "I'M SORRY
THAT YOU CHOOSE
"TO PREFER YOUR PURELY
PERSONAL COMMITMENTS
TO THE NATIONAL INTEREST."
MUSTERING ALL MY SELF-CONTROL
I SAID IN AS LEVEL
A VOICE AS I COULD
"MR. PRESIDENT, IT WOULD APPEAR
"THAT WE HAVE
A DIFFERENT ASSESSMENT
OF THE NATIONAL INTEREST."
Narrator:
THE EVENTS THAT FOLLOWED
BECAME KNOWN
AS "THE SATURDAY NIGHT
MASSACRE."
GOOD EVENING.
THE COUNTRY TONIGHT IS
IN THE MIDST OF WHAT MAY BE
THE MOST SERIOUS CONSTITUTIONAL
CRISIS IN ITS HISTORY.
THE PRESIDENT HAS FIRED
SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR
ARCHIBALD COX.
BECAUSE OF
THE PRESIDENT'S ACTION
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
HAS RESIGNED.
ELLIOT RICHARDSON HAS QUIT,
SAYING HE CANNOT CARRY OUT
MR. NIXON'S INSTRUCTIONS.
RICHARDSON'S DEPUTY, WILLIAM
RUCKELSHAUS, HAS BEEN FIRED.
RUCKELSHAUS REFUSED, IN A MOMENT
OF CONSTITUTIONAL DRAMA,
TO OBEY A PRESIDENTIAL ORDER
TO FIRE THE SPECIAL
WATERGATE PROSECUTOR.
AND HALF AN HOUR
AFTER THE SPECIAL WATERGATE
PROSECUTOR HAD BEEN FIRED,
AGENTS OF THE F.B.I.,
ACTING AT THE DIRECTION
OF THE WHITE HOUSE,
SEALED OFF THE OFFICES
OF THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR,
THE OFFICES OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
AND THE OFFICES
OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL.
SIX F.B.I. AGENTS PRESENT,
IMPEDING OUR OPERATIONS
RIGHT NOW.
Newscaster:
ALL OF THIS ADDS UP TO A TOTALLY
UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION,
A GRAVE AND PROFOUND CRISIS
IN WHICH THE PRESIDENT
HAS SET HIMSELF
AGAINST HIS OWN ATTORNEY GENERAL
AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
NOTHING LIKE THIS
HAS EVER HAPPENED BEFORE.
Announcer:
MORE THAN 50,000 TELEGRAMS
POURED IN ON CAPITOL HILL TODAY,
SO MANY, WESTERN UNION
WAS SWAMPED.
MOST OF THEM DEMANDED
IMPEACHING MR. NIXON.
Man:
THESE COME FROM REPUBLICANS
AND BUSINESSMEN AND PEOPLE,
MOST OF WHOM BEGIN
THEIR STATEMENT BY SAYING,
"I'VE SUPPORTED THE PRESIDENT,
"I'VE NEVER BELIEVED
IN IMPEACHMENT,
"BUT HE'S NOW GONE TOO FAR
AND WE WANT THE CONGRESS
TO TAKE STRONG ACTION."
IN MY THREE DISTRICT OFFICES
IN ONE REPUBLICAN AREA,
MY PHONE CALLS WERE 100 TO ONE
IN FAVOR OF PURSUING
THE PATH OF IMPEACHMENT,
WHICH WAS RATHER SHOCKING TO ME.
I WAS TERRIBLY SURPRISED,
WHICH SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT
VERY WEIRD THING THAT HAPPENS
WHEN YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE
OF A COCOON, OF A CRISIS
WITHIN A PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT
AND YOU HAVE A GREAT DESIRE
FOR THINGS TO HAPPEN
AS YOU WANT THEM TO HAPPEN.
Narrator:
ON TUESDAY, NIXON LEARNED
THAT 21 RESOLUTIONS
CALLING FOR HIS IMPEACHMENT
HAD BEEN INTRODUCED
ON CAPITOL HILL.
STUNNED BY THE FEROCITY
OF THE PUBLIC REACTION,
NIXON RETREATED.
HE APPOINTED A NEW SPECIAL
PROSECUTOR, LEON JAWORSKI,
AND AGREED TO RELEASE
THE NINE SUBPOENAED TAPES.
BUT TWO TAPES TURNED OUT
TO BE MISSING.
THE WHITE HOUSE SAID
THEY NEVER EXISTED.
A THIRD TAPE CONTAINED
AN 18 1/2-MINUTE GAP.
THE ERASED SECTION
WAS A CONVERSATION
BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT
AND H.R. HALDEMAN
THREE DAYS AFTER THE BREAK-IN.
THE PRESIDENT'S COUNSEL,
FRED BUZHARDT,
EXPLAINED THE GAP
TO A SKEPTICAL PRESS.
YOU NOW BELIEVE IT
COULD BE ACCIDENTAL?
YES.
HOW?
Narrator:
THE WHITE HOUSE CLAIMED
THAT THE PRESIDENT'S SECRETARY,
ROSEMARY WOODS,
HAD ACCIDENTALLY ERASED THE TAPE
WHILE TRANSCRIBING IT.
IS THAT LOGICAL
FOR THAT TO HAPPEN
ACCIDENTALLY?
I MEAN, IS THAT
BELIEVABLE?
YES.
Narrator:
QUESTIONS NOW AROSE
ABOUT EVERY ASPECT
OF THE PRESIDENT'S LIFE.
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, TAXES,
FRIENDSHIPS, VACATION HOMES...
EVERYTHING SEEMED FAIR GAME.
THE PRESIDENT STRUGGLED
TO DEFEND HIMSELF
AGAINST ASSAULTS THAT CAME
FROM ALL SIDES.
I WANT TO SAY THIS
TO THE TELEVISION AUDIENCE.
I'VE MADE MY MISTAKES
BUT IN ALL OF MY YEARS
OF PUBLIC LIFE,
I HAVE NEVER PROFITED
FROM PUBLIC SERVICE.
I HAVE EARNED EVERY CENT.
AND IN ALL OF MY YEARS
OF PUBLIC LIFE
I HAVE NEVER OBSTRUCTED JUSTICE
AND I THINK, TOO, THAT I CAN SAY
THAT IN MY YEARS OF PUBLIC LIFE
THAT I WELCOME
THIS KIND OF EXAMINATION
BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO KNOW
WHETHER OR NOT
THEIR PRESIDENT IS A CROOK.
WELL, I AM NOT A CROOK.
I'VE EARNED EVERYTHING I'VE GOT.
Narrator:
IN MARCH 1974, NIXON WENT
TO THE GRAND OLE OPRY
TO THE SOUTH, WHERE HIS SUPPORT
REMAINED THE STRONGEST.
"IN THE END," HE LATER WROTE,
"IT WOULD COME DOWN
TO A CAMPAIGN
"BUT THIS TIME I WOULD
BE CAMPAIGNING
FOR MY POLITICAL LIFE."
IF YOU'LL JOIN US IN THIS SONG,
I THINK YOU'LL RECOGNIZE IT
WHEN I START IT.
JUST LET ME GET A CHORD.
♪ IRISH ROSE... ♪
Narrator:
BUT SEVEN OF NIXON'S CLOSEST
AIDES HAD BEEN INDICTED
BY THE WATERGATE GRAND JURY.
AND THE AFTERSHOCKS
OF THE SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE
CONTINUED TO REVERBERATE
IN THE COURTS AND IN CONGRESS.
ON CAPITOL HILL, THE HOUSE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE WAS DEBATING
NIXON'S IMPEACHMENT,
INVESTIGATING CHARGES
RANGING FROM ILLEGAL WIRETAPS
AND BREAK-INS
TO ABUSE OF POWER
AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.
PURSUING THEIR INVESTIGATIONS,
THEY DEMANDED MORE TAPES
AND SET A DEADLINE OF APRIL 30.
ON APRIL 29,
WITH LESS THAN 24 HOURS TO GO,
FACING A CITATION
FOR CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS,
NIXON TRIED TO DO AGAIN
WHAT HAD WORKED SO WELL
FOR HIM IN THE PAST...
BYPASS HIS OPPONENTS AND APPEAL
DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC.
GOOD EVENING.
I HAVE ASKED
FOR THIS TIME TONIGHT
IN ORDER TO ANNOUNCE MY ANSWER
TO THE HOUSE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE SUBPOENA
FOR ADDITIONAL WATERGATE TAPES.
IN THESE FOLDERS THAT
YOU SEE OVER HERE ON MY LEFT
ARE MORE THAN 1,200
PAGES OF TRANSCRIPTS
OF PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS...
Narrator:
NIXON ANNOUNCED HE WAS RELEASING
EDITED TRANSCRIPTS OF THE TAPES
TO THE COMMITTEE
AND THE PUBLIC SIMULTANEOUSLY.
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF
HAD SUPERVISED THE EDITING.
IN GIVING YOU THESE RECORDS,
BLEMISHES AND ALL,
I AM PLACING MY TRUST
IN THE BASIC FAIRNESS
OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Narrator:
NIXON HAD GAMBLED AND LOST.
HE BADLY MISJUDGED
THE PUBLIC REACTION.
"THE TRANSCRIPTS,"
SAID TIME MAGAZINE,
"SHOWED A PRESIDENT CREATING
AN ENVIRONMENT
OF DECEIT AND DISHONESTY,
OF EVASION AND COVER-UP."
EVEN REPUBLICAN LEADERS
DENOUNCED THEM
AS "SHABBY," "DISGUSTING,"
"IMMORAL."
A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS
NOW THOUGHT
THE PRESIDENT SHOULD RESIGN
OR FACE IMPEACHMENT.
SOON AFTER THE TRANSCRIPTS
WERE DELIVERED TO CAPITOL HILL,
THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE VOTED
THAT THE PRESIDENT HAD FAILED
TO COMPLY WITH THEIR SUBPOENA.
THEY CONTINUED
TO DEMAND THE TAPES.
IN THE WHITE HOUSE,
NIXON SECLUDED HIMSELF,
LISTENING TO THE RECORDINGS
OVER AND OVER.
NOT ONLY WAS CONGRESS
DEMANDING THE TAPES,
SO WAS THE NEW
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
NIXON HAD EXHAUSTED
ALL HIS LEGAL APPEALS BUT ONE.
HE TOOK HIS CASE
TO THE SUPREME COURT.
IT WOULD BECOME KNOWN
AS THE UNITED STATES
v. RICHARD NIXON.
AS HIS LAWYERS PREPARED
TO ARGUE HIS CASE,
THE PRESIDENT TOOK
HIS CAMPAIGN ABROAD,
HOPING TO BUILD
ON THE DIPLOMATIC TRIUMPHS
OF THE PAST.
FIRST TO THE MIDDLE EAST,
WHERE JUST MONTHS BEFORE
HIS PERSISTENT DIPLOMACY
HAD HELPED BRING ABOUT
A FRAGILE PEACE
BETWEEN ARABS AND ISRAELIS.
THEN TO THE SOVIET UNION,
WHERE THE GLITTERING
CEREMONIES MIRRORED
THE PRESIDENT'S PAST SUCCESS.
BUT THE SUMMIT ACHIEVED LITTLE.
LEONID BREZHNEV SENSED THAT
NIXON'S POWER WAS ERODING FAST.
RETURNING HOME, NIXON LANDED AT
A SMALL AIR FORCE BASE IN MAINE,
WHERE THE MILITARY CROWD
GAVE HIM A WARM WELCOME.
BUT THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY
THAT HAD TAKEN RICHARD NIXON
ALL THE WAY FROM YORBA LINDA
TO THE WHITE HOUSE,
TO PEKING AND MOSCOW,
FROM HUMILIATING DEFEATS
TO THE PINNACLE OF WORLD POWER,
SEEMED TO BE COMING TO AN END.
MOST AMERICANS HAD LOST FAITH
IN THE PRESIDENT...
THEY SAW A MAN
WHO HAD REPEATEDLY LIED
TO COVER UP HIS CRIMES,
HAD SUBVERTED
THE POLITICAL PROCESS
AND UNDERMINED THE CONSTITUTION.
Man:
THERE ARE FRIGHTENING
IMPLICATIONS
FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY
IF WE DO NOT IMPEACH THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
IF WE FAIL TO IMPEACH,
WE HAVE CONDONED
AND LEFT UNPUNISHED
A COURSE OF CONDUCT
TOTALLY INCONSISTENT
WITH THE REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS
OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Narrator:
ON CAPITOL HILL, THE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE PREPARED
TO VOTE ON THREE ARTICLES
OF IMPEACHMENT:
THEY CHARGED THE PRESIDENT
WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE,
ABUSE OF POWER,
AND CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.
Man:
THE THING THAT'S
SO APPALLING TO ME IS
THAT THE PRESIDENT, WHEN THIS
IDEA WAS SUGGESTED TO HIM,
DIDN'T, IN RIGHTEOUS
INDIGNATION,
RISE UP AND SAY,
"GET OUT OF HERE,
"YOU'RE IN THE OFFICE
"OF THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
"HOW CAN YOU TALK ABOUT
BLACKMAIL AND BRIBERY
"AND KEEPING WITNESSES SILENT?
THIS IS THE PRESIDENCY
OF THE UNITED STATES."
BUT MY PRESIDENT DIDN'T DO THAT.
HE SAT THERE, AND HE WORKED AND
WORKED TO TRY TO COVER THIS UP
SO IT WOULDN'T COME TO LIGHT.
Narrator:
THE COMMITTEE TOOK
ITS FIRST VOTE JULY 27.
NIXON WAS SWIMMING
AT SAN CLEMENTE
AS THEY RENDERED THEIR VERDICT.
Clerk:
SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED, NO.
Clerk:
MR. FLOWERS.
AYE.
MR. MANN.
AYE.
MR. DRINAN.
AYE.
Narrator:
NIXON LATER WROTE,
"I WAS GETTING DRESSED
IN THE BEACH TRAILER
"WHEN THE PHONE RANG
AND ZEIGLER GAVE ME THE NEWS.
"THAT WAS HOW I LEARNED
"THAT I WAS THE FIRST
PRESIDENT IN 106 YEARS
"TO BE RECOMMENDED
FOR IMPEACHMENT...
"STANDING IN THE BEACH TRAILER,
BAREFOOT,
"WEARING OLD TROUSERS,
A BANLON SHIRT
"AND A BLUE WINDBREAKER
EMBLAZONED WITH
THE PRESIDENTIAL SEAL."
Clerk:
MR. RODINO.
AYE.
27 MEMBERS HAVE VOTED AYE.
11 MEMBERS HAVE VOTED NO.
AND PURSUANT TO
THE RESOLUTION ARTICLE ONE,
THAT RESOLUTION IS ADOPTED AND
WILL BE REPORTED TO THE HOUSE.
Narrator:
JUST DAYS BEFORE,
THE SUPREME COURT HAD RULED
IN THE CASE OF THE UNITED STATES
v. RICHARD NIXON...
THE PRESIDENT MUST
TURN OVER THE TAPES
TO THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
"NOT EVEN A PRESIDENT,"
SAID THE COURT,
"COULD WITHHOLD EVIDENCE
IN A CRIMINAL TRIAL."
NIXON RETURNED TO WASHINGTON,
STILL CALCULATING THE ODDS.
HE KNEW THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
WOULD VOTE TO INDICT HIM.
THERE WAS A CHANCE HE MIGHT
SURVIVE A TRIAL IN THE SENATE
AS LONG AS THERE WAS
NO IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE
THAT HE HAD PERSONALLY
COMMITTED A CRIME.
Tape:
under investigation of
the Democratic break-in...
Narrator:
BUT NIXON HIMSELF
POSSESSED THAT EVIDENCE,
A TAPE THAT PLAINLY SHOWED
HE'D OBSTRUCTED JUSTICE:
HIS CONVERSATION WITH
H.R. HALDEMAN ON JUNE 23, 1972
WHEN NIXON ORDERED HIS AIDES
TO DIVERT THE F.B.I.
Narrator:
NIXON WOULD SOON HAVE
TO RELEASE THIS TAPE
ALONG WITH OTHERS COVERED
BY THE SUPREME COURT RULING.
WITH NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE,
HE DECIDED TO RELEASE
A TRANSCRIPT OF THE TAPE.
IT BECAME KNOWN AS
"THE SMOKING GUN."
THE NIGHT FOLLOWING THE RELEASE
OF THE TRANSCRIPT,
NIXON SAT ALONE
IN THE LINCOLN SITTING ROOM,
THEN RETIRED TO BED.
HIS DAUGHTER JULIE
HAD LEFT A NOTE ON HIS PILLOW:
"THE WHITE HOUSE, AUGUST 6.
"DEAR DADDY, I LOVE YOU.
"WHATEVER YOU DO,
I WILL SUPPORT.
"I'M VERY PROUD OF YOU.
"GO THROUGH THE FIRE
JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
"YOU'RE SO STRONG.
"I LOVE YOU.
"MILLIONS SUPPORT YOU.
JULIE."
ON AUGUST 8, NIXON ANNOUNCED
HE WOULD ADDRESS THE NATION.
OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE, CROWDS
GATHERED, WATCHING, WAITING.
I HAVE NEVER BEEN A QUITTER.
TO LEAVE OFFICE
BEFORE MY TERM IS COMPLETED
IS ABHORRENT TO EVERY
INSTINCT IN MY BODY.
BUT AS PRESIDENT, I MUST PUT
THE INTERESTS OF AMERICA FIRST.
THEREFORE, I SHALL RESIGN
THE PRESIDENCY
EFFECTIVE AT NOON TOMORROW.
VICE-PRESIDENT FORD
WILL BE SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT
AT THAT HOUR IN THIS OFFICE.
Narrator:
ON AUGUST 9,
THE PRESIDENT BID FAREWELL
TO THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF.
YOU ARE HERE
TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO US,
AND WE DON'T HAVE A GOOD
WORD FOR IT IN ENGLISH.
THE BEST IS AU REVOIR...
WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN.
HAD A LITTLE QUOTE IN THE SPEECH
LAST NIGHT FROM T.R.
AS YOU KNOW, I KIND OF
LIKE TO READ BOOKS...
I'M NOT EDUCATED,
BUT I DO READ BOOKS.
AND HERE'S ANOTHER ONE THAT
I FOUND AS I WAS READING...
MY LAST NIGHT
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND THIS QUOTE
IS ABOUT A YOUNG MAN.
HE WAS A YOUNG LAWYER
IN NEW YORK.
HE'D MARRIED A BEAUTIFUL GIRL...
AND THEY HAD A LOVELY DAUGHTER.
AND THEN SUDDENLY...
SHE DIED.
AND THIS IS WHAT HE WROTE.
THIS WAS IN HIS DIARY.
HE SAID, "SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL
IN FACE AND FORM
"AND LOVELIER STILL IN SPIRIT.
"AS A FLOWER SHE GREW, AND AS
A FAIR YOUNG FLOWER, SHE DIED.
"AND WHEN MY HEART'S
DEAREST DIED...
THE LIGHT WENT
FROM MY LIFE FOREVER."
THAT WAS T.R. IN HIS 20s.
HE THOUGHT THE LIGHT HAD GONE
FROM HIS LIFE FOREVER.
BUT HE WENT ON.
AND HE NOT ONLY BECAME PRESIDENT
BUT AS AN EX-PRESIDENT,
HE SERVED HIS COUNTRY,
ALWAYS IN THE ARENA,
TEMPESTUOUS, STRONG,
SOMETIMES WRONG,
SOMETIMES RIGHT.
BUT HE WAS A MAN.
IT'S ONLY A BEGINNING, ALWAYS.
THE YOUNG MUST KNOW IT,
THE OLD MUST KNOW IT,
BECAUSE THE GREATNESS COMES
NOT WHEN THINGS
GO ALWAYS GOOD FOR YOU,
BUT THE GREATNESS COMES
WHEN YOU'RE REALLY TESTED,
WHEN YOU TAKE...
SOME KNOCKS,
SOME DISAPPOINTMENTS,
WHEN SADNESS COMES.
BECAUSE ONLY IF YOU'VE BEEN
IN THE DEEPEST VALLEY
CAN YOU EVER KNOW
HOW MAGNIFICENT IT IS
TO BE ON THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN.
ALWAYS GIVE YOUR BEST,
NEVER GET DISCOURAGED,
NEVER BE PETTY,
ALWAYS REMEMBER
OTHERS MAY HATE YOU.
THOSE WHO HATE YOU DON'T WIN
UNLESS YOU HATE THEM
AND THEN YOU DESTROY YOURSELF.
Narrator:
ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1974,
PRESIDENT GERALD FORD GRANTED
RICHARD NIXON
A FULL AND ABSOLUTE PARDON.
OVER 70 OTHERS WERE FOUND GUILTY
OF CRIMINAL ACTS, AND PUNISHED.
THE CONTRADICTIONS
OF NIXON'S CAREER,
HIS TRIUMPHS AND DEFEATS,
GRAND VISION
AND PETTY GRIEVANCES
HAVE LEFT THEIR IMPRINT
ON AMERICA,
BUT HIS LEGACY
REMAINS AMBIGUOUS.
"THE JUDGMENT OF HISTORY,"
NIXON HAS SAID,
"DEPENDS ON WHO WRITES IT."
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT
THE PRESIDENTS
AT AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
ONLINE,
WHERE YOU CAN WATCH
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AND THE CURRENT ELECTION,
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FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
Narrator:
MIAMI BEACH, AUGUST 1972.
TWO MONTHS AFTER
THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN,
A TRIUMPHANT RICHARD NIXON
TOOK COMMAND
AT THE REPUBLICAN
NATIONAL CONVENTION.
NARROWLY ELECTED
FOUR YEARS EARLIER,
NIXON NOW WANTED TO WIN
THE BIGGEST LANDSLIDE
IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY.
TONIGHT, I AGAIN PROUDLY
ACCEPT YOUR NOMINATION
FOR PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND LET US PLEDGE OURSELVES
TO WIN AN EVEN GREATER VICTORY
THIS NOVEMBER, IN 1972.
♪ VOTE NIXON NOW ♪
♪ NIXON NOW ♪
♪ HE'S MADE THE DIFFERENCE ♪
♪ HE'S SHOWN US HOW... ♪
Narrator:
NIXON'S CAMPAIGN AMASSED
HUGE SUMS OF MONEY.
SKILLFUL TELEVISION ADS
APPEALED TO DEMOCRATS,
BLUE COLLAR WORKERS,
THE SOUTH.
NIXON HAD ALWAYS CAMPAIGNED HARD
FOR OTHER REPUBLICANS.
NOW HE ABANDONED THEM,
EVEN DROPPED THE PARTY LABEL.
RICHARD NIXON CAMPAIGNED
AS "THE PRESIDENT."
YOU'RE GREAT.
THANK YOU,
YOU'RE GREAT.
Narrator:
AS THE PRESIDENT
PURSUED VICTORY,
THE WHITE HOUSE CONTINUED TO
DENY INVOLVEMENT IN WATERGATE.
A FEW REPORTERS FOLLOWED
THE STORY,
BUT MOST VOTERS DISMISSED
THE BREAK-IN
AS A "CAMPAIGN CAPER."
WATERGATE NEVER THREATENED
NIXON'S BIG WIN.
NIXON OVERWHELMED HIS DEMOCRATIC
RIVAL, SENATOR GEORGE McGOVERN.
HE CARRIED EVERY STATE
BUT MASSACHUSETTS.
BUT HIS VICTORY
WAS NOT COMPLETE.
THE DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION
RETAINED CONTROL
OF BOTH THE HOUSE
AND THE SENATE.
Man:
IT TURNED OUT TO BE
A LONELY LANDSLIDE.
HE MONOPOLIZED ALL OF
THE RESOURCES, ALL OF THE MONEY,
ALL OF THE POLITICAL TALENT
IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
AND ANYTHING ELSE
THAT HE COULD ANNEX
FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL VICTORY
AND DIDN'T SHARE THE WEALTH AND
THE OPPORTUNITY WITH HIS PARTY.
IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARILY
SELFISH VICTORY, IN MY VIEW.
Announcer:
WE ARE SHOWING
PRESIDENT NIXON...
Narrator:
ON ELECTION NIGHT,
NIXON WATCHED THE RETURNS
WITH TWO OF HIS CLOSEST AIDES...
CHIEF OF STAFF H.R. HALDEMAN
AND SPECIAL COUNSEL
CHUCK COLSON.
Colson:
AND I COULDN'T FEEL
ANY SENSE OF JUBILATION.
IT WAS JUST SORT OF
A VERY DEPRESSED ATMOSPHERE.
HERE WE WERE SUPPOSEDLY WINNING,
AND IT WAS MORE LIKE
WE'D LOST.
THE ATTITUDE WAS KIND OF,
"WELL, WE SHOWED THEM.
WE GOT EVEN WITH OUR ENEMIES
AND WE BEAT THEM."
INSTEAD OF "WE'VE BEEN GIVEN
A WONDERFUL MANDATE
TO RULE OVER
THE NEXT FOUR YEARS."
WE WERE REDUCED
TO OUR PETTY WORST
ON THE NIGHT OF WHAT SHOULD
HAVE BEEN OUR GREATEST TRIUMPH,
AND THAT'S INDICATIVE OF KIND OF
THE PARADOX OF THE NIXON YEARS.
"I'M AT A LOSS TO EXPLAIN
THE MELANCHOLY
THAT SETTLED OVER ME
ON THAT VICTORIOUS NIGHT,"
NIXON LATER WROTE.
"TO SOME EXTENT THE MARRING
EFFECTS OF WATERGATE
"MAY HAVE PLAYED A PART,
"TO SOME EXTENT OUR FAILURE
TO WIN CONGRESS,
"AND TO A GREATER EXTENT,
"THE FACT THAT WE HAD NOT BEEN
ABLE TO END THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
"WHATEVER THE REASONS,
"I ALLOWED MYSELF ONLY A FEW
MINUTES TO REFLECT ON THE PAST.
I WAS CONFIDENT THAT A NEW ERA
WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN."
Ehrlichman:
THE NEXT MORNING
AFTER THE ELECTION,
NIXON CAME IN THE CABINET ROOM...
THE CABINET, SOME OF THE WHITE
HOUSE STAFF WERE THERE.
EVERYBODY STOOD AND APPLAUDED,
AND HE SAT DOWN
AND IMMEDIATELY
WANTED TO GET DOWN TO WORK.
AND WORK WAS, "BY GOLLY, WE'RE
GOING TO CHANGE THIS GOVERNMENT.
"AND EVERYBODY'S GOING TO
GIVE ME HIS RESIGNATION.
"BOB HALDEMAN HERE WILL TELL YOU
WHAT I HAVE IN MIND
"WHERE THAT'S CONCERNED.
"I THANK YOU ALL
FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
YOU DID A WONDERFUL JOB;
I APPRECIATE IT."
AND HE GOT UP AND LEFT.
AND THEN HALDEMAN
GOT UP AND SAID,
"THE PRESIDENT WANTS
EVERYBODY'S RESIGNATION."
AND THIS HIT LIKE
A COLD SLAP IN THE FACE.
IT WASN'T INTENDED THAT WAY.
WHAT HE WANTED TO DO
WAS TO HAVE HIS SECOND
ADMINISTRATION START FRESH...
A FRESH BEGINNING.
Narrator:
NIXON LEFT WASHINGTON
AND FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS
REMAINED IN VIRTUAL ISOLATION.
Nixon:
ONE CONSTANTLY
HAS THE PROBLEM
OF EITHER GETTING
ON TOP OF THE JOB
OR HAVING THE JOB
GET ON TOP OF YOU.
I FIND THAT UP HERE
ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN
IT IS EASIER FOR ME
TO GET ON TOP OF THE JOB.
Broder:
THIS WAS A PERIOD
THAT IS SO NIXONIAN.
I MEAN, YOU COULD
JUST FOCUS ON THAT
AND SAY, "THIS IS
THE ESSENCE OF THE MAN."
INSTEAD OF SAVORING
THE VICTORY,
INSTEAD OF REACHING OUT
AND EMBRACING PEOPLE,
HE WITHDREW WITHIN HIMSELF.
Narrator:
ALONE ON HIS MOUNTAINTOP,
NIXON BROODED OVER THE ISSUE
THAT HAD HAUNTED HIS FIRST TERM
AND NOW THREATENED HIS SECOND...
THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
THE PARIS PEACE TALKS
WERE AGAIN STALLED.
REELECTED BY
AN OVERWHELMING MARGIN,
HE NOW RESOLVED TO USE
OVERWHELMING FORCE
TO BREAK THE DEADLOCK
ONCE AND FOR ALL.
IN DECEMBER, NIXON ORDERED
THE MOST INTENSIVE BOMBING
OF THE ENTIRE WAR.
IT BECAME KNOWN
AS "THE CHRISTMAS BOMBING."
THE RAIDS WENT ON FOR 12 DAYS.
IGNORING THE PLEAS
OF HIS CLOSEST AIDES,
NIXON GAVE NO PUBLIC EXPLANATION
FOR HIS ACTION.
Price:
HE THOUGHT IT WAS
DIPLOMATICALLY VITAL
THAT HE MAKE THIS LOOK AS COLD
AN OPERATION AS POSSIBLE
AND SO HE WOULD NOT EXPLAIN IT.
HE HELD HIMSELF APART UP ON
THE MOUNTAINTOP IN CAMP DAVID,
KNOWING HIS SILENCE WOULD
MAKE IT MORE EFFECTIVE.
Narrator:
THE NEW YORK TIMES DENOUNCED
WHAT IT CALLED NIXON'S
"STONE-AGE BARBARISM."
THE MASSIVE,
UNEXPLAINED DESTRUCTION
ALARMED EVEN
HIS LOYAL SUPPORTERS.
Interviewer:
YOU WERE QUOTED
RECENTLY AS SAYING
THAT THE PRESIDENT
HAD TAKEN LEAVE
OF HIS SENSES.
I FEEL THAT
HE'S DONE THINGS HERE
THAT A REASONABLE MAN
WOULD NOT HAVE DONE.
AND I CAN'T FIND
AN EXPLANATION FOR IT.
Narrator:
THE BOMBING STOPPED.
THE CONTROVERSY SUBSIDED.
AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER,
ALL SIDES RETURNED TO PARIS.
NIXON BELIEVED
THE CHRISTMAS BOMBING
HAD DRIVEN HANOI BACK
TO THE BARGAINING TABLE.
TWO WEEKS LATER,
IN A QUIET CEREMONY,
THEY SIGNED AN AGREEMENT.
NIXON'S CRITICS CHARGED
HE COULD HAVE HAD
THE SAME TERMS MONTHS BEFORE.
BUT AFTER 20 YEARS
OF AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT,
THE LOSS OF OVER
50,000 AMERICAN LIVES,
THE CONFLICT THAT HAD
TORN APART THE NATION
AT LONG LAST CAME TO A CLOSE.
Nixon:
A CEASE-FIRE WILL BEGIN
AT 7:00 P.M. THIS SATURDAY,
JANUARY 27, WASHINGTON TIME.
WITHIN 60 DAYS
FROM THIS SATURDAY
ALL AMERICANS HELD PRISONERS
OF WAR THROUGHOUT INDOCHINA
WILL BE RELEASED.
DURING THE SAME 60-DAY PERIOD
ALL AMERICAN FORCES WILL BE
WITHDRAWN FROM SOUTH VIETNAM.
Narrator:
IN VIETNAM, THE FIGHTING
LATER RESUMED
BUT IN AMERICA, THE WEARY TROOPS
AND THE PRISONERS OF WAR
WERE FINALLY COMING HOME.
Man:
I HAVE THREE WORDS FOR AMERICA...
GOD BLESS AMERICA.
Narrator:
H.R. HALDEMAN RECALLED
THAT THE DAY THE WAR ENDED
RICHARD NIXON HAD NEVER
LOOKED SO HAPPY.
HIS POPULARITY SOARED
TO THE HIGHEST POINT
OF HIS ENTIRE CAREER.
ALMOST 70% OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE SUPPORTED THE PRESIDENT.
IT WAS NOT TO LAST.
Narrator:
ONE MONTH BEFORE THE WATERGATE
BURGLARS WENT ON TRIAL,
A 737 CRASHED IN CHICAGO.
AMONG THE DEAD WAS DOROTHY HUNT,
WIFE OF WATERGATE BURGLAR
HOWARD HUNT.
HER PURSE, FOUND IN
THE WRECKAGE,
CONTAINED $10,000 IN CASH.
LATER IT WOULD BE REVEALED THAT
MRS. HUNT HAD ACTED AS A COURIER
DELIVERING MONEY DRAWN FROM
SECRET WHITE HOUSE FUNDS...
HUSH MONEY USED TO BUY
THE BURGLARS' SILENCE.
FROM THE MOMENT
THEY WERE CAUGHT,
THE BURGLARS LIED TO CONCEAL
THEIR TIES TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
QUESTIONED BY THE F.B.I.,
G. GORDON LIDDY,
WHO'D PLANNED THE BURGLARY,
AND JAMES McCORD,
FORMER C.I.A. AGENT WHO
HAD HELPED TO CARRY IT OUT,
INSISTED THEY HAD ACTED
ON THEIR OWN.
SO DID THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.
NIXON'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER
AND FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL
JOHN MITCHELL, WHO HAD
APPROVED THE BREAK-IN,
DENIED RESPONSIBILITY.
THE PRESIDENT'S CHIEF OF STAFF,
H.R. HALDEMAN,
AUTHORIZED HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS
TOTALLING MORE THAN $350,000.
THE PRESIDENT'S DOMESTIC
ADVISOR, JOHN EHRLICHMAN,
LIED TO THE F.B.I. AND GRAND
JURY INVESTIGATING THE BREAK-IN.
THE PRESIDENT'S COUNSEL,
JOHN DEAN, WITHHELD EVIDENCE,
COACHED WITNESSES, AND MONITORED
THE F.B.I. INVESTIGATION.
THE COVER-UP WAS HOLDING
BUT BY EARLY '73, IT WAS
CONSUMING THE TIME AND ATTENTION
OF NIXON'S CLOSEST AIDES,
HALDEMAN AND EHRLICHMAN.
BY FEBRUARY, JOHN DEAN HAD
ASSUMED MORE RESPONSIBILITY
FOR MANAGING THE COVER-UP.
HE BEGAN TO MEET FREQUENTLY
WITH THE PRESIDENT.
WHEN I FIRST STARTED DEALING
WITH THE PRESIDENT,
MY FIRST CONCERN WAS
WHETHER I SHOULD EVEN BE DEALING
WITH HIM ON THIS,
BECAUSE I FELT THAT
NOT ONLY HAD I BEEN COMPROMISED,
I THOUGHT HALDEMAN,
EHRLICHMAN, MITCHELL,
ALL OF US HAD, BECAUSE BY NOW,
I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE
A CRIMINAL LAWYER;
I KNEW WE WERE IN THE MIDST
OF SOMETHING BAD.
I MEAN, THIS IS A COVER-UP.
THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND.
Narrator:
NIXON NOTED IN HIS DIARY,
"I AM GLAD THAT I AM
TALKING TO DEAN NOW
"RATHER THAN GOING THROUGH
HALDEMAN OR EHRLICHMAN.
"I THINK I'VE MADE A MISTAKE
IN GOING THROUGH OTHERS
"WHEN THERE IS A MAN
WITH THE CAPABILITY OF DEAN
I CAN TALK TO DIRECTLY."
BOTH NIXON AND DEAN SENSED
GROWING DANGER
FROM CAPITOL HILL.
THE SENATE, UNDER
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP,
WAS FORMING A SPECIAL
WATERGATE COMMITTEE
TO INVESTIGATE THE BREAK-IN
AND THE CONDUCT OF NIXON'S
REELECTION CAMPAIGN.
BUT THE MOST IMMEDIATE THREAT
CAME FROM WATERGATE BURGLAR
HOWARD HUNT.
DESPAIRING OVER
THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE,
CONCERNED OVER
THE FATE OF HIS CHILDREN,
HE NOW DEMANDED $120,000
OR HE WOULD REVEAL, HE SAID,
THE "SEAMY THINGS" HE HAD DONE
FOR THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME
ONE OF THESE THREATS HAD EVER
BEEN BROUGHT DIRECTLY TO ME
AND I DIDN'T LIKE BEING
IN THAT ROLE.
BECAUSE I KNEW ABOUT THE MONEY
OUT THERE,
BUT I HAD NEVER BEEN A CONVEYOR
OF MESSAGES BACK AND FORTH,
AND HOW SUDDENLY
I'M RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE
OF ANOTHER UGLY SIDE OF THIS.
Narrator:
HUNT'S DEMAND WAS
A TURNING POINT FOR JOHN DEAN.
THE WHITE HOUSE COULD
NO LONGER CONTROL THE COVER-UP.
ON MARCH 21, A WORRIED DEAN
TRIED TO PERSUADE NIXON
TO END THE CONSPIRACY.
HE DESCRIBED THE COVER-UP
AS A CANCER ON THE PRESIDENCY
AND WARNED THAT
HALDEMAN, EHRLICHMAN
AND DEAN HIMSELF
HAD BROKEN THE LAW.
THE PRESIDENT STARTED
KNOCKING DOWN
EVERY ONE OF THESE HORRIBLES
I KEPT RAISING.
FINALLY I GOT AROUND TO SAYING,
"WELL, YOU KNOW, THESE GUYS
WANT A LOT MORE MONEY
"TO REMAIN QUIET,
AND THERE'S JUST NO TELLING
HOW MUCH THEY WANT."
HE SAID, "WELL, HOW MUCH
COULD THEY WANT?"
AND I PULLED OUT OF THIN AIR
WHAT I THOUGHT WAS
A PRETTY ASTRONOMICAL NUMBER.
I SAID, "WELL, IT COULD COST
A MILLION DOLLARS."
HE LOOKED AT ME AND HE SAID,
"JOHN, I KNOW WHERE WE CAN GET
A MILLION DOLLARS."
Narrator:
NIXON APPROVED MORE HUSH MONEY.
HE LET THE COVER-UP CONTINUE.
TWO DAYS LATER,
THE COVER-UP BLEW WIDE OPEN.
THERE WAS A MAJOR BREAK
IN THE WATERGATE TRIAL TODAY.
ON THIS DAY OF SENTENCING,
ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS,
JAMES McCORD, PROMISED
TO REVEAL HIDDEN DETAILS
ABOUT THE BUGGING OF
THE DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS.
Narrator:
IN A LETTER
TO THE PRESIDING JUDGE,
JAMES McCORD ADMITTED
THAT THE WATERGATE BURGLARS
HAD NOT ACTED ON THEIR OWN.
HIS TESTIMONY IMPLICATED
THE WHITE HOUSE
AND GALVANIZED
THE NATIONAL PRESS.
EVEN BEFORE McCORD'S LETTER,
NIXON HAD ORDERED JOHN DEAN
TO WRITE A REPORT
THAT WOULD EXONERATE THE WHITE
HOUSE OF WRONGDOING.
Ehrlichman:
THE PRESIDENT ASKED HIM
TO REDUCE HIS UNDERSTANDING
OF THE WHOLE PROBLEM TO WRITING.
HE ASKED HIM TO DO THAT FOUR OR
FIVE TIMES AND NOTHING HAPPENED.
AND FINALLY THE PRESIDENT
SENT JOHN DEAN
TO CAMP DAVID
IN THE MIDDLE OF MARCH
TO SIT DOWN, DO NOTHING BUT
WRITE A REPORT FOR THE PRESIDENT
ON WHAT THIS WATERGATE BUSINESS
WAS ALL ABOUT...
WHO WAS INVOLVED, WHO WAS
AT FAULT, ALL OF THAT.
WHILE DEAN WAS UP THERE,
HE HAD AN EPIPHANY
WHICH WAS THAT HE WAS IN
DEEP TROUBLE, OR SO HE SAYS.
WELL, IT WAS MUCH CLEARER
AFTER THE FACT,
BUT I SUSPECTED AT THE TIME
I WAS BEING SET UP
AND THE WHOLE PLAN WAS TO GIVE
THE PRESIDENT THIS REPORT
SO HE COULD SAY, "THIS IS
ALL I'VE EVER KNOWN
AND MY COUNSEL
LIED TO ME, CLEARLY."
AND I JUST WASN'T GOING
TO BE PART OF THAT.
Narrator:
THE COVER-UP WAS DISINTEGRATING
AND DEAN FEARED THAT HE MIGHT
BECOME NIXON'S SCAPEGOAT.
IN EARLY APRIL,
HE TELEPHONED HALDEMAN
TO SAY HE WAS TALKING
WITH THE PROSECUTORS.
HALDEMAN CAUTIONED HIM, "I THINK
YOU OUGHT TO THINK ABOUT IT
"BECAUSE ONCE THE TOOTHPASTE
IS OUT OF THE TUBE
IT'S HARD TO GET IT BACK IN."
"IF DEAN IS TOTALLY OUT OF
CONTROL," EHRLICHMAN TOLD NIXON,
"YOU COULD GET
AN ARTICLE OF IMPEACHMENT."
HALDEMAN LATER REMEMBERED
THAT NIXON LOOKED STUNNED.
IN PRIVATE,
THE PRESIDENT CONTINUED
TO SEARCH FOR A SCAPEGOAT
AND STRUGGLED TO SALVAGE
THE COVER-UP.
IN PUBLIC, HE ACTED AS IF
HE WERE UPHOLDING THE LAW.
I CAN REPORT TODAY
THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MAJOR
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CASE
CONCERNING WHICH IT WOULD BE
IMPROPER TO BE MORE SPECIFIC NOW
EXCEPT TO SAY THAT REAL
PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE
IN FINDING THE TRUTH.
I CONDEMN ANY ATTEMPTS
TO COVER UP IN THIS CASE,
NO MATTER WHO IS INVOLVED.
THANK YOU.
Narrator:
EVENTS WERE SPINNING
OUT OF NIXON'S CONTROL.
JOHN DEAN, BARGAINING
FOR IMMUNITY
WITH WATERGATE PROSECUTOR
EARL SILBERT
MADE A STUNNING REVELATION.
DEAN'S LAWYER SAID, "DEAN HAS
ONE MORE THING TO TELL YOU
THAT YOU MIGHT WANT
TO KNOW ABOUT."
AND DEAN AT THAT POINT SAID...
WE'RE IN THE HALLWAY
AND DEAN IS IN THE OFFICE...
HE SAID, IN SUBSTANCE,
THAT LIDDY AND HUNT
WERE INVOLVED IN A BREAK-IN
INTO THE OFFICE
OF ELLSBERG'S PSYCHIATRIST,
DAN ELLSBERG'S PSYCHIATRIST.
I KNOW MY JAW MUST HAVE
FALLEN DOWN TO THE FLOOR.
THAT WAS A BOMBSHELL
OF INFORMATION.
Narrator:
FOR TWO YEARS, THE BURGLARY OF
ELLSBERG'S PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE
HAD REMAINED ONE OF THE MOST
CLOSELY GUARDED SECRETS
OF THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
NOW DEAN'S REVELATION SUGGESTED
THAT THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN
WAS NOT AN ISOLATED EVENT.
IT WAS PART OF A WEB
OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
ORDERED BY THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.
VACATIONING IN KEY BISCAYNE,
NIXON KNEW DEAN HAD TALKED
TO THE PROSECUTORS.
BUT HE STILL HOPED TO APPEAL
TO DEAN'S LOYALTY
NOT TO REVEAL ANY MORE.
ON EASTER SUNDAY,
NIXON CALLED DEAN.
People:
HAPPY EASTER!
AND HE SAID HE'D BEEN
OUT WITH THE FAMILY
TO EASTER SUNDAY
OR WHAT HAVE YOU,
AND HE SAID, "I WANT YOU
TO KNOW, JOHN,
YOU'RE STILL MY COUNSEL."
AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,
"B.S., I'M ABOUT AS CLOSE
TO BEING HIS COUNSEL NOW
AS THE MAN IN THE MOON."
HE JUST WAS KEEPING
LITTLE FEELERS OUT THERE.
BUT I MADE IT PRETTY CLEAR
TO ALL OF THE...
THE WORD I WAS PUTTING
BACK TO EVERYBODY...
I WASN'T MAKING ANY DEALS.
I WASN'T INTERESTED
IN ANY DEALS.
I THINK NIXON HOPED THAT HE
COULD MAKE A BARGAIN WITH DEAN
AND SAY, IN EFFECT, "YOU HAVE
TO PROTECT YOUR PRESIDENT."
BUT THE MUCH STRONGER VOICE
THAT DEAN WAS HEARING
WAS THE PROSECUTOR SAYING,
"BOY, I'M GOING TO
NAIL YOU TO THE WALL
UNLESS YOU GIVE ME
ALL THE DIRT."
Narrator:
AS DEAN AND OTHER AIDES
SCRAMBLED FOR IMMUNITY,
RUMORS SWIRLED ABOUT
THE WHITE HOUSE,
COMING EVER CLOSER
TO THE OVAL OFFICE.
IN APRIL, ACCUSATIONS AGAINST
HALDEMAN AND EHRLICHMAN
DOMINATED THE HEADLINES.
THE TWO MEN HAD PROTECTED
THE PRESIDENT,
GUARDED HIS PRIVACY,
SHARED HIS AMBITIONS.
BUT NOW, NIXON WOULD SACRIFICE
HIS CLOSEST AIDES.
THE LAST SUNDAY IN APRIL,
HE SUMMONED THEM TO CAMP DAVID.
THE FIRST THING
HE SAID TO ME WAS,
"WHEN I WENT TO SLEEP
LAST NIGHT,
I PRAYED THAT I WOULD NOT
WAKE UP THIS MORNING."
AND HE BEGAN TO REALLY CRY.
HE BEGAN TO REALLY CRY
AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
I HAD JUST NEVER SEEN HIM
OUT OF CONTROL THIS WAY.
HE FINALLY SAID, BASICALLY...
THE WORDS HAVE GONE,
I'VE FORGOTTEN.
I WENT BACK AND MADE
VERY CAREFUL NOTES
SO THAT SOMEWHERE I HAVE
NOTES OF THIS CONVERSATION...
BUT THE GIST OF IT WAS THAT
THE ACCUSATIONS WERE SO SERIOUS
THAT HE COULDN'T KEEP US ON.
HE THOUGHT MAYBE WE COULD
STAY ON, BOB AND I,
ON A LEAVE OF ABSENCE
OR SOME SUCH FORM.
BUT HE SAW THAT
HE HAD TO CUT IT OFF
THAT HE WAS GOING TO FIRE DEAN
AT THE SAME TIME
AND THAT HE WAS GOING TO FIRE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
AT SOME POINT HE ASKED ME
IF THERE WAS ANYTHING
THAT HE COULD DO FOR ME.
I SAID, "YEAH, I'D LIKE YOU
TO EXPLAIN THIS ALL TO MY KIDS
"BECAUSE I'M HAVING TROUBLE
EXPLAINING TO THEM
WHY YOU WOULD DO THIS."
AND... HE DIDN'T
RESPOND TO THAT.
SO WE ENDED UP IN A HUG.
WE HUGGED EACH OTHER
AND I COULD SEE THAT HE HAD
SAID EVERYTHING THAT HE COULD
AND THAT WAS THE END OF IT.
Narrator:
IN MAY, THE PRESIDENT
AND MRS. NIXON
WELCOMED THE RETURNING P.O.W.s
TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
Nixon:
IT IS ALWAYS THE CUSTOM
AT A DINNER AT THE WHITE HOUSE
TO HAVE A TOAST
TO THE HONORED GUEST.
THE DIFFICULTY TONIGHT IS
THAT THERE ARE
SO MANY HONORED GUESTS
THAT WE WOULD BE DRINKING
ALL NIGHT AND INTO THE DAY.
SOMEBODY JUST SAID,
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?"
Narrator:
NEW WATERGATE CHARGES
WERE ERUPTING DAILY,
BUT THE P.O.W.s REMAINED LOYAL
TO THEIR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
AND, SIR, I WOULD LIKE
TO STATE FOR ALL OF US
THAT WE NEVER LOST FAITH IN
YOUR INTEGRITY OR YOUR COURAGE
AND WE ARE PROUD TO BE CITIZENS
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
BUT THE PUBLIC'S FAITH
IN THE PRESIDENT
WOULD SOON BE SEVERELY TESTED.
THE SENATE WATERGATE COMMITTEE
BEGAN HEARINGS
THAT WOULD KEEP THE NATION
SPELLBOUND
THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
Announcer:
THE HISTORIC CAUCUS ROOM WAS
JAMMED TODAY WITH CAMERAS,
NEWSMEN, 200 SEATED SPECTATORS
AND MORE STANDING.
THIS ROOM HAS BEEN THE SCENE...
Narrator:
ONE OF THE LARGEST AUDIENCES
IN TELEVISION HISTORY
WATCHED ON MAY 17
AS SENATOR SAM ERVIN OPENED
THE INVESTIGATION
OF NIXON'S REELECTION CAMPAIGN
AND THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN.
THE COMMITTEE
WILL COME TO ORDER.
Narrator:
EVEN THE PRESIDENT'S STAFF
WATCHED
AS A PARADE OF WITNESSES
IMPLICATED HALDEMAN, EHRLICHMAN
AND OTHERS HIGH
IN THE ADMINISTRATION
AND THE NIXON CAMPAIGN.
BUT IN THE FIRST
MONTH OF TESTIMONY,
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF ESCAPED
DIRECT CHARGES OF WRONGDOING.
THEN THE COMMITTEE SUMMONED
ITS STAR WITNESS... JOHN DEAN.
IN A SEVEN-HOUR
OPENING STATEMENT,
DEAN DESCRIBED THE ATMOSPHERE
OF THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
Dean:
THE WATERGATE MATTER
WAS AN INEVITABLE OUTGROWTH OF
A CLIMATE OF EXCESSIVE CONCERN
OVER THE POLITICAL IMPACT
OF DEMONSTRATORS,
EXCESSIVE CONCERN OVER LEAKS,
AN INSATIABLE APPETITE
FOR POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE,
ALL COUPLED WITH A DO-IT-
YOURSELF WHITE HOUSE STAFF
REGARDLESS OF THE LAW.
HE SPOKE IN ALMOST A MONOTONE
AS HE BEGAN TO TELL SOME OF
THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS STORIES
ABOUT WHAT HAD OCCURRED,
AND COMING FROM A MONOTONE,
IT WAS THE FACTS
RATHER THAN HIS PERSONALITY
THAT CAME OUT AT THE PUBLIC.
Narrator:
DEAN DESCRIBED HIS MEETING
ON MARCH 21,
WHEN HE WARNED NIXON ABOUT THE
BURGLARS' ESCALATING DEMANDS.
I TOLD THE PRESIDENT ABOUT
THE FACT THERE WAS NO MONEY
TO PAY THESE INDIVIDUALS
TO MEET THEIR DEMANDS.
HE ASKED ME HOW MUCH
IT WOULD COST.
I TOLD HIM I COULD ONLY
MAKE AN ESTIMATE
THAT IT MIGHT BE AS HIGH AS
A MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE.
HE TOLD ME THAT
THAT WAS NO PROBLEM.
HE ALSO LOOKED OVER AT HALDEMAN
AND REPEATED THE SAME STATEMENT.
THAT STORY CAME OUT,
IT WAS THE VERY FIRST TIME
IN THE HEARING,
THE VERY FIRST TIME
ANY EVIDENCE CAME FORWARD
THAT REALLY PUT THE PRESIDENT IN
ON THE OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE...
THE PRESIDENT WHO SAID HE KNEW
NOTHING ABOUT THESE THINGS,
THE PRESIDENT WHO SAID
HE HAD STARTED AN INVESTIGATION
TO FIND OUT WHO WAS INVOLVED.
AND HERE WAS A EYEWITNESS,
A PERSON WHO WAS INVOLVED
WHO WAS TESTIFYING
TO THE PRESIDENT'S
VERY DEEP INVOLVEMENT
IN THE OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
AND THE COVER-UP.
Narrator:
IT WAS NOW THE WORD
OF THE PRESIDENT
AGAINST HIS 34-YEAR-OLD
FORMER COUNSEL.
THE WHITE HOUSE TRIED
TO UNDERMINE DEAN'S TESTIMONY
BY SPREADING RUMORS ABOUT
HIS CREDIBILITY AND CHARACTER.
WITH NO WAY TO DETERMINE
WHO WAS TELLING THE TRUTH,
NIXON BELIEVED HE WOULD PREVAIL.
THEN ON JULY 16, EVERYTHING
CHANGED FOR RICHARD NIXON.
Man:
MY NAME IS ALEXANDER
PORTER BUTTERFIELD.
Man:
MR. BUTTERFIELD,
ARE YOU AWARE
OF THE INSTALLATION
OF ANY LISTENING DEVICES
IN THE OVAL OFFICE
OF THE PRESIDENT?
I WAS AWARE OF LISTENING
DEVICES, YES, SIR.
SO THAT IF EITHER
MR. DEAN, MR. HALDEMAN,
MR. EHRLICHMAN,
MR. COLSON HAD
PARTICULAR MEETINGS
IN THE OVAL OFFICE
WITH THE PRESIDENT
ON THE PARTICULAR DATES
THAT HAVE BEEN TESTIFIED
BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE,
THERE WOULD BE
A TAPE RECORDING
WITH THE PRESIDENT
OF THAT FULL
CONVERSATION,
WOULD THERE NOT?
YES, SIR.
ONE LAST QUESTION.
IF ONE WERE,
THEREFORE,
TO RECONSTRUCT
THE CONVERSATIONS
AT ANY PARTICULAR DATE
WHAT WOULD BE
THE BEST WAY
TO RECONSTRUCT
THOSE CONVERSATIONS,
MR. BUTTERFIELD?
WELL, IN THE OBVIOUS MANNER,
MR. DASH:
TO OBTAIN THE TAPE AND PLAY IT.
Dash:
I HAVE NO FURTHER
QUESTIONS, MR. CHAIRMAN.
Narrator:
NIXON WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
WITH VIRAL PNEUMONIA
WHEN HE LEARNED ABOUT
BUTTERFIELD'S TESTIMONY.
HE WROTE ON A BEDSIDE PAD,
"SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED THE TAPES
AFTER APRIL 30."
NIXON KNEW CONTROLLING THE TAPES
WAS THE KEY TO HIS SURVIVAL.
HE WOULD APPEAL
TO HISTORICAL PRECEDENT
AND ARGUE THAT THE TAPES
WERE LIKE PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS...
THEY BELONGED TO THE PRESIDENT,
NOT TO CONGRESS OR THE COURTS.
THE PRESIDENT HAD A RIGHT
TO KEEP THEM PRIVATE.
THE BATTLE FOR THE TAPES BEGAN
WITH THE PRESIDENT
RALLYING THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF.
Nixon:
I WAS RATHER AMUSED
BY SOME VERY WELL-INTENTIONED
PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT
THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME
OF THE RATHER ROUGH ASSAULTS
THAT ANY MAN IN THIS OFFICE
GETS FROM TIME TO TIME
BRINGS ON AN ILLNESS
AND THAT AFTER GOING THROUGH
SUCH AN ILLNESS
I MIGHT GET SO TIRED
THAT I WOULD CONSIDER EITHER
SLOWING DOWN OR...
OR EVEN, SOME SUGGESTED,
RESIGNING.
WELL, NOW, JUST SO WE
SET THAT TO REST,
I'M GOING TO USE A PHRASE THAT
MY OHIO FATHER USED TO USE.
"THAT'S JUST PLAIN POPPYCOCK."
WE'RE GOING TO STAY ON THIS JOB
TILL WE GET THE JOB DONE.
AND LET OTHERS WALLOW
IN WATERGATE...
WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR JOB.
Narrator:
THE CONTINUING INVESTIGATIONS
PLACED NEW PRESSURES
ON THE WHITE HOUSE.
THE WATERGATE COMMITTEE
ISSUED A SUBPOENA
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S TAPES.
NIXON REFUSED TO COMPLY
AND RISKED BEING FOUND
IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.
BUT EVEN THAT WAS NOT
HIS BIGGEST CONCERN.
PRESSURED BY CONGRESS,
ATTORNEY GENERAL
ELLIOT RICHARDSON AGREED
TO APPOINT AN INDEPENDENT
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
HE CHOSE ARCHIBALD COX,
AND GAVE HIM SWEEPING POWERS
TO INVESTIGATE
THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
Reporter:
WHAT IF THIS
TRAIL LEADS
INTO THE OVAL OFFICE
OF THE WHITE HOUSE?
AS I REPLIED THEN,
THE TRAIL SHOULD BE FOLLOWED
WHEREVER IT LEADS.
Narrator:
NIXON LATER DESCRIBED COX
AS "THE PARTISAN VIPER
WE HAD PLANTED IN OUR BOSOM."
Price:
WE SAW ARCHIE COX IN POLITICAL
RATHER THAN LEGAL TERMS.
HE WAS SORT OF THE HIGH GURU
OF THE KENNEDY GOVERNMENT-
IN-WAITING IN CAMBRIDGE.
THE IDEA THAT THESE KENNEDY AND
McGOVERN POLITICAL OPERATIVES
WERE GOING TO BE DEMANDING
TO RUN BAREFOOT
THROUGH ALL THE MOST PRIVATE
FILES OF THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE
WAS UTTERLY APPALLING
AND ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS.
Narrator:
COX AND HIS STAFF REQUESTED
SENSITIVE WHITE HOUSE FILES.
NIXON RELUCTANTLY COMPLIED.
COX ALSO DEMANDED NINE
OF THE PRESIDENT'S TAPES.
NIXON REFUSED.
COX TOOK HIS CASE TO COURT.
AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, I AM SURE
THE PRESIDENT'S LEGAL POSITION
IS PRESENTED IN GOOD FAITH.
I THINK IT'S QUITE WRONG...
Narrator:
BY THE END OF SUMMER,
NIXON'S REFUSAL
TO TURN OVER THE TAPES
AND JOHN DEAN'S TESTIMONY
HAD BADLY ERODED THE PUBLIC'S
SUPPORT FOR THE PRESIDENT.
BUT AFTER MONTHS
OF UNRELENTING PRESS COVERAGE,
NIXON SENSED THAT AMERICANS
WERE GROWING WEARY OF WATERGATE.
HE MOVED TO TAKE THE OFFENSIVE.
MR. PRESIDENT!
MR. PRESIDENT!
Narrator:
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 14 MONTHS
NIXON HELD A TELEVISED
NEWS CONFERENCE
AND TRIED TO TURN THE PERSISTENT
QUESTIONING TO HIS ADVANTAGE.
Reporter:
AT ANY TIME DURING
THE WATERGATE CRISIS,
DID YOU EVER CONSIDER RESIGNING
AND WOULD YOU
CONSIDER RESIGNING
IF YOU FELT
THAT YOUR CAPACITY
TO GOVERN HAD BEEN
SERIOUSLY WEAKENED
AND IN THAT CONNECTION,
HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK
YOUR CAPACITY TO GOVERN
HAS BEEN WEAKENED?
THE ANSWER TO THE FIRST
TWO QUESTIONS IS NO.
THE ANSWER TO THE THIRD
QUESTION IS THAT IT IS TRUE
THAT AS FAR AS THE CAPACITY
TO GOVERN IS CONCERNED
THAT TO BE UNDER A CONSTANT
BARRAGE 12 TO 15 MINUTES A NIGHT
ON EACH OF THE THREE MAJOR
NETWORKS FOR FOUR MONTHS
TENDS TO RAISE SOME QUESTIONS
IN THE PEOPLE'S MIND
WITH REGARD TO THE PRESIDENT,
AND IT MAY RAISE SOME QUESTIONS
WITH REGARD TO
THE CAPACITY TO GOVERN.
THE POINT THAT I MAKE NOW IS
THAT WE ARE PROCEEDING
AS BEST WE KNOW HOW
TO GET ALL THOSE GUILTY
BROUGHT TO JUSTICE IN WATERGATE.
BUT NOW WE MUST MOVE ON
FROM WATERGATE
TO THE BUSINESS OF THE PEOPLE,
AND THE BUSINESS OF THE PEOPLE
IS CONTINUING
WITH THE INITIATIVES WE BEGAN
IN THE FIRST ADMINISTRATION.
Reporter:
Mr. President...
JUST A MOMENT.
WE'VE HAD 30 MINUTES
OF THIS PRESS CONFERENCE.
I HAVE YET TO HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE,
ONE QUESTION
ON THE BUSINESS OF THE PEOPLE,
WHICH SHOWS YOU HOW
WE'RE CONSUMED BY THIS.
Narrator:
BUT EVENTS OVERWHELMED THE
PRESIDENT'S COUNTEROFFENSIVE.
IN A SCANDAL
UNRELATED TO WATERGATE,
NIXON'S VICE-PRESIDENT, SPIRO
AGNEW, WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION
FOR BRIBERY, TAX EVASION
AND EXTORTION.
GENTLEMEN, I BELIEVE
YOU'VE ALL RECEIVED COPIES
OF THE PREPARED STATEMENT
THAT I READ TO THE COURT.
Narrator:
ON OCTOBER 10, AGNEW PLED
"NO CONTEST" TO TAX EVASION
AND RESIGNED.
AGNEW'S DEPARTURE MADE
NIXON MORE VULNERABLE.
UNLIKE AGNEW,
HIS NEW VICE-PRESIDENT
AND POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR
WAS POPULAR WITH REPUBLICANS
AND DEMOCRATS ALIKE.
OUR DISTINGUISHED GUESTS
AND MY FELLOW AMERICANS,
I PROUDLY PRESENT TO YOU
THE MAN WHOSE NAME I WILL SUBMIT
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED
STATES FOR CONFIRMATION
AS THE VICE-PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES
CONGRESSMAN GERALD FORD
OF MICHIGAN.
Narrator:
ON CAPITOL HILL, GERALD FORD
WAS ALREADY SEEN
AS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE
TO THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF.
THAT SAME DAY,
THE COURT OF APPEALS RULED
THAT NIXON MUST YIELD THE TAPES
TO SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
ARCHIBALD COX.
BUT NIXON SAW THE RULING
AS AN OPPORTUNITY
FOR A SHOWDOWN WITH COX.
HE MADE AN OFFER
HE THOUGHT WOULD SOUND
REASONABLE TO THE PUBLIC
BUT THAT HE WAS CERTAIN
COX WOULD REJECT.
NIXON WOULD TURN OVER
SUMMARIES OF THE TAPES
BUT NOT THE TAPES THEMSELVES,
AND HE ORDERED COX NOT TO ASK
FOR ANY MORE MATERIAL.
AS NIXON EXPECTED, COX REFUSED.
THIS IS JIM DOYLE
FROM ARCHIBALD COX'S OFFICE.
I HAVE A LONG STATEMENT.
ARE YOU READY?
"IN MY JUDGMENT,
THE PRESIDENT
IS REFUSING...
TO COMPLY... WITH
THE COURT DECREES."
Cox:
I THINK IT IS MY DUTY
TO BRING TO
THE COURT'S ATTENTION
WHAT SEEMS TO ME
TO BE NONCOMPLIANCE
WITH THE COURT'S ORDER.
Narrator:
WITHIN HOURS, NIXON ORDERED
ELLIOT RICHARDSON
TO FIRE ARCHIBALD COX.
BUT NIXON HAD MISCALCULATED.
RICHARDSON REFUSED.
Richardson:
HE SAID, "DO YOU
REALIZE, ELLIOT,
"THAT BREZHNEV MAY CONCLUDE
THAT I'M LOSING CONTROL
OF MY OWN ADMINISTRATION?"
BUT I SAID, "MR. PRESIDENT,
I AM COMMITTED
"TO THE INDEPENDENCE
OF THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
"FOR ME TO HAVE ACQUIESCED
IN HIS BEING FIRED WOULD BE
A TOTAL BETRAYAL
OF THAT COMMITMENT."
HE SAID, "I'M SORRY
THAT YOU CHOOSE
"TO PREFER YOUR PURELY
PERSONAL COMMITMENTS
TO THE NATIONAL INTEREST."
MUSTERING ALL MY SELF-CONTROL
I SAID IN AS LEVEL
A VOICE AS I COULD
"MR. PRESIDENT, IT WOULD APPEAR
"THAT WE HAVE
A DIFFERENT ASSESSMENT
OF THE NATIONAL INTEREST."
Narrator:
THE EVENTS THAT FOLLOWED
BECAME KNOWN
AS "THE SATURDAY NIGHT
MASSACRE."
GOOD EVENING.
THE COUNTRY TONIGHT IS
IN THE MIDST OF WHAT MAY BE
THE MOST SERIOUS CONSTITUTIONAL
CRISIS IN ITS HISTORY.
THE PRESIDENT HAS FIRED
SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR
ARCHIBALD COX.
BECAUSE OF
THE PRESIDENT'S ACTION
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
HAS RESIGNED.
ELLIOT RICHARDSON HAS QUIT,
SAYING HE CANNOT CARRY OUT
MR. NIXON'S INSTRUCTIONS.
RICHARDSON'S DEPUTY, WILLIAM
RUCKELSHAUS, HAS BEEN FIRED.
RUCKELSHAUS REFUSED, IN A MOMENT
OF CONSTITUTIONAL DRAMA,
TO OBEY A PRESIDENTIAL ORDER
TO FIRE THE SPECIAL
WATERGATE PROSECUTOR.
AND HALF AN HOUR
AFTER THE SPECIAL WATERGATE
PROSECUTOR HAD BEEN FIRED,
AGENTS OF THE F.B.I.,
ACTING AT THE DIRECTION
OF THE WHITE HOUSE,
SEALED OFF THE OFFICES
OF THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR,
THE OFFICES OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
AND THE OFFICES
OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL.
SIX F.B.I. AGENTS PRESENT,
IMPEDING OUR OPERATIONS
RIGHT NOW.
Newscaster:
ALL OF THIS ADDS UP TO A TOTALLY
UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION,
A GRAVE AND PROFOUND CRISIS
IN WHICH THE PRESIDENT
HAS SET HIMSELF
AGAINST HIS OWN ATTORNEY GENERAL
AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
NOTHING LIKE THIS
HAS EVER HAPPENED BEFORE.
Announcer:
MORE THAN 50,000 TELEGRAMS
POURED IN ON CAPITOL HILL TODAY,
SO MANY, WESTERN UNION
WAS SWAMPED.
MOST OF THEM DEMANDED
IMPEACHING MR. NIXON.
Man:
THESE COME FROM REPUBLICANS
AND BUSINESSMEN AND PEOPLE,
MOST OF WHOM BEGIN
THEIR STATEMENT BY SAYING,
"I'VE SUPPORTED THE PRESIDENT,
"I'VE NEVER BELIEVED
IN IMPEACHMENT,
"BUT HE'S NOW GONE TOO FAR
AND WE WANT THE CONGRESS
TO TAKE STRONG ACTION."
IN MY THREE DISTRICT OFFICES
IN ONE REPUBLICAN AREA,
MY PHONE CALLS WERE 100 TO ONE
IN FAVOR OF PURSUING
THE PATH OF IMPEACHMENT,
WHICH WAS RATHER SHOCKING TO ME.
I WAS TERRIBLY SURPRISED,
WHICH SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT
VERY WEIRD THING THAT HAPPENS
WHEN YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE
OF A COCOON, OF A CRISIS
WITHIN A PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT
AND YOU HAVE A GREAT DESIRE
FOR THINGS TO HAPPEN
AS YOU WANT THEM TO HAPPEN.
Narrator:
ON TUESDAY, NIXON LEARNED
THAT 21 RESOLUTIONS
CALLING FOR HIS IMPEACHMENT
HAD BEEN INTRODUCED
ON CAPITOL HILL.
STUNNED BY THE FEROCITY
OF THE PUBLIC REACTION,
NIXON RETREATED.
HE APPOINTED A NEW SPECIAL
PROSECUTOR, LEON JAWORSKI,
AND AGREED TO RELEASE
THE NINE SUBPOENAED TAPES.
BUT TWO TAPES TURNED OUT
TO BE MISSING.
THE WHITE HOUSE SAID
THEY NEVER EXISTED.
A THIRD TAPE CONTAINED
AN 18 1/2-MINUTE GAP.
THE ERASED SECTION
WAS A CONVERSATION
BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT
AND H.R. HALDEMAN
THREE DAYS AFTER THE BREAK-IN.
THE PRESIDENT'S COUNSEL,
FRED BUZHARDT,
EXPLAINED THE GAP
TO A SKEPTICAL PRESS.
YOU NOW BELIEVE IT
COULD BE ACCIDENTAL?
YES.
HOW?
Narrator:
THE WHITE HOUSE CLAIMED
THAT THE PRESIDENT'S SECRETARY,
ROSEMARY WOODS,
HAD ACCIDENTALLY ERASED THE TAPE
WHILE TRANSCRIBING IT.
IS THAT LOGICAL
FOR THAT TO HAPPEN
ACCIDENTALLY?
I MEAN, IS THAT
BELIEVABLE?
YES.
Narrator:
QUESTIONS NOW AROSE
ABOUT EVERY ASPECT
OF THE PRESIDENT'S LIFE.
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, TAXES,
FRIENDSHIPS, VACATION HOMES...
EVERYTHING SEEMED FAIR GAME.
THE PRESIDENT STRUGGLED
TO DEFEND HIMSELF
AGAINST ASSAULTS THAT CAME
FROM ALL SIDES.
I WANT TO SAY THIS
TO THE TELEVISION AUDIENCE.
I'VE MADE MY MISTAKES
BUT IN ALL OF MY YEARS
OF PUBLIC LIFE,
I HAVE NEVER PROFITED
FROM PUBLIC SERVICE.
I HAVE EARNED EVERY CENT.
AND IN ALL OF MY YEARS
OF PUBLIC LIFE
I HAVE NEVER OBSTRUCTED JUSTICE
AND I THINK, TOO, THAT I CAN SAY
THAT IN MY YEARS OF PUBLIC LIFE
THAT I WELCOME
THIS KIND OF EXAMINATION
BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO KNOW
WHETHER OR NOT
THEIR PRESIDENT IS A CROOK.
WELL, I AM NOT A CROOK.
I'VE EARNED EVERYTHING I'VE GOT.
Narrator:
IN MARCH 1974, NIXON WENT
TO THE GRAND OLE OPRY
TO THE SOUTH, WHERE HIS SUPPORT
REMAINED THE STRONGEST.
"IN THE END," HE LATER WROTE,
"IT WOULD COME DOWN
TO A CAMPAIGN
"BUT THIS TIME I WOULD
BE CAMPAIGNING
FOR MY POLITICAL LIFE."
IF YOU'LL JOIN US IN THIS SONG,
I THINK YOU'LL RECOGNIZE IT
WHEN I START IT.
JUST LET ME GET A CHORD.
♪ IRISH ROSE... ♪
Narrator:
BUT SEVEN OF NIXON'S CLOSEST
AIDES HAD BEEN INDICTED
BY THE WATERGATE GRAND JURY.
AND THE AFTERSHOCKS
OF THE SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE
CONTINUED TO REVERBERATE
IN THE COURTS AND IN CONGRESS.
ON CAPITOL HILL, THE HOUSE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE WAS DEBATING
NIXON'S IMPEACHMENT,
INVESTIGATING CHARGES
RANGING FROM ILLEGAL WIRETAPS
AND BREAK-INS
TO ABUSE OF POWER
AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.
PURSUING THEIR INVESTIGATIONS,
THEY DEMANDED MORE TAPES
AND SET A DEADLINE OF APRIL 30.
ON APRIL 29,
WITH LESS THAN 24 HOURS TO GO,
FACING A CITATION
FOR CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS,
NIXON TRIED TO DO AGAIN
WHAT HAD WORKED SO WELL
FOR HIM IN THE PAST...
BYPASS HIS OPPONENTS AND APPEAL
DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC.
GOOD EVENING.
I HAVE ASKED
FOR THIS TIME TONIGHT
IN ORDER TO ANNOUNCE MY ANSWER
TO THE HOUSE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE SUBPOENA
FOR ADDITIONAL WATERGATE TAPES.
IN THESE FOLDERS THAT
YOU SEE OVER HERE ON MY LEFT
ARE MORE THAN 1,200
PAGES OF TRANSCRIPTS
OF PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS...
Narrator:
NIXON ANNOUNCED HE WAS RELEASING
EDITED TRANSCRIPTS OF THE TAPES
TO THE COMMITTEE
AND THE PUBLIC SIMULTANEOUSLY.
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF
HAD SUPERVISED THE EDITING.
IN GIVING YOU THESE RECORDS,
BLEMISHES AND ALL,
I AM PLACING MY TRUST
IN THE BASIC FAIRNESS
OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Narrator:
NIXON HAD GAMBLED AND LOST.
HE BADLY MISJUDGED
THE PUBLIC REACTION.
"THE TRANSCRIPTS,"
SAID TIME MAGAZINE,
"SHOWED A PRESIDENT CREATING
AN ENVIRONMENT
OF DECEIT AND DISHONESTY,
OF EVASION AND COVER-UP."
EVEN REPUBLICAN LEADERS
DENOUNCED THEM
AS "SHABBY," "DISGUSTING,"
"IMMORAL."
A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS
NOW THOUGHT
THE PRESIDENT SHOULD RESIGN
OR FACE IMPEACHMENT.
SOON AFTER THE TRANSCRIPTS
WERE DELIVERED TO CAPITOL HILL,
THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE VOTED
THAT THE PRESIDENT HAD FAILED
TO COMPLY WITH THEIR SUBPOENA.
THEY CONTINUED
TO DEMAND THE TAPES.
IN THE WHITE HOUSE,
NIXON SECLUDED HIMSELF,
LISTENING TO THE RECORDINGS
OVER AND OVER.
NOT ONLY WAS CONGRESS
DEMANDING THE TAPES,
SO WAS THE NEW
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
NIXON HAD EXHAUSTED
ALL HIS LEGAL APPEALS BUT ONE.
HE TOOK HIS CASE
TO THE SUPREME COURT.
IT WOULD BECOME KNOWN
AS THE UNITED STATES
v. RICHARD NIXON.
AS HIS LAWYERS PREPARED
TO ARGUE HIS CASE,
THE PRESIDENT TOOK
HIS CAMPAIGN ABROAD,
HOPING TO BUILD
ON THE DIPLOMATIC TRIUMPHS
OF THE PAST.
FIRST TO THE MIDDLE EAST,
WHERE JUST MONTHS BEFORE
HIS PERSISTENT DIPLOMACY
HAD HELPED BRING ABOUT
A FRAGILE PEACE
BETWEEN ARABS AND ISRAELIS.
THEN TO THE SOVIET UNION,
WHERE THE GLITTERING
CEREMONIES MIRRORED
THE PRESIDENT'S PAST SUCCESS.
BUT THE SUMMIT ACHIEVED LITTLE.
LEONID BREZHNEV SENSED THAT
NIXON'S POWER WAS ERODING FAST.
RETURNING HOME, NIXON LANDED AT
A SMALL AIR FORCE BASE IN MAINE,
WHERE THE MILITARY CROWD
GAVE HIM A WARM WELCOME.
BUT THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY
THAT HAD TAKEN RICHARD NIXON
ALL THE WAY FROM YORBA LINDA
TO THE WHITE HOUSE,
TO PEKING AND MOSCOW,
FROM HUMILIATING DEFEATS
TO THE PINNACLE OF WORLD POWER,
SEEMED TO BE COMING TO AN END.
MOST AMERICANS HAD LOST FAITH
IN THE PRESIDENT...
THEY SAW A MAN
WHO HAD REPEATEDLY LIED
TO COVER UP HIS CRIMES,
HAD SUBVERTED
THE POLITICAL PROCESS
AND UNDERMINED THE CONSTITUTION.
Man:
THERE ARE FRIGHTENING
IMPLICATIONS
FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY
IF WE DO NOT IMPEACH THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
IF WE FAIL TO IMPEACH,
WE HAVE CONDONED
AND LEFT UNPUNISHED
A COURSE OF CONDUCT
TOTALLY INCONSISTENT
WITH THE REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS
OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Narrator:
ON CAPITOL HILL, THE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE PREPARED
TO VOTE ON THREE ARTICLES
OF IMPEACHMENT:
THEY CHARGED THE PRESIDENT
WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE,
ABUSE OF POWER,
AND CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.
Man:
THE THING THAT'S
SO APPALLING TO ME IS
THAT THE PRESIDENT, WHEN THIS
IDEA WAS SUGGESTED TO HIM,
DIDN'T, IN RIGHTEOUS
INDIGNATION,
RISE UP AND SAY,
"GET OUT OF HERE,
"YOU'RE IN THE OFFICE
"OF THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
"HOW CAN YOU TALK ABOUT
BLACKMAIL AND BRIBERY
"AND KEEPING WITNESSES SILENT?
THIS IS THE PRESIDENCY
OF THE UNITED STATES."
BUT MY PRESIDENT DIDN'T DO THAT.
HE SAT THERE, AND HE WORKED AND
WORKED TO TRY TO COVER THIS UP
SO IT WOULDN'T COME TO LIGHT.
Narrator:
THE COMMITTEE TOOK
ITS FIRST VOTE JULY 27.
NIXON WAS SWIMMING
AT SAN CLEMENTE
AS THEY RENDERED THEIR VERDICT.
Clerk:
SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED, NO.
Clerk:
MR. FLOWERS.
AYE.
MR. MANN.
AYE.
MR. DRINAN.
AYE.
Narrator:
NIXON LATER WROTE,
"I WAS GETTING DRESSED
IN THE BEACH TRAILER
"WHEN THE PHONE RANG
AND ZEIGLER GAVE ME THE NEWS.
"THAT WAS HOW I LEARNED
"THAT I WAS THE FIRST
PRESIDENT IN 106 YEARS
"TO BE RECOMMENDED
FOR IMPEACHMENT...
"STANDING IN THE BEACH TRAILER,
BAREFOOT,
"WEARING OLD TROUSERS,
A BANLON SHIRT
"AND A BLUE WINDBREAKER
EMBLAZONED WITH
THE PRESIDENTIAL SEAL."
Clerk:
MR. RODINO.
AYE.
27 MEMBERS HAVE VOTED AYE.
11 MEMBERS HAVE VOTED NO.
AND PURSUANT TO
THE RESOLUTION ARTICLE ONE,
THAT RESOLUTION IS ADOPTED AND
WILL BE REPORTED TO THE HOUSE.
Narrator:
JUST DAYS BEFORE,
THE SUPREME COURT HAD RULED
IN THE CASE OF THE UNITED STATES
v. RICHARD NIXON...
THE PRESIDENT MUST
TURN OVER THE TAPES
TO THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
"NOT EVEN A PRESIDENT,"
SAID THE COURT,
"COULD WITHHOLD EVIDENCE
IN A CRIMINAL TRIAL."
NIXON RETURNED TO WASHINGTON,
STILL CALCULATING THE ODDS.
HE KNEW THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
WOULD VOTE TO INDICT HIM.
THERE WAS A CHANCE HE MIGHT
SURVIVE A TRIAL IN THE SENATE
AS LONG AS THERE WAS
NO IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE
THAT HE HAD PERSONALLY
COMMITTED A CRIME.
Tape:
under investigation of
the Democratic break-in...
Narrator:
BUT NIXON HIMSELF
POSSESSED THAT EVIDENCE,
A TAPE THAT PLAINLY SHOWED
HE'D OBSTRUCTED JUSTICE:
HIS CONVERSATION WITH
H.R. HALDEMAN ON JUNE 23, 1972
WHEN NIXON ORDERED HIS AIDES
TO DIVERT THE F.B.I.
Narrator:
NIXON WOULD SOON HAVE
TO RELEASE THIS TAPE
ALONG WITH OTHERS COVERED
BY THE SUPREME COURT RULING.
WITH NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE,
HE DECIDED TO RELEASE
A TRANSCRIPT OF THE TAPE.
IT BECAME KNOWN AS
"THE SMOKING GUN."
THE NIGHT FOLLOWING THE RELEASE
OF THE TRANSCRIPT,
NIXON SAT ALONE
IN THE LINCOLN SITTING ROOM,
THEN RETIRED TO BED.
HIS DAUGHTER JULIE
HAD LEFT A NOTE ON HIS PILLOW:
"THE WHITE HOUSE, AUGUST 6.
"DEAR DADDY, I LOVE YOU.
"WHATEVER YOU DO,
I WILL SUPPORT.
"I'M VERY PROUD OF YOU.
"GO THROUGH THE FIRE
JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
"YOU'RE SO STRONG.
"I LOVE YOU.
"MILLIONS SUPPORT YOU.
JULIE."
ON AUGUST 8, NIXON ANNOUNCED
HE WOULD ADDRESS THE NATION.
OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE, CROWDS
GATHERED, WATCHING, WAITING.
I HAVE NEVER BEEN A QUITTER.
TO LEAVE OFFICE
BEFORE MY TERM IS COMPLETED
IS ABHORRENT TO EVERY
INSTINCT IN MY BODY.
BUT AS PRESIDENT, I MUST PUT
THE INTERESTS OF AMERICA FIRST.
THEREFORE, I SHALL RESIGN
THE PRESIDENCY
EFFECTIVE AT NOON TOMORROW.
VICE-PRESIDENT FORD
WILL BE SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT
AT THAT HOUR IN THIS OFFICE.
Narrator:
ON AUGUST 9,
THE PRESIDENT BID FAREWELL
TO THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF.
YOU ARE HERE
TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO US,
AND WE DON'T HAVE A GOOD
WORD FOR IT IN ENGLISH.
THE BEST IS AU REVOIR...
WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN.
HAD A LITTLE QUOTE IN THE SPEECH
LAST NIGHT FROM T.R.
AS YOU KNOW, I KIND OF
LIKE TO READ BOOKS...
I'M NOT EDUCATED,
BUT I DO READ BOOKS.
AND HERE'S ANOTHER ONE THAT
I FOUND AS I WAS READING...
MY LAST NIGHT
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND THIS QUOTE
IS ABOUT A YOUNG MAN.
HE WAS A YOUNG LAWYER
IN NEW YORK.
HE'D MARRIED A BEAUTIFUL GIRL...
AND THEY HAD A LOVELY DAUGHTER.
AND THEN SUDDENLY...
SHE DIED.
AND THIS IS WHAT HE WROTE.
THIS WAS IN HIS DIARY.
HE SAID, "SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL
IN FACE AND FORM
"AND LOVELIER STILL IN SPIRIT.
"AS A FLOWER SHE GREW, AND AS
A FAIR YOUNG FLOWER, SHE DIED.
"AND WHEN MY HEART'S
DEAREST DIED...
THE LIGHT WENT
FROM MY LIFE FOREVER."
THAT WAS T.R. IN HIS 20s.
HE THOUGHT THE LIGHT HAD GONE
FROM HIS LIFE FOREVER.
BUT HE WENT ON.
AND HE NOT ONLY BECAME PRESIDENT
BUT AS AN EX-PRESIDENT,
HE SERVED HIS COUNTRY,
ALWAYS IN THE ARENA,
TEMPESTUOUS, STRONG,
SOMETIMES WRONG,
SOMETIMES RIGHT.
BUT HE WAS A MAN.
IT'S ONLY A BEGINNING, ALWAYS.
THE YOUNG MUST KNOW IT,
THE OLD MUST KNOW IT,
BECAUSE THE GREATNESS COMES
NOT WHEN THINGS
GO ALWAYS GOOD FOR YOU,
BUT THE GREATNESS COMES
WHEN YOU'RE REALLY TESTED,
WHEN YOU TAKE...
SOME KNOCKS,
SOME DISAPPOINTMENTS,
WHEN SADNESS COMES.
BECAUSE ONLY IF YOU'VE BEEN
IN THE DEEPEST VALLEY
CAN YOU EVER KNOW
HOW MAGNIFICENT IT IS
TO BE ON THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN.
ALWAYS GIVE YOUR BEST,
NEVER GET DISCOURAGED,
NEVER BE PETTY,
ALWAYS REMEMBER
OTHERS MAY HATE YOU.
THOSE WHO HATE YOU DON'T WIN
UNLESS YOU HATE THEM
AND THEN YOU DESTROY YOURSELF.
Narrator:
ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1974,
PRESIDENT GERALD FORD GRANTED
RICHARD NIXON
A FULL AND ABSOLUTE PARDON.
OVER 70 OTHERS WERE FOUND GUILTY
OF CRIMINAL ACTS, AND PUNISHED.
THE CONTRADICTIONS
OF NIXON'S CAREER,
HIS TRIUMPHS AND DEFEATS,
GRAND VISION
AND PETTY GRIEVANCES
HAVE LEFT THEIR IMPRINT
ON AMERICA,
BUT HIS LEGACY
REMAINS AMBIGUOUS.
"THE JUDGMENT OF HISTORY,"
NIXON HAS SAID,
"DEPENDS ON WHO WRITES IT."
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