1 00:00:03,829 --> 00:00:05,483 - In these folders are more 2 00:00:05,527 --> 00:00:08,051 than 1,200 pages of transcripts... 3 00:00:08,095 --> 00:00:09,835 - Maybe, just maybe, if I give them 4 00:00:09,879 --> 00:00:12,490 a little bit of it, that that'll be enough. 5 00:00:12,534 --> 00:00:16,190 - Verifying the authenticity of the tape itself is crucial, 6 00:00:16,233 --> 00:00:18,801 and that can only be done by having the President comply 7 00:00:18,844 --> 00:00:21,282 with the House Judiciary Committee's subpoena in full. 8 00:00:21,325 --> 00:00:23,066 - President Nixon could be confronted 9 00:00:23,110 --> 00:00:25,808 with an adverse decision from the Supreme Court 10 00:00:25,851 --> 00:00:27,375 just as the House of Representatives 11 00:00:27,418 --> 00:00:29,029 prepares to vote on impeachment. 12 00:00:31,901 --> 00:00:33,946 - Former Nixon aide Frederick LaRue 13 00:00:33,990 --> 00:00:36,471 pleaded guilty of conspiring to obstruct justice. 14 00:00:36,514 --> 00:00:38,951 Donald Segretti, the dirty trick specialist, 15 00:00:38,995 --> 00:00:41,519 pleaded guilty. - John Dean, a key figure 16 00:00:41,563 --> 00:00:43,913 in the Watergate case, pleaded guilty today. 17 00:00:43,956 --> 00:00:45,871 - Jeb Stuart Magruder, went to court today 18 00:00:45,915 --> 00:00:47,873 to plead guilty to conspiracy charges. 19 00:00:47,917 --> 00:00:50,224 - For the first time in American history, 20 00:00:50,267 --> 00:00:52,791 a former Attorney General of the United States, 21 00:00:52,835 --> 00:00:55,707 Richard Kleindienst, pleaded guilty today to a crime. 22 00:00:55,751 --> 00:00:57,579 male narrator: Despite a parade 23 00:00:57,622 --> 00:00:59,842 of confessions and looming impeachment proceedings, 24 00:00:59,885 --> 00:01:02,105 President Richard Nixon continued to fight. 25 00:01:02,149 --> 00:01:04,542 but now, Watergate Special Prosecutor 26 00:01:04,586 --> 00:01:07,023 Leon Jaworski was asking the Supreme Court 27 00:01:07,067 --> 00:01:09,591 to force Nixon to surrender 64 tapes 28 00:01:09,634 --> 00:01:12,463 for use in prosecuting Nixon's former inner circle. 29 00:01:12,507 --> 00:01:14,944 - Jaworski, who could have gone in the side-- 30 00:01:14,987 --> 00:01:16,467 which is the way you really go in-- 31 00:01:16,511 --> 00:01:18,600 goes up those stairs with a couple 32 00:01:18,643 --> 00:01:21,081 of young guys around him, and there are crowds chanting. 33 00:01:24,606 --> 00:01:28,131 And I imagine that Jaworski must have been in tears inside. 34 00:01:28,175 --> 00:01:30,525 - Well, it says "Equal justice under law," 35 00:01:30,568 --> 00:01:32,918 so we ought to win, Phil. 36 00:01:32,962 --> 00:01:34,833 Although filming of Supreme Court arguments 37 00:01:34,877 --> 00:01:37,358 is prohibited, an audio recording was made. 38 00:01:37,401 --> 00:01:39,490 Nixon's lawyer, James St. Clair, 39 00:01:39,534 --> 00:01:41,405 argued that presidential executive privilege 40 00:01:41,449 --> 00:01:45,105 was total and absolute, even for evidence of a crime. 41 00:02:07,823 --> 00:02:10,434 Ostensibly, the prosecutors just wanted the tapes 42 00:02:10,478 --> 00:02:12,480 to prosecute Nixon's former aides, 43 00:02:12,523 --> 00:02:14,960 but everyone realized that this was also about 44 00:02:15,004 --> 00:02:17,093 the potential impeachment of Richard Nixon. 45 00:02:36,199 --> 00:02:38,288 And finally, everyone also realized 46 00:02:38,332 --> 00:02:41,073 that this wasn't just about Richard Nixon, either. 47 00:02:41,117 --> 00:02:43,728 It was about something much, much larger. 48 00:03:12,975 --> 00:03:15,151 In part because three Supreme Court Justices 49 00:03:15,195 --> 00:03:16,544 were Nixon appointees, 50 00:03:16,587 --> 00:03:18,415 the White House was optimistic. 51 00:03:18,459 --> 00:03:21,636 - There is a thing called executive privilege, 52 00:03:21,679 --> 00:03:23,203 and it is recognized, 53 00:03:23,246 --> 00:03:25,640 and it does have standing in law, 54 00:03:25,683 --> 00:03:28,251 and I did think that there was a real chance 55 00:03:28,295 --> 00:03:31,123 that people would say the inner-most conversations 56 00:03:31,167 --> 00:03:33,735 of the President in the Oval Office 57 00:03:33,778 --> 00:03:36,868 certainly are--are, are immune 58 00:03:36,912 --> 00:03:39,219 from, uh, the courts. 59 00:03:39,262 --> 00:03:41,264 - Nixon has seen, in his own career, 60 00:03:41,308 --> 00:03:43,135 Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower 61 00:03:43,179 --> 00:03:46,530 make that argument successfully and feels confident. 62 00:03:46,574 --> 00:03:48,271 It's part of the reason he doesn't destroy the tapes 63 00:03:48,315 --> 00:03:49,490 in the first place. 64 00:03:49,533 --> 00:03:50,969 Two weeks went by. 65 00:03:51,013 --> 00:03:52,841 Then, on July 22, 66 00:03:52,884 --> 00:03:55,322 with Supreme Court's decision still unknown, 67 00:03:55,365 --> 00:03:57,672 the House Judiciary Committee announced that its debate 68 00:03:57,715 --> 00:03:59,935 over impeachment would start in two days, 69 00:03:59,978 --> 00:04:02,198 at 8:00 PM on July 24. 70 00:04:02,242 --> 00:04:03,982 And for the first time in history, 71 00:04:04,026 --> 00:04:06,681 a Congressional debate would be televised live. 72 00:04:06,724 --> 00:04:09,031 - The House of Representatives doesn't easily change 73 00:04:09,074 --> 00:04:11,033 its rules and traditions, but today it gave 74 00:04:11,076 --> 00:04:13,383 the impeachment inquiry the right to open its debate 75 00:04:13,427 --> 00:04:15,646 to television. - The very next day, 76 00:04:15,690 --> 00:04:18,432 July 23, the Supreme Court suddenly announced 77 00:04:18,475 --> 00:04:19,998 it would hold a special session 78 00:04:20,042 --> 00:04:21,783 the following morning. - Good morning. 79 00:04:21,826 --> 00:04:23,741 The Supreme Court has just ruled 80 00:04:23,785 --> 00:04:25,526 on the tapes controversy, and here's Carl Stern 81 00:04:25,569 --> 00:04:27,310 who has that ruling. 82 00:04:27,354 --> 00:04:29,399 - It is a unanimous decision, Doug, 8-0-- 83 00:04:29,443 --> 00:04:31,967 Justice Rehnquist took no part in the decision-- 84 00:04:32,010 --> 00:04:34,056 uh, ordering the President of the United States 85 00:04:34,099 --> 00:04:35,623 to turn over the tapes. 86 00:04:38,016 --> 00:04:40,105 - It's an 8-0 unanimous opinion 87 00:04:40,149 --> 00:04:43,108 that President Nixon must obey the subpoenas issued 88 00:04:43,152 --> 00:04:45,850 by special Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski, and turn over 89 00:04:45,894 --> 00:04:49,941 64 disputed White House tapes to Mr. Jaworski. 90 00:04:49,985 --> 00:04:51,334 What we do not know yet is whether or not 91 00:04:51,378 --> 00:04:52,857 the President will obey that order. 92 00:04:52,901 --> 00:04:54,511 - No man is above the law. 93 00:04:54,555 --> 00:04:57,862 The Supreme Court unanimously ruled 94 00:04:57,906 --> 00:05:00,474 in favor of our right 95 00:05:00,517 --> 00:05:03,781 to compel the President to produce this evidence. 96 00:05:03,825 --> 00:05:06,175 The rest is history. 97 00:05:06,218 --> 00:05:08,351 With Congressional debate on impeachment starting 98 00:05:08,395 --> 00:05:10,571 later the same day, the obvious question 99 00:05:10,614 --> 00:05:12,616 was whether Congress would get the tapes, too, 100 00:05:12,660 --> 00:05:14,575 but Jaworski wouldn't say. 101 00:05:14,618 --> 00:05:16,446 - Do you expect the House Judiciary Committee 102 00:05:16,490 --> 00:05:18,448 to make an application with Judge Sirica for those tapes? 103 00:05:18,492 --> 00:05:20,581 - I really have not the slightest idea. 104 00:05:20,624 --> 00:05:22,496 - Would you oppose an application by 105 00:05:22,539 --> 00:05:24,454 the House Judiciary Committee for those tapes? 106 00:05:28,371 --> 00:05:30,721 Even after the Special Prosecutor's 107 00:05:30,765 --> 00:05:33,376 victory at the Supreme Court, Nixon continued to defy 108 00:05:33,420 --> 00:05:36,379 Congressional subpoenas, but pressure was mounting. 109 00:05:36,423 --> 00:05:39,426 - Unless the President wishes to plead the 5th Amendment-- 110 00:05:39,469 --> 00:05:41,123 privilege against self-incrimination-- 111 00:05:41,166 --> 00:05:43,255 I think, now, as a result of this decision, 112 00:05:43,299 --> 00:05:44,866 he should voluntarily turn these tapes over 113 00:05:44,909 --> 00:05:46,868 to the House Committee. 114 00:05:46,911 --> 00:05:50,698 - I think the decision goes a long way to vindicate, uh, 115 00:05:50,741 --> 00:05:54,441 the subpoena issued by the House Judiciary Committee 116 00:05:54,484 --> 00:05:56,747 and to establish the proposition 117 00:05:56,791 --> 00:05:59,837 that, uh, non-compliance with the House subpoena 118 00:05:59,881 --> 00:06:02,187 was itself a cause for impeachment. 119 00:06:02,231 --> 00:06:04,755 - Attorney James St. Clair has let it be known his office 120 00:06:04,799 --> 00:06:06,453 has at least researched the possibility 121 00:06:06,496 --> 00:06:08,019 of non-compliance. 122 00:06:08,063 --> 00:06:09,978 There is, of course, also the option 123 00:06:10,021 --> 00:06:12,415 the President will comply with the court's decision. 124 00:06:12,459 --> 00:06:14,417 St. Clair has said it could take up to two months 125 00:06:14,461 --> 00:06:17,420 to prepare the tape material for Sirica's court. 126 00:06:17,464 --> 00:06:20,118 - He's standing on the beach in San Clemente, 127 00:06:20,162 --> 00:06:21,685 and they tell him that he's lost 128 00:06:21,729 --> 00:06:23,644 the Supreme Court decision. 129 00:06:23,687 --> 00:06:28,257 And a message goes back to, uh, Washington-- 130 00:06:28,300 --> 00:06:30,781 "What would happen if we defy the court?" 131 00:06:30,825 --> 00:06:32,696 And Al Haig replies, 132 00:06:32,740 --> 00:06:35,786 "Instant, um-- uh, instant impeachment." 133 00:06:35,830 --> 00:06:38,441 Just one hour before the impeachment debate 134 00:06:38,485 --> 00:06:41,096 was scheduled to begin, James St. Clair announced 135 00:06:41,139 --> 00:06:42,967 Nixon's decision. 136 00:06:43,011 --> 00:06:45,274 - I have reviewed the decision of the Supreme Court 137 00:06:45,317 --> 00:06:47,145 with the President. 138 00:06:47,189 --> 00:06:49,278 He's given me this statement, which he's asked me 139 00:06:49,321 --> 00:06:52,281 to read to you, and this is the President's statement 140 00:06:52,324 --> 00:06:54,762 as he gave it to me. 141 00:06:54,805 --> 00:06:57,504 "While I am, of course, disappointed in the result, 142 00:06:57,547 --> 00:07:00,463 "I respect and accept the Court's decision. 143 00:07:00,507 --> 00:07:02,857 "and I have instructed Mr. St. Clair to take 144 00:07:02,900 --> 00:07:05,033 "whatever measures are necessary 145 00:07:05,076 --> 00:07:08,384 to comply with that decision in all respects." 146 00:07:08,428 --> 00:07:10,995 - One hour later, on live national television, 147 00:07:11,039 --> 00:07:12,867 Peter Rodino opened public debate 148 00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:15,043 on the impeachment of Richard Nixon. 149 00:07:16,827 --> 00:07:19,830 - The Committee will come to order. 150 00:07:21,702 --> 00:07:24,661 Throughout all of the painstaking proceedings, 151 00:07:24,705 --> 00:07:27,011 I, as the chairman, 152 00:07:27,055 --> 00:07:30,711 have been guided by a simple principle: 153 00:07:30,754 --> 00:07:33,061 the principle that the law 154 00:07:33,104 --> 00:07:35,803 must deal fairly with every man. 155 00:07:35,846 --> 00:07:39,197 Now, the American people and the whole history 156 00:07:39,241 --> 00:07:42,940 of our republic demand 157 00:07:42,984 --> 00:07:46,074 that we make up our minds. 158 00:07:46,117 --> 00:07:47,945 - News Secretary Ronald Ziegler indicated to us 159 00:07:47,989 --> 00:07:50,382 that the President had no intention of, uh, 160 00:07:50,426 --> 00:07:52,080 watching the hearings. 161 00:07:52,123 --> 00:07:54,778 Uh, note, I suppose we should say that, uh, 162 00:07:54,822 --> 00:07:57,128 during the Watergate hearings, we were told much 163 00:07:57,172 --> 00:07:58,739 the very same thing at that time-- 164 00:07:58,782 --> 00:08:00,262 that the President seldom if ever watched them. 165 00:08:00,305 --> 00:08:01,959 We learned later in the transcripts 166 00:08:02,003 --> 00:08:04,222 that he indeed watched a good deal of them. 167 00:08:04,266 --> 00:08:06,137 The debate immediately revealed 168 00:08:06,181 --> 00:08:08,749 Elizabeth Holtzman as a new political rock star. 169 00:08:08,792 --> 00:08:11,491 Holtzman was the daughter of Eastern European immigrants, 170 00:08:11,534 --> 00:08:13,188 a graduate of Harvard Law School, 171 00:08:13,231 --> 00:08:16,365 newly elected to Congress, 32 years old. 172 00:08:16,408 --> 00:08:18,585 - And how many of us have not quarreled 173 00:08:18,628 --> 00:08:20,543 with Presidents in the past? 174 00:08:20,587 --> 00:08:23,720 Democrats or Republicans over agricultural policy 175 00:08:23,764 --> 00:08:26,941 or environmental policy or foreign policy or whatever. 176 00:08:26,984 --> 00:08:30,118 Does that give any President-- President the license 177 00:08:30,161 --> 00:08:31,946 to burglarize our home? 178 00:08:31,989 --> 00:08:33,948 To wire tap our phones? 179 00:08:33,991 --> 00:08:36,037 To open our mail? 180 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,039 I submit that if it does, we have gone down 181 00:08:38,082 --> 00:08:39,997 the long road to tyranny, 182 00:08:40,041 --> 00:08:42,652 and that the blessings of liberty that we formed 183 00:08:42,696 --> 00:08:45,742 this Constitution 200 years ago to preserve 184 00:08:45,786 --> 00:08:48,266 will vanish very quickly. 185 00:08:48,310 --> 00:08:51,226 And I would like to remind my colleagues 186 00:08:51,269 --> 00:08:54,011 that under the Constitution of the United States, 187 00:08:54,055 --> 00:08:55,926 we in the House of Representatives, 188 00:08:55,970 --> 00:08:57,493 through the power of impeachment, 189 00:08:57,537 --> 00:08:58,799 have been given the duty 190 00:08:58,842 --> 00:09:01,976 to preserve this Constitution. 191 00:09:02,019 --> 00:09:03,804 - This Committee has heard evidence 192 00:09:03,847 --> 00:09:06,633 of governmental corruption unequalled in the history 193 00:09:06,676 --> 00:09:08,112 of the United States. 194 00:09:08,156 --> 00:09:10,767 The cover-up of crimes, 195 00:09:10,811 --> 00:09:13,465 obstructing the prosecution of criminals, 196 00:09:13,509 --> 00:09:16,468 tax violations and personal enrichment 197 00:09:16,512 --> 00:09:18,209 at public expense. 198 00:09:18,253 --> 00:09:21,604 Bribery and blackmail, flagrant misuse 199 00:09:21,648 --> 00:09:25,782 of the FBI, the CIA, and the IRS. 200 00:09:25,826 --> 00:09:27,175 Most Republicans, however, 201 00:09:27,218 --> 00:09:28,872 continued to defend Nixon. 202 00:09:28,916 --> 00:09:32,049 - John Dean did something wrong, 203 00:09:32,093 --> 00:09:34,791 in my opinion. 204 00:09:34,835 --> 00:09:38,360 And Ehrlichman did something wrong. 205 00:09:38,403 --> 00:09:39,622 One of them requested 206 00:09:39,666 --> 00:09:41,537 that the CIA provide bail money 207 00:09:41,581 --> 00:09:42,930 for these defendants. 208 00:09:42,973 --> 00:09:44,714 And they were promptly rebuffed, 209 00:09:44,758 --> 00:09:48,196 of course, by the CIA, but that was a wrongful act. 210 00:09:48,239 --> 00:09:49,763 There's not a word-- 211 00:09:49,806 --> 00:09:51,765 not a word, ladies and gentlemen, 212 00:09:51,808 --> 00:09:54,463 of presidential knowledge or awareness or involvement 213 00:09:54,506 --> 00:09:56,552 in that wrongful act. 214 00:09:56,596 --> 00:09:58,467 After two hours, the debate was interrupted 215 00:09:58,510 --> 00:09:59,860 by a bomb threat. 216 00:09:59,903 --> 00:10:02,689 - It's necessary that we do recess 217 00:10:02,732 --> 00:10:05,343 for a period of time. 218 00:10:07,215 --> 00:10:09,043 - There has been a bomb threat, 219 00:10:09,086 --> 00:10:10,305 and, uh, the Committee has recessed, 220 00:10:10,348 --> 00:10:12,263 and the room is being cleared. 221 00:10:12,307 --> 00:10:13,961 I don't know many details except to say that 222 00:10:14,004 --> 00:10:15,745 it was a telephone bomb threat. 223 00:10:15,789 --> 00:10:18,226 It reached the Committee just moments ago. 224 00:10:18,269 --> 00:10:20,271 When debate resumed the following day, 225 00:10:20,315 --> 00:10:22,534 America discovered another rising star: 226 00:10:22,578 --> 00:10:24,362 Barbara Jordan of Texas. 227 00:10:24,406 --> 00:10:26,843 - The fact is that on yesterday, 228 00:10:26,887 --> 00:10:29,672 the American people waited with great anxiety 229 00:10:29,716 --> 00:10:31,892 for eight hours 230 00:10:31,935 --> 00:10:34,459 not knowing whether their President 231 00:10:34,503 --> 00:10:37,158 would obey an order of the Supreme Court 232 00:10:37,201 --> 00:10:39,551 of the United States. 233 00:10:39,595 --> 00:10:42,729 Earlier today, we heard 234 00:10:42,772 --> 00:10:45,949 the beginning of the preamble to the Constitution 235 00:10:45,993 --> 00:10:47,777 of the United States. 236 00:10:47,821 --> 00:10:49,561 "We, the people..." 237 00:10:49,605 --> 00:10:52,260 It's a very eloquent beginning. 238 00:10:52,303 --> 00:10:54,741 But when that document was completed 239 00:10:54,784 --> 00:10:57,831 on the 17th of September in 1787, 240 00:10:57,874 --> 00:11:01,617 I was not included in that "We, the people." 241 00:11:01,661 --> 00:11:04,968 I felt somehow for many years that George Washington 242 00:11:05,012 --> 00:11:08,102 and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. 243 00:11:09,625 --> 00:11:12,541 But through the process of amendment, interpretation, 244 00:11:12,584 --> 00:11:14,195 and court decision, 245 00:11:14,238 --> 00:11:16,588 I have finally been included 246 00:11:16,632 --> 00:11:19,113 in "We, the people." 247 00:11:19,156 --> 00:11:23,204 Today, I am an inquisitor 248 00:11:23,247 --> 00:11:25,989 and hyperbole would not be fictional 249 00:11:26,033 --> 00:11:28,818 and would not overstate the solemness that I feel 250 00:11:28,862 --> 00:11:31,038 right now. 251 00:11:31,081 --> 00:11:34,258 My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, 252 00:11:34,302 --> 00:11:36,173 it is total, 253 00:11:36,217 --> 00:11:40,264 and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator 254 00:11:40,308 --> 00:11:42,484 to the diminution, 255 00:11:42,527 --> 00:11:44,138 the subversion, 256 00:11:44,181 --> 00:11:46,270 the destruction 257 00:11:46,314 --> 00:11:47,924 of the Constitution. 258 00:11:52,450 --> 00:11:56,019 - It isn't the Presidency that is in jeopardy from us. 259 00:11:56,063 --> 00:11:58,979 We would strive to strengthen 260 00:11:59,022 --> 00:12:01,764 and protect the Presidency, 261 00:12:01,808 --> 00:12:04,898 but if there be no accountability, 262 00:12:04,941 --> 00:12:06,943 another President will feel free 263 00:12:06,987 --> 00:12:09,554 to do as he chooses. 264 00:12:09,598 --> 00:12:12,209 But the--but the next time, 265 00:12:12,253 --> 00:12:15,647 there may be no watchmen in the night. 266 00:12:15,691 --> 00:12:18,041 Republicans David Dennis and Trent Lott 267 00:12:18,085 --> 00:12:20,652 gave the strongest speeches opposing impeachment. 268 00:12:20,696 --> 00:12:23,264 - The March 21 payment to Hunt was the last 269 00:12:23,307 --> 00:12:25,832 in a long series of such payments 270 00:12:25,875 --> 00:12:28,486 engineered by Mitchell, Haldeman, Dean, 271 00:12:28,530 --> 00:12:30,532 and Kalmbach, and later on LaRue, 272 00:12:30,575 --> 00:12:32,664 and all, so far as appears, 273 00:12:32,708 --> 00:12:35,102 without the President's knowledge or complicity. 274 00:12:35,145 --> 00:12:37,844 - We are faced with impeaching the President. 275 00:12:37,887 --> 00:12:41,848 The line must be drawn directly to the President, 276 00:12:41,891 --> 00:12:44,285 clearly to the President. 277 00:12:44,328 --> 00:12:46,113 This has not been done. 278 00:12:46,156 --> 00:12:47,288 But they hadn't reckoned 279 00:12:47,331 --> 00:12:48,811 with Elizabeth Holtzman. 280 00:12:48,855 --> 00:12:50,639 - The President discussed the matter 281 00:12:50,682 --> 00:12:53,990 of paying Hunt ten separate times 282 00:12:54,034 --> 00:12:56,645 in a conversation on March 21st 283 00:12:56,688 --> 00:12:58,778 with Dean and Haldeman. 284 00:12:58,821 --> 00:13:01,215 And the last time the President discussed it, 285 00:13:01,258 --> 00:13:04,479 he said, and I quote, "That's why, 286 00:13:04,522 --> 00:13:06,786 "for your immediate thing, you've got no choice 287 00:13:06,829 --> 00:13:10,180 "with Hunt but the 120 or whatever it is, right? 288 00:13:10,224 --> 00:13:12,748 "Would you agree that that's a buy-time thing? 289 00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:15,359 "You'd better damn well get that done, but fast. 290 00:13:15,403 --> 00:13:17,884 Well, for Christ's sake, get it." 291 00:13:17,927 --> 00:13:20,147 Perhaps some people find ambiguities 292 00:13:20,190 --> 00:13:21,583 in that conversation. 293 00:13:21,626 --> 00:13:23,454 I don't. 294 00:13:23,498 --> 00:13:25,543 I became district attorney many years later 295 00:13:25,587 --> 00:13:28,590 of Brooklyn, New Yor.. 296 00:13:28,633 --> 00:13:32,072 And I had the opportunity to listen to wire taps 297 00:13:32,115 --> 00:13:36,772 of mafiosi and other criminals conspiring, 298 00:13:36,816 --> 00:13:39,122 and I remember thinking, "This is what I heard 299 00:13:39,166 --> 00:13:40,820 in the White House of the United States." 300 00:13:40,863 --> 00:13:42,778 And I was very saddened by that. 301 00:13:42,822 --> 00:13:46,086 Nowhere in the thousands of pages of evidence 302 00:13:46,129 --> 00:13:48,175 presented to this committee 303 00:13:48,218 --> 00:13:50,481 does the President ask, 304 00:13:50,525 --> 00:13:53,267 "What does the Constitution say? 305 00:13:53,310 --> 00:13:56,183 "What are the limits of my power? 306 00:13:56,226 --> 00:13:59,577 "What does my oath of office require of me? 307 00:13:59,621 --> 00:14:02,450 What is the right thing to do?" 308 00:14:02,493 --> 00:14:03,799 Meanwhile, even after 309 00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:06,019 the Supreme Court decision, 310 00:14:06,062 --> 00:14:08,325 the special prosecutors were still fighting for the tapes. 311 00:14:08,369 --> 00:14:10,371 - Before Judge John Sirica, 312 00:14:10,414 --> 00:14:12,939 Jaworski's soft drawl did not quite mask his anger. 313 00:14:12,982 --> 00:14:16,203 "I must say, in all candor, that our experience so far 314 00:14:16,246 --> 00:14:18,335 has been very poor, very disappointing." 315 00:14:18,379 --> 00:14:20,468 Reference to missing tapes, gaps, and buzzes 316 00:14:20,511 --> 00:14:22,165 was unmistakable. 317 00:14:22,209 --> 00:14:23,906 The President's lawyer tried to argue, 318 00:14:23,950 --> 00:14:26,126 James St. Clair saying legal work might delay 319 00:14:26,169 --> 00:14:28,476 delivery of the tapes, but Judge Sirica, 320 00:14:28,519 --> 00:14:31,044 brandishing his Supreme Court ruling, interrupted. 321 00:14:31,087 --> 00:14:32,610 "You're making this thing 322 00:14:32,654 --> 00:14:34,612 more complicated than it should be." 323 00:14:34,656 --> 00:14:37,180 Sirica sent St. Clair and Jaworski into a side room 324 00:14:37,224 --> 00:14:38,965 treated them to a pot of coffee, 325 00:14:39,008 --> 00:14:40,314 and told them to come out with an agreement 326 00:14:40,357 --> 00:14:42,055 or he'd impose one. 327 00:14:42,098 --> 00:14:44,013 It was a no-lose proposition for Jaworski, 328 00:14:44,057 --> 00:14:46,015 who came out with a White House guarantee 329 00:14:46,059 --> 00:14:48,191 that he'll have the first tapes by next Tuesday. 330 00:14:48,235 --> 00:14:50,063 After three days of debate 331 00:14:50,106 --> 00:14:52,065 and just before the first vote on impeachment, 332 00:14:52,108 --> 00:14:54,241 Vice President Ford gave a speech. 333 00:14:54,284 --> 00:14:56,156 - And it's my judgment that the evidence 334 00:14:56,199 --> 00:14:59,115 is overwhelming that he had nothing to do with 335 00:14:59,159 --> 00:15:01,074 the so-called cover-up. 336 00:15:01,117 --> 00:15:03,206 So the President, in my judgment, 337 00:15:03,250 --> 00:15:05,992 is innocent, and will be exonerated. 338 00:15:06,035 --> 00:15:07,602 But even among Republicans, 339 00:15:07,645 --> 00:15:09,604 the tide had begun to turn. 340 00:15:09,647 --> 00:15:11,693 One of the first was a conservative from Chicago. 341 00:15:11,736 --> 00:15:13,390 - The only materials 342 00:15:13,434 --> 00:15:15,175 which we have received have been--have come from 343 00:15:15,218 --> 00:15:17,873 the grand jury and from the special prosecutor. 344 00:15:17,917 --> 00:15:20,006 It seems to me the President's failure to comply 345 00:15:20,049 --> 00:15:22,269 threatens the integrity of our impress-- 346 00:15:22,312 --> 00:15:24,488 the impeachment process itself. 347 00:15:24,532 --> 00:15:26,403 His action is a direct challenge 348 00:15:26,447 --> 00:15:27,839 to the Congress, and the exercise 349 00:15:27,883 --> 00:15:29,841 of its solemn Constitutional duty. 350 00:15:29,885 --> 00:15:31,669 - What sealed Nixon's doom 351 00:15:31,713 --> 00:15:33,541 was when four young Republican congressmen 352 00:15:33,584 --> 00:15:35,108 came out and voted for the first article 353 00:15:35,151 --> 00:15:36,326 of impeachment. 354 00:15:36,370 --> 00:15:38,024 Hamilton Fish of New York... 355 00:15:38,067 --> 00:15:40,200 - I am a Republican. 356 00:15:40,243 --> 00:15:42,115 In these proceedings, I have attempted 357 00:15:42,158 --> 00:15:44,944 to discipline myself in partisan neutrality. 358 00:15:44,987 --> 00:15:47,294 - Caldwell Butler of Virginia... 359 00:15:47,337 --> 00:15:49,949 - A power appears to have corrupted. 360 00:15:49,992 --> 00:15:52,734 It is a sad chapter in American history, 361 00:15:52,777 --> 00:15:54,954 but I cannot condone what I have heard. 362 00:15:54,997 --> 00:15:57,304 I cannot excuse it, and I cannot, and will not, 363 00:15:57,347 --> 00:15:59,001 stand still for it. 364 00:15:59,045 --> 00:16:00,960 - Tom Railsback of Illinois... 365 00:16:01,003 --> 00:16:05,965 - We are considering impeaching a man, 366 00:16:06,008 --> 00:16:09,098 Richard Nixon, who has been in my district twice 367 00:16:09,142 --> 00:16:12,145 campaigning for me, 368 00:16:12,188 --> 00:16:14,451 that I regard as a friend. 369 00:16:14,495 --> 00:16:16,105 - Bill Cohen of Maine. 370 00:16:16,149 --> 00:16:17,672 - It's been said that an impeachment proceeding 371 00:16:17,715 --> 00:16:19,587 will tear this country apart. 372 00:16:19,630 --> 00:16:21,328 And to say that it will tear the country apart 373 00:16:21,371 --> 00:16:23,460 to abide by the Constitution is a proposition 374 00:16:23,504 --> 00:16:25,201 that I cannot accept. 375 00:16:25,245 --> 00:16:26,898 I think what would tear the country apart 376 00:16:26,942 --> 00:16:28,857 would be to turn our backs on the facts 377 00:16:28,900 --> 00:16:31,207 and our responsibilities to ascertain them. 378 00:16:31,251 --> 00:16:32,817 - That's what put Nixon down, 379 00:16:32,861 --> 00:16:34,645 'cause it had to be bipartisan 380 00:16:34,689 --> 00:16:36,647 if the Judiciary Committee was going to impeach. 381 00:16:36,691 --> 00:16:39,041 - Those votes were symbolically 382 00:16:39,085 --> 00:16:41,348 outsized and huge. 383 00:16:41,391 --> 00:16:45,047 Had they all been Democratic votes alone, 384 00:16:45,091 --> 00:16:48,442 who knows what the outcome might have been. 385 00:16:48,485 --> 00:16:50,879 - Mr. Butler. - Aye. 386 00:16:52,750 --> 00:16:56,232 - Mr. Cohen. - Aye. 387 00:16:56,276 --> 00:17:00,062 - Mr. Lott. - No. 388 00:17:00,106 --> 00:17:03,935 - Mr. Froehlich. - Aye. 389 00:17:03,979 --> 00:17:07,461 - Mr. Moorhead. - No. 390 00:17:07,504 --> 00:17:09,854 - Mr. Maraziti. - No. 391 00:17:11,508 --> 00:17:13,641 - Mr. Latta. - No. 392 00:17:14,946 --> 00:17:16,774 - Mr. Rodino. 393 00:17:16,818 --> 00:17:18,341 - Aye. 394 00:17:21,170 --> 00:17:23,607 - 27 members have voted "aye." 395 00:17:23,651 --> 00:17:25,479 11 members have voted "no." 396 00:17:25,522 --> 00:17:28,177 - And pursuant to the resolution, 397 00:17:28,221 --> 00:17:29,918 Article I, that resolution is adopted 398 00:17:29,961 --> 00:17:34,096 and will be reported to the House. 399 00:17:34,140 --> 00:17:36,577 - And Nixon refused to resign, 400 00:17:36,620 --> 00:17:40,102 thought that he would fight this thing in, uh-- 401 00:17:40,146 --> 00:17:42,104 in the Senate of the United States. 402 00:17:42,148 --> 00:17:44,672 He knew he would be impeached by the full House, 403 00:17:44,715 --> 00:17:48,284 but that he could prevail in a--in a trial in the Senate, 404 00:17:48,328 --> 00:17:51,374 uh, where you need, uh, two-thirds of the votes 405 00:17:51,418 --> 00:17:53,420 of the senators to convict. 406 00:17:53,463 --> 00:17:54,769 Congress began preparing 407 00:17:54,812 --> 00:17:56,423 for an impeachment vote 408 00:17:56,466 --> 00:17:57,772 by the full House of Representatives 409 00:17:57,815 --> 00:17:59,600 and a subsequent Senate trial. 410 00:17:59,643 --> 00:18:01,471 But then, only a few days later, 411 00:18:01,515 --> 00:18:03,517 there was yet another surprise. 412 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:05,693 - President Nixon stunned the country today 413 00:18:05,736 --> 00:18:08,174 by admitting that he held back evidence 414 00:18:08,217 --> 00:18:09,653 from the House Judiciary Committee. 415 00:18:14,136 --> 00:18:15,442 - The President made public three new transcripts 416 00:18:15,485 --> 00:18:16,791 of meetings with his former chief aide, 417 00:18:16,834 --> 00:18:17,966 H. R. "Bob" Haldeman, 418 00:18:18,009 --> 00:18:20,664 all June 23, 1972. 419 00:18:27,976 --> 00:18:30,457 - Well, now, on the Democratic break-in, um, 420 00:18:30,500 --> 00:18:32,633 we're back in the problem area, 421 00:18:32,676 --> 00:18:35,331 because the FBI is not under control 422 00:18:35,375 --> 00:18:38,813 because Gray doesn't exactly know how to control them. 423 00:18:38,856 --> 00:18:42,164 John Dean concurs now with Mitchell's recommendation 424 00:18:42,208 --> 00:18:43,644 that the only way to solve this 425 00:18:43,687 --> 00:18:46,864 is to have Walters call Gray and, um-- 426 00:18:46,908 --> 00:18:49,345 and just say, "Stay the hell out of this." 427 00:18:49,389 --> 00:18:51,478 We don't want you to go any further on it." 428 00:18:51,521 --> 00:18:52,783 And that's not unusual. 429 00:18:52,827 --> 00:18:55,525 - Fine. Fine. 430 00:18:55,569 --> 00:18:57,484 - They say the only way to do that 431 00:18:57,527 --> 00:18:59,964 is from White House instructions. 432 00:19:00,008 --> 00:19:03,142 The proposal would be that Ehrlichman and I call him. 433 00:19:03,185 --> 00:19:06,101 - Good. Play it tough. 434 00:19:06,145 --> 00:19:07,407 That's the way they play it, 435 00:19:07,450 --> 00:19:08,756 that's the way we're gonna play it. 436 00:19:08,799 --> 00:19:10,932 - Okay, then we'll do that. 437 00:19:10,975 --> 00:19:13,108 - They should call the FBI in 438 00:19:13,152 --> 00:19:15,545 and say that for the country, 439 00:19:15,589 --> 00:19:18,722 don't go any further in to this one, period. 440 00:19:18,766 --> 00:19:21,029 Tell them, "Lay off." 441 00:19:21,072 --> 00:19:23,814 - Yeah, that's-- that's the basis we do it on. 442 00:19:23,858 --> 00:19:26,991 - I don't want them to get any ideas 443 00:19:27,035 --> 00:19:29,994 that we're doing it because our concern is... 444 00:19:30,038 --> 00:19:32,301 political. 445 00:19:32,345 --> 00:19:34,521 - They had asked for some tapes. 446 00:19:34,564 --> 00:19:37,263 Nixon had called to review them in April. 447 00:19:37,306 --> 00:19:40,004 One of them was the tape of June 23rd. 448 00:19:40,048 --> 00:19:43,399 He had heard the tape and felt he couldn't survive it, 449 00:19:43,443 --> 00:19:45,967 and that's why he didn't turn the tapes over. 450 00:19:46,010 --> 00:19:48,361 And we were all called up to Camp David 451 00:19:48,404 --> 00:19:50,014 early in August, Sunday, 452 00:19:50,058 --> 00:19:52,147 and I had felt Nixon couldn't survive. 453 00:19:52,191 --> 00:19:55,455 And I said, "We don't recommend Nixon resign," 454 00:19:55,498 --> 00:19:58,849 but we take this problematic tape 455 00:19:58,893 --> 00:20:01,156 and we simply drop it on the public. 456 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,507 The revelation of the tape will be the thing 457 00:20:04,551 --> 00:20:08,859 that convinces Nixon's people, his strong supporters, 458 00:20:08,903 --> 00:20:10,644 that they can't even support him anymore. 459 00:20:10,687 --> 00:20:12,646 Then he has to resign. 460 00:20:12,689 --> 00:20:15,170 - The tapes were not turned over to Judge Sirica 461 00:20:15,214 --> 00:20:17,433 but rather immediately released to the public. 462 00:20:17,477 --> 00:20:19,261 Why did that happen? 463 00:20:19,305 --> 00:20:22,046 When a lawyer feels that his client 464 00:20:22,090 --> 00:20:24,919 has caused him to make a misrepresentation 465 00:20:24,962 --> 00:20:27,008 to a tribunal, 466 00:20:27,051 --> 00:20:28,836 under the lawyer's rules of ethics, 467 00:20:28,879 --> 00:20:31,491 that's a serious problem. 468 00:20:31,534 --> 00:20:33,536 - James St. Clair, the President's lawyer, 469 00:20:33,580 --> 00:20:35,799 threatened to resign unless Mr. Nixon 470 00:20:35,843 --> 00:20:38,846 released the transcripts, and stated that Mr. St. Clair 471 00:20:38,889 --> 00:20:40,717 had no knowledge of the untruths 472 00:20:40,761 --> 00:20:42,719 in the President's earlier defense. 473 00:20:42,763 --> 00:20:44,460 - Are you going to quit because the President 474 00:20:44,504 --> 00:20:47,463 didn't tell you the whole truth? 475 00:20:47,507 --> 00:20:49,422 - Interfering with an FBI investigation 476 00:20:49,465 --> 00:20:51,467 can be obstruction of justice, 477 00:20:51,511 --> 00:20:54,296 a felony, but almost as damaging 478 00:20:54,340 --> 00:20:57,734 are other disclosures in that June 23rd conversation 479 00:20:57,778 --> 00:21:00,041 revealing a pattern of lies and distortions 480 00:21:00,084 --> 00:21:02,652 by Mr. Nixon and his men about Watergate. 481 00:21:02,696 --> 00:21:04,698 - I knew that the Justice Department 482 00:21:04,741 --> 00:21:07,222 and the FBI were conducting intensive investigations, 483 00:21:07,266 --> 00:21:09,485 as I had insisted that they should. 484 00:21:09,529 --> 00:21:11,487 The White House Counsel, John Dean, was assigned 485 00:21:11,531 --> 00:21:14,403 to monitor these investigations, 486 00:21:14,447 --> 00:21:15,883 and particularly to check 487 00:21:15,926 --> 00:21:18,799 into any possible White House involvement. 488 00:21:18,842 --> 00:21:21,323 - But the transcripts show that six months before, 489 00:21:21,367 --> 00:21:23,325 H. R. Haldeman told the President 490 00:21:23,369 --> 00:21:25,196 that Dean was in on the cover-up. 491 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,198 - It was clear that Nixon had orchestrated 492 00:21:27,242 --> 00:21:30,245 the cover-up just about from the minute 493 00:21:30,289 --> 00:21:33,509 after the break-in, and so at that point 494 00:21:33,553 --> 00:21:36,120 there was nothing for the Republicans to fall back on. 495 00:21:36,164 --> 00:21:37,470 - The fact that there have been so many 496 00:21:37,513 --> 00:21:39,167 of these bombshells-- 497 00:21:39,210 --> 00:21:40,690 this is the story, and then this is the story 498 00:21:40,734 --> 00:21:43,519 and then this is the story and, um-- 499 00:21:43,563 --> 00:21:46,087 I just think that when you add it all up, 500 00:21:46,130 --> 00:21:49,090 uh, we have reached a point of no return. 501 00:21:49,133 --> 00:21:50,744 - And I shall support... 502 00:21:50,787 --> 00:21:52,789 those portions 503 00:21:52,833 --> 00:21:55,749 of Article I of the bill of impeachment. 504 00:21:59,666 --> 00:22:02,625 - What I thought I knew about Richard Nixon was, 505 00:22:02,669 --> 00:22:05,324 "This person is not going to resign." 506 00:22:05,367 --> 00:22:07,326 He will, in a Texas phrase, 507 00:22:07,369 --> 00:22:09,545 "Fight it till the last dog dies." 508 00:22:09,589 --> 00:22:12,374 Because he will always be able to convince himself, 509 00:22:12,418 --> 00:22:14,028 I can win it. 510 00:22:14,071 --> 00:22:15,377 - And you have the defense secretary, 511 00:22:15,421 --> 00:22:17,379 James Schlesinger, 512 00:22:17,423 --> 00:22:19,860 warning the Joint Chiefs of Staff that any orders, 513 00:22:19,903 --> 00:22:21,601 any last minute, crazy orders that come out 514 00:22:21,644 --> 00:22:23,820 of the White House are going to be vetted by 515 00:22:23,864 --> 00:22:25,779 the civilian leadership and the military 516 00:22:25,822 --> 00:22:27,998 before, you know, it's instituted. 517 00:22:28,042 --> 00:22:31,219 Basically, if the President orders the Marines 518 00:22:31,262 --> 00:22:33,395 to come out of the barracks and surround the White House, 519 00:22:33,439 --> 00:22:35,702 to pr--you know, and announces a coup, 520 00:22:35,745 --> 00:22:39,096 you know, don't obey that presidential order. 521 00:22:39,140 --> 00:22:42,012 This is bordering on-- 522 00:22:42,056 --> 00:22:44,928 on treason, but this is the point that they were at 523 00:22:44,972 --> 00:22:47,148 and the fears that they had. 524 00:22:47,191 --> 00:22:49,803 - I always said that we would be in trouble 525 00:22:49,846 --> 00:22:53,023 if General Haig put on his uniform 526 00:22:53,067 --> 00:22:55,504 when he went to work that day. 527 00:22:55,548 --> 00:22:57,332 - If the President, clearly, 528 00:22:57,376 --> 00:23:00,030 makes the decision to resign, 529 00:23:00,074 --> 00:23:02,903 I am not going to feel that it was the wrong decision, 530 00:23:02,946 --> 00:23:04,818 but I do feel I am not going 531 00:23:04,861 --> 00:23:06,602 to suggest to him that he resign. 532 00:23:06,646 --> 00:23:08,430 - Perhaps the toughest assessment came 533 00:23:08,474 --> 00:23:10,171 from Senator Robert Dole, the former chairman 534 00:23:10,214 --> 00:23:11,564 of the Republican Party. 535 00:23:11,607 --> 00:23:13,043 Dole said that for Republicans 536 00:23:13,087 --> 00:23:14,218 who are trying to get reelected 537 00:23:14,262 --> 00:23:15,611 in November, as he is... 538 00:23:18,745 --> 00:23:21,487 - The Republicans wanted him out of office. 539 00:23:21,530 --> 00:23:23,140 Just look at the timetable. 540 00:23:23,184 --> 00:23:25,839 If the impeachment had gone forward, 541 00:23:25,882 --> 00:23:27,754 there would have had to been a House vote 542 00:23:27,797 --> 00:23:29,930 then there would have to be a trial in the Senate. 543 00:23:29,973 --> 00:23:32,672 That would be September/October. 544 00:23:32,715 --> 00:23:34,674 In November, there are going to be elections 545 00:23:34,717 --> 00:23:36,110 for the House and Senate. 546 00:23:36,153 --> 00:23:38,895 If that trial had taken place-- 547 00:23:38,939 --> 00:23:41,463 an impeachment trial of Nixon-- how many Republicans 548 00:23:41,507 --> 00:23:42,899 do you think would have been elected 549 00:23:42,943 --> 00:23:45,293 to the House and Senate? 550 00:23:45,336 --> 00:23:47,295 And so Congressional Republicans mounted 551 00:23:47,338 --> 00:23:49,297 an all-out emergency campaign 552 00:23:49,340 --> 00:23:51,038 to persuade Nixon to resign. 553 00:23:51,081 --> 00:23:52,909 - Senators Scott and Goldwater arrived 554 00:23:52,953 --> 00:23:54,563 at the White House first. They were followed 555 00:23:54,607 --> 00:23:56,478 a few moments later by House Minority Leader 556 00:23:56,522 --> 00:23:58,393 John Rhodes. - Barry Goldwater, 557 00:23:58,437 --> 00:24:00,526 the great conservative, led a delegation 558 00:24:00,569 --> 00:24:03,093 of Congressional Republican leaders 559 00:24:03,137 --> 00:24:05,139 to the White House to meet with Nixon. 560 00:24:05,182 --> 00:24:07,533 And Nixon said, "Barry, how many votes 561 00:24:07,576 --> 00:24:09,491 do I have in the Senate 562 00:24:09,535 --> 00:24:12,320 for acquittal?" 563 00:24:12,363 --> 00:24:15,366 Fully expecting that Goldwater would tell him, 564 00:24:15,410 --> 00:24:18,152 you know, "'X' number and growing." 565 00:24:18,195 --> 00:24:20,894 Goldwater looked at him and he said, "Maybe four, 566 00:24:20,937 --> 00:24:22,939 right now, Mr. President, and you don't have my vote." 567 00:24:27,248 --> 00:24:29,642 - We, uh, had a good, thorough discussion, 568 00:24:29,685 --> 00:24:31,948 and I think I speak for 569 00:24:31,992 --> 00:24:34,298 my two colleagues when I say that 570 00:24:34,342 --> 00:24:36,387 we were extremely impressed. 571 00:24:36,431 --> 00:24:38,651 - That was a defining moment, 572 00:24:38,694 --> 00:24:40,391 because he had relied on those 573 00:24:40,435 --> 00:24:43,569 in this tight inner circle. 574 00:24:43,612 --> 00:24:46,136 And you know, one thing we politicians are very good at 575 00:24:46,180 --> 00:24:48,443 is kidding ourselves, particularly as far 576 00:24:48,487 --> 00:24:51,141 as our popularity is concerned. 577 00:24:51,185 --> 00:24:53,970 - We have told him that the situation is very gloomy 578 00:24:54,014 --> 00:24:56,016 on Capitol Hill... 579 00:24:56,059 --> 00:24:57,670 and, uh... 580 00:24:57,713 --> 00:24:59,759 that it is a... 581 00:24:59,802 --> 00:25:01,674 very distressing situation. 582 00:25:01,717 --> 00:25:04,459 And we gave him further evaluations 583 00:25:04,503 --> 00:25:07,157 which I think ought to remain, uh, 584 00:25:07,201 --> 00:25:09,377 between ourselves. 585 00:25:09,420 --> 00:25:11,379 But getting Nixon to resign wouldn't be easy, 586 00:25:11,422 --> 00:25:14,077 in part because Nixon feared what might come afterwards. 587 00:25:14,121 --> 00:25:16,819 - It seems inconceivable that he will not resign. 588 00:25:16,863 --> 00:25:18,908 He says, firmly, that he will not. 589 00:25:18,952 --> 00:25:21,432 What he may be doing is a kind of plea-bargaining. 590 00:25:21,476 --> 00:25:23,260 Once he becomes a private citizen, 591 00:25:23,304 --> 00:25:25,088 it is--it is easy to see years 592 00:25:25,132 --> 00:25:27,961 of $100,000-a-month legal fees ahead of him 593 00:25:28,004 --> 00:25:29,963 even if he never went to jail. 594 00:25:30,006 --> 00:25:32,139 He hasn't got that kind of money left. 595 00:25:32,182 --> 00:25:35,142 - If President Nixon resigns, what are the possibilities 596 00:25:35,185 --> 00:25:38,711 of his being indicted and facing trial on charges? 597 00:25:38,754 --> 00:25:40,539 - What do you suppose Congressional reaction would be 598 00:25:40,582 --> 00:25:42,976 if the President issued a pardon for himself 599 00:25:43,019 --> 00:25:46,066 or for any of his assistants faced with jail or prosecution? 600 00:25:46,109 --> 00:25:48,634 - I just could--can't imagine that kind of a thing 601 00:25:48,677 --> 00:25:50,070 being done by him. 602 00:25:50,113 --> 00:25:52,594 Uh, I think he'd leave under, uh, 603 00:25:52,638 --> 00:25:55,466 a much greater cloud than he is now. 604 00:25:55,510 --> 00:25:56,946 During this time, 605 00:25:56,990 --> 00:25:58,600 Haldeman and other former Nixon aides 606 00:25:58,644 --> 00:26:00,471 desperately begged Nixon for pardons. 607 00:26:00,515 --> 00:26:02,778 Nixon refused, but his own resignation 608 00:26:02,822 --> 00:26:04,388 now seemed inevitable. 609 00:26:04,432 --> 00:26:06,129 - All week, uh, people have begun 610 00:26:06,173 --> 00:26:09,437 to just sort of gather outside the White House. 611 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:11,613 This, uh applause you hear-- 612 00:26:11,657 --> 00:26:13,572 what has happened is that a moving van 613 00:26:13,615 --> 00:26:15,312 has just pulled up over at the White House. 614 00:26:15,356 --> 00:26:17,532 It may just be that the van is going 615 00:26:17,576 --> 00:26:19,969 down Pennsylvania Avenue, but at any rate, uh, 616 00:26:20,013 --> 00:26:22,102 it pulled up here, and, uh, some of the people 617 00:26:22,145 --> 00:26:24,408 in this crowd, uh, began to, uh-- 618 00:26:24,452 --> 00:26:26,367 to applaud when it did. 619 00:26:39,598 --> 00:26:42,731 - I am aware of the intense interest 620 00:26:42,775 --> 00:26:44,907 of the American people 621 00:26:44,951 --> 00:26:48,041 and of you in this room 622 00:26:48,084 --> 00:26:51,261 concerning developments today and over the last few days. 623 00:26:52,915 --> 00:26:54,656 This has, of course, has not been a-- 624 00:26:54,700 --> 00:26:58,312 has been a difficult time. 625 00:26:58,355 --> 00:27:00,096 The President of the United States 626 00:27:00,140 --> 00:27:02,751 will meet various members of the bipartisan leadership 627 00:27:02,795 --> 00:27:04,535 of Congress here at the White House 628 00:27:04,579 --> 00:27:07,843 early this evening. 629 00:27:07,887 --> 00:27:11,107 Tonight at 9:00, Eastern Daylight Time, 630 00:27:11,151 --> 00:27:12,674 the President of the United States 631 00:27:12,718 --> 00:27:14,502 will address the nation 632 00:27:14,545 --> 00:27:17,766 on radio and television from his Oval Office. 633 00:27:21,727 --> 00:27:23,511 - And we were in the office 634 00:27:23,554 --> 00:27:25,644 that night, and-- and I remember 635 00:27:25,687 --> 00:27:27,167 Katharine came downstairs 636 00:27:27,210 --> 00:27:29,648 and--and she said, "No gloating." 637 00:27:29,691 --> 00:27:32,520 This was before Nixon went on air to-- 638 00:27:32,563 --> 00:27:34,565 And--and let me tell you, there was no chance 639 00:27:34,609 --> 00:27:36,132 that we were gonna gloat. 640 00:27:36,176 --> 00:27:38,700 And Woodward and I went off to a little room 641 00:27:38,744 --> 00:27:41,094 and watched it by ourselves. 642 00:27:41,137 --> 00:27:44,053 - What was Watergate? 643 00:27:44,097 --> 00:27:46,621 The five wars of Watergate: 644 00:27:46,665 --> 00:27:49,450 First against the anti-war movement, 645 00:27:49,493 --> 00:27:52,409 then against the news media, 646 00:27:52,453 --> 00:27:54,847 the war against the Democrats, 647 00:27:54,890 --> 00:27:57,284 the war against justice, 648 00:27:57,327 --> 00:28:00,679 and then the war against history. 649 00:28:02,637 --> 00:28:04,595 - Olly-- 650 00:28:04,639 --> 00:28:06,946 No, only the CBS crew now 651 00:28:06,989 --> 00:28:09,470 is to be in this room during this. 652 00:28:09,513 --> 00:28:12,081 Only the crew. 653 00:28:12,125 --> 00:28:14,431 - No, there-- no, there will be no picture. 654 00:28:16,651 --> 00:28:18,653 Good evening. 655 00:28:18,697 --> 00:28:21,700 This is the 37th time 656 00:28:21,743 --> 00:28:24,703 I have spoken to you from this office. 657 00:28:24,746 --> 00:28:26,400 Throughout the long and difficult period 658 00:28:26,443 --> 00:28:28,184 of Watergate, 659 00:28:28,228 --> 00:28:31,361 I have felt it was my duty to persevere. 660 00:28:31,405 --> 00:28:35,017 To make every possible effort to complete the term of office 661 00:28:35,061 --> 00:28:36,889 to which you elected me. 662 00:28:36,932 --> 00:28:39,718 In the past few days, however, it has become 663 00:28:39,761 --> 00:28:41,937 evident to me 664 00:28:41,981 --> 00:28:43,939 that I no longer have 665 00:28:43,983 --> 00:28:46,768 a strong enough political base in the Congress 666 00:28:46,812 --> 00:28:50,685 to justify continuing that effort. 667 00:28:50,729 --> 00:28:54,254 I have never been a quitter. 668 00:28:54,297 --> 00:28:56,778 To leave office before my term is completed 669 00:28:56,822 --> 00:28:58,649 is abhorrent to every instinct 670 00:28:58,693 --> 00:29:00,521 in my body. 671 00:29:01,827 --> 00:29:03,698 But as President, 672 00:29:03,742 --> 00:29:07,223 I must put the interests of America first. 673 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,881 Therefore... 674 00:29:12,925 --> 00:29:16,276 I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. 675 00:29:21,455 --> 00:29:23,457 Vice President Ford... 676 00:29:23,500 --> 00:29:25,676 will be sworn in as President 677 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,810 at that hour, in this office. 678 00:29:32,771 --> 00:29:34,903 - My feeling, and I think Bob's, too, 679 00:29:34,947 --> 00:29:37,819 was of absolute awe. 680 00:29:37,863 --> 00:29:41,040 Awe that, one, the system had worked-- 681 00:29:41,083 --> 00:29:43,042 yes, that we had had a part in it-- 682 00:29:43,085 --> 00:29:44,957 but that this thing was gonna end 683 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,567 the way it ought to end. 684 00:29:46,610 --> 00:29:49,309 And that, uh... 685 00:29:51,050 --> 00:29:54,009 You know, awe that it had come to this. 686 00:29:54,053 --> 00:29:55,576 The next morning, 687 00:29:55,619 --> 00:29:57,186 using his last hour as President 688 00:29:57,230 --> 00:29:59,580 to address his cabinet and staff, 689 00:29:59,623 --> 00:30:01,451 Richard Nixon gave the best speech of his life. 690 00:30:05,455 --> 00:30:08,241 - This office, great as it is, 691 00:30:08,284 --> 00:30:11,853 can only be as great as the men and women 692 00:30:11,897 --> 00:30:15,857 who work for and with the President. 693 00:30:15,901 --> 00:30:17,641 This house, for example. 694 00:30:17,685 --> 00:30:21,080 I was thinking of it as we walked down this hall. 695 00:30:21,123 --> 00:30:23,560 This isn't the finest house. 696 00:30:23,604 --> 00:30:25,693 Many in Europe, particularly, 697 00:30:25,736 --> 00:30:27,651 and in China, 698 00:30:27,695 --> 00:30:29,001 Asia, 699 00:30:29,044 --> 00:30:33,048 have paintings of... 700 00:30:33,092 --> 00:30:34,963 great, great value. 701 00:30:35,007 --> 00:30:38,880 Things that we just don't have here 702 00:30:38,924 --> 00:30:40,926 and probably will never have 703 00:30:40,969 --> 00:30:42,928 until we are a thousand years old, 704 00:30:42,971 --> 00:30:44,973 or older. 705 00:30:46,366 --> 00:30:49,021 But this is the best house. 706 00:30:51,588 --> 00:30:53,286 It's the best house 707 00:30:53,329 --> 00:30:55,636 because it has something 708 00:30:55,679 --> 00:30:58,204 far more important than numbers of rooms 709 00:30:58,247 --> 00:30:59,727 or how big it is. 710 00:30:59,770 --> 00:31:01,729 Far more important than numbers of 711 00:31:01,772 --> 00:31:05,776 magnificent pieces of art. 712 00:31:05,820 --> 00:31:08,649 This house has a great heart, 713 00:31:08,692 --> 00:31:12,174 and that heart comes from those who serve. 714 00:31:12,218 --> 00:31:13,523 And then Nixon concluded 715 00:31:13,567 --> 00:31:15,612 with a recommendation that, 716 00:31:15,656 --> 00:31:18,224 as he must have realized, applied to him above all. 717 00:31:18,267 --> 00:31:20,313 - Always remember 718 00:31:20,356 --> 00:31:23,316 others may hate you, 719 00:31:23,359 --> 00:31:24,883 but those who hate you 720 00:31:24,926 --> 00:31:27,842 don't win unless you hate them, 721 00:31:29,452 --> 00:31:31,933 and then you destroy yourself. 722 00:31:40,028 --> 00:31:42,901 - Nixon, as he leaves the White House here 723 00:31:42,944 --> 00:31:45,164 to board the helicopter 724 00:31:45,207 --> 00:31:47,035 for the flight to California. 725 00:31:49,255 --> 00:31:51,213 And there's the President waving goodbye. 726 00:31:51,257 --> 00:31:52,736 You hear the applause. 727 00:31:58,177 --> 00:32:00,570 - Preserve, protect, and defend... 728 00:32:00,614 --> 00:32:03,225 - Preserve, protect, and defend... 729 00:32:03,269 --> 00:32:05,314 - The Constitution of the United States... 730 00:32:05,358 --> 00:32:07,882 - The Constitution of the United States... 731 00:32:07,926 --> 00:32:09,971 - So help me, God. - So help me, God. 732 00:32:10,015 --> 00:32:12,408 - Congratulations, Mr. President. 733 00:32:15,542 --> 00:32:17,413 But Watergate was far from over. 734 00:32:17,457 --> 00:32:19,459 One remaining question was whether to put 735 00:32:19,502 --> 00:32:21,156 Richard Nixon in jail. 736 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,724 - After he resigned in August, 737 00:32:23,767 --> 00:32:26,466 we said, "Let's amend the indictment 738 00:32:26,509 --> 00:32:27,684 "and add him as a defendant. 739 00:32:27,728 --> 00:32:29,730 He is now a private citizen." 740 00:32:29,773 --> 00:32:32,951 When people commit crimes, they should pay the price. 741 00:32:32,994 --> 00:32:36,606 Leon said, "The publicity would ruin the trial. 742 00:32:36,650 --> 00:32:39,131 You couldn't go to trial for a very long time." 743 00:32:39,174 --> 00:32:42,177 And we all said, "No problem. 744 00:32:42,221 --> 00:32:44,049 "We all will come back. 745 00:32:44,092 --> 00:32:46,007 "We'll go on to our other lives, 746 00:32:46,051 --> 00:32:47,878 "but we will come back to try the case 747 00:32:47,922 --> 00:32:50,446 whenever it is appropriate." 748 00:32:50,490 --> 00:32:53,275 And Leon said, "No." 749 00:32:53,319 --> 00:32:55,364 And while we were having this internal argument 750 00:32:55,408 --> 00:32:57,801 in the office, the pardon came down. 751 00:32:57,845 --> 00:33:01,240 - I, Gerald R. Ford, 752 00:33:01,283 --> 00:33:03,677 President of the United States, 753 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,462 do grant a full, 754 00:33:06,506 --> 00:33:08,638 free, and absolute pardon 755 00:33:08,682 --> 00:33:10,640 unto Richard Nixon. 756 00:33:10,684 --> 00:33:12,947 - I heard it on the radio and I called Woodward. 757 00:33:12,991 --> 00:33:15,341 And, uh, I woke him up 758 00:33:15,384 --> 00:33:17,082 and I said, "You're not gonna believe what happened." 759 00:33:17,125 --> 00:33:18,474 And he said, "What happened?" 760 00:33:18,518 --> 00:33:19,562 And I said, "The son of a bitch 761 00:33:19,606 --> 00:33:20,520 pardoned the son of a bitch." 762 00:33:20,563 --> 00:33:22,217 - Uh, President Ford 763 00:33:22,261 --> 00:33:25,003 did, uh, infinite injury 764 00:33:25,046 --> 00:33:27,570 to a fun--the fundamental principle 765 00:33:27,614 --> 00:33:31,052 of good government embodied in the, uh, phrase: 766 00:33:31,096 --> 00:33:33,054 "Equal justice under law." 767 00:33:33,098 --> 00:33:35,230 - Members of the original Watergate grand jury 768 00:33:35,274 --> 00:33:38,233 are extremely upset by President Ford's decision. 769 00:33:38,277 --> 00:33:40,018 Some of them feel their indictments 770 00:33:40,061 --> 00:33:42,890 of other Nixon aides are totally unfair 771 00:33:42,933 --> 00:33:46,111 if the same justice system is not applied to Nixon. 772 00:33:46,154 --> 00:33:48,156 - When the top guy has gotten away 773 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,029 and is going off to live on the beach in California, 774 00:33:51,072 --> 00:33:54,771 how--how zealous do we feel now about, 775 00:33:54,815 --> 00:33:56,425 you know, trying to put the people 776 00:33:56,469 --> 00:33:58,210 who worked for him in jail? 777 00:33:58,253 --> 00:34:01,735 - I was against it, and so was about 99% 778 00:34:01,778 --> 00:34:04,042 of the United States of America, 779 00:34:04,085 --> 00:34:06,131 but it was the right decision. 780 00:34:06,174 --> 00:34:08,829 The country had spent too much time on Watergate, 781 00:34:08,872 --> 00:34:11,049 and the idea of spending another year or two 782 00:34:11,092 --> 00:34:13,051 on Richard Nixon wasn't worth it. 783 00:34:13,094 --> 00:34:15,009 - I'll never change my opinion about that. 784 00:34:15,053 --> 00:34:16,793 I think it was wrong from the get-go, 785 00:34:16,837 --> 00:34:18,491 and I think it's wrong now, and I think the idea 786 00:34:18,534 --> 00:34:20,275 that we have unaccountable Presidents 787 00:34:20,319 --> 00:34:21,972 has harmed the country. 788 00:34:22,016 --> 00:34:24,932 The pardon set up a dual system of justice. 789 00:34:24,975 --> 00:34:27,587 The pardon set up a system where 790 00:34:27,630 --> 00:34:29,545 President of the United States 791 00:34:29,589 --> 00:34:31,373 was not going to be held accountable 792 00:34:31,417 --> 00:34:33,375 under the criminal laws. 793 00:34:33,419 --> 00:34:35,464 It also turned out that the pardon was part 794 00:34:35,508 --> 00:34:37,684 of a larger deal that eventually gave Nixon 795 00:34:37,727 --> 00:34:39,033 control over the tapes. 796 00:34:39,077 --> 00:34:40,643 - The final deal, as it turned out, 797 00:34:40,687 --> 00:34:42,515 was negotiated between Nixon's lawyers 798 00:34:42,558 --> 00:34:44,734 and the White House, not just the arrangements 799 00:34:44,778 --> 00:34:48,086 for the pardon, but also the giving of the tapes to Nixon. 800 00:34:48,129 --> 00:34:50,262 - There were very suspicious things about the pardon. 801 00:34:50,305 --> 00:34:53,134 Ford was gonna give Nixon all of the White House documents. 802 00:34:55,180 --> 00:34:58,313 Uh, which would have perpetuated a cover-up forever. 803 00:34:58,357 --> 00:35:00,968 Uh, Congress had to undo that. 804 00:35:01,011 --> 00:35:02,839 Richard Nixon wasn't done yet, 805 00:35:02,883 --> 00:35:04,885 as Benton Becker, the White House official 806 00:35:04,928 --> 00:35:07,583 who handled the pardon, soon found out. 807 00:35:07,627 --> 00:35:11,370 - Within 48 hours after Richard Nixon's plane landed 808 00:35:11,413 --> 00:35:14,634 in California, Richard Nixon picked up the telephone 809 00:35:14,677 --> 00:35:16,897 and told General Haig, 810 00:35:16,940 --> 00:35:18,899 "There are almost a thousand boxes 811 00:35:18,942 --> 00:35:20,640 "in the Executive Office Building. 812 00:35:20,683 --> 00:35:23,817 "Put those boxes in a, um... 813 00:35:23,860 --> 00:35:26,863 "a--a truck, and send them to Andrews Air Force Base, 814 00:35:26,907 --> 00:35:28,822 and send them out here to San Clemente." 815 00:35:28,865 --> 00:35:30,389 One afternoon, 816 00:35:30,432 --> 00:35:34,175 I noticed a truck packing boxes. 817 00:35:34,219 --> 00:35:36,438 When I asked the, uh, Colonel 818 00:35:36,482 --> 00:35:39,180 who was supervising the, uh, packing of the boxes 819 00:35:39,224 --> 00:35:41,051 he told me that he had gotten his orders 820 00:35:41,095 --> 00:35:43,793 from the Chief of Staff, uh, Alexander Haig. 821 00:35:43,837 --> 00:35:45,752 I reported all this to the President 822 00:35:45,795 --> 00:35:47,971 and the President brought in Mr. Haig. 823 00:35:48,015 --> 00:35:49,538 And Mr. Haig told the President 824 00:35:49,582 --> 00:35:50,713 that it was a mistake. 825 00:35:50,757 --> 00:35:51,932 He didn't issue that order, 826 00:35:51,975 --> 00:35:54,717 and the boxes were not sent. 827 00:35:54,761 --> 00:35:57,198 Public anger over the pardon and the tapes deal 828 00:35:57,242 --> 00:35:58,982 forced President Ford to meet 829 00:35:59,026 --> 00:36:00,593 with the House Judiciary Committee. 830 00:36:00,636 --> 00:36:02,421 Most of the Committee was deferential, 831 00:36:02,464 --> 00:36:04,118 but not Elizabeth Holtzman. 832 00:36:04,162 --> 00:36:06,076 - There was no deal, period, 833 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,905 under no circumstances. 834 00:36:08,949 --> 00:36:11,299 - Well, Mr. President, I know that the people want 835 00:36:11,343 --> 00:36:13,693 to understand how you can explain 836 00:36:13,736 --> 00:36:17,044 having pardoned Richard Nixon without specifying any 837 00:36:17,087 --> 00:36:19,177 of the crimes for which he was pardoned. 838 00:36:19,220 --> 00:36:21,788 And how can you explain pardoning Richard Nixon 839 00:36:21,831 --> 00:36:23,616 without obtaining any acknowledgment 840 00:36:23,659 --> 00:36:25,139 of guilt from him? 841 00:36:25,183 --> 00:36:27,228 How can this extraordinary haste 842 00:36:27,272 --> 00:36:29,099 in which the pardon was decided on, 843 00:36:29,143 --> 00:36:30,449 and the secrecy with which 844 00:36:30,492 --> 00:36:32,233 it was carried out, be explained? 845 00:36:32,277 --> 00:36:34,409 And how can you explain the fact that the pardon 846 00:36:34,453 --> 00:36:36,237 of Richard Nixon was accompanied 847 00:36:36,281 --> 00:36:38,892 by an agreement with respect to the tapes 848 00:36:38,935 --> 00:36:41,503 which in essence, in the public mind, 849 00:36:41,547 --> 00:36:43,113 hampered the special prosecutor's 850 00:36:43,157 --> 00:36:46,247 access to these materials? 851 00:36:46,291 --> 00:36:49,119 - Those tapes, according to the attorney general, 852 00:36:49,163 --> 00:36:52,253 and I might add, according to past President--precedent, 853 00:36:52,297 --> 00:36:54,908 belong to President Nixon. 854 00:36:54,951 --> 00:36:56,823 Uh, those tapes 855 00:36:56,866 --> 00:37:00,218 are in our control. 856 00:37:00,261 --> 00:37:02,568 They are under an agreement 857 00:37:02,611 --> 00:37:06,224 which protects them totally, fully. 858 00:37:06,267 --> 00:37:08,748 But the original deal only protected the tapes 859 00:37:08,791 --> 00:37:11,054 for five years, and popular outrage 860 00:37:11,098 --> 00:37:12,665 forced Ford to retreat. 861 00:37:12,708 --> 00:37:14,406 Congress quickly passed a bill 862 00:37:14,449 --> 00:37:15,885 making the tapes government property, 863 00:37:15,929 --> 00:37:17,278 and the vote was so overwhelming 864 00:37:17,322 --> 00:37:18,932 that Ford had to sign it. 865 00:37:18,975 --> 00:37:20,803 A few months later, when Haldeman, 866 00:37:20,847 --> 00:37:22,762 Ehrlichman, and Mitchell went to trial, 867 00:37:22,805 --> 00:37:25,330 they denied everything, but the special prosecutors 868 00:37:25,373 --> 00:37:31,510 played the tapes for the jury, and it worked. 869 00:37:31,553 --> 00:37:32,815 - Good evening. The men who were closest 870 00:37:32,859 --> 00:37:34,295 to Richard Nixon in the White House 871 00:37:34,339 --> 00:37:36,515 and in politics today were sentenced 872 00:37:36,558 --> 00:37:39,300 to prison for their role in the Watergate cover-up. 873 00:37:39,344 --> 00:37:41,781 - 2 1/2 to 8 years. 874 00:37:41,824 --> 00:37:44,262 2 1/2 to 8 years. 875 00:37:44,305 --> 00:37:46,655 2 1/2 to 8 years. 876 00:37:46,699 --> 00:37:48,788 Just a few months later, another piece 877 00:37:48,831 --> 00:37:50,964 of Richard Nixon's legacy died too. 878 00:37:51,007 --> 00:37:54,315 In April, 1975, South Vietnam collapsed, 879 00:37:54,359 --> 00:37:56,143 and the Communist North Vietnamese 880 00:37:56,186 --> 00:37:58,493 marched into Saigon to assume power, 881 00:37:58,537 --> 00:38:01,191 catching the United States totally unprepared. 882 00:38:01,235 --> 00:38:03,411 - The people here were herded into groups. 883 00:38:03,455 --> 00:38:06,284 50 at a time, they took off for the carriers waiting 884 00:38:06,327 --> 00:38:08,068 in the South China Sea. 885 00:38:08,111 --> 00:38:09,983 - The South Vietnamese helicopters came in 886 00:38:10,026 --> 00:38:11,941 to the U.S. ships. 887 00:38:11,985 --> 00:38:13,987 There was no room for them, so the Navy men 888 00:38:14,030 --> 00:38:15,423 ordered the pilots to ditch the helicopters 889 00:38:15,467 --> 00:38:17,469 in the ocean. 890 00:38:17,512 --> 00:38:19,949 Time after time, the pilots hovered over the water 891 00:38:19,993 --> 00:38:22,343 and jumped out, praying the helicopters wouldn't 892 00:38:22,387 --> 00:38:24,127 fall on top of them. 893 00:38:24,171 --> 00:38:26,304 As risky as this was, the pilots decided 894 00:38:26,347 --> 00:38:29,568 it was better than flying back to Vietnam. 895 00:38:29,611 --> 00:38:32,310 Another half-million South Vietnamese fled later, 896 00:38:32,353 --> 00:38:35,008 becoming the refugees known as "the boat people." 897 00:38:35,051 --> 00:38:36,966 We want Carter! 898 00:38:37,010 --> 00:38:39,012 We want Carter! 899 00:38:39,055 --> 00:38:42,407 In 1976 Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford. 900 00:38:42,450 --> 00:38:44,887 On Carter's second day in office, he pardoned 901 00:38:44,931 --> 00:38:47,542 over 200,000 Vietnam draft violators. 902 00:38:47,586 --> 00:38:50,632 In 1978, Carter signed into law 903 00:38:50,676 --> 00:38:52,199 the Ethics in Government Act, 904 00:38:52,242 --> 00:38:53,592 which guaranteed the independence 905 00:38:53,635 --> 00:38:55,507 of special prosecutors. 906 00:38:55,550 --> 00:38:59,511 It was allowed to expire in 1999. 907 00:38:59,554 --> 00:39:02,905 41 people were convicted in relation to Watergate. 908 00:39:02,949 --> 00:39:05,299 A few years later, Pete McCloskey went 909 00:39:05,343 --> 00:39:07,606 to visit John Ehrlichman in prison. 910 00:39:07,649 --> 00:39:10,043 - John and I had been friends, our wives had been friends, 911 00:39:10,086 --> 00:39:12,132 I flew to Tucson and drove over 912 00:39:12,175 --> 00:39:14,221 to the Safford Penitentiary, which is out in the desert 913 00:39:14,264 --> 00:39:15,918 near Fort Huachuca. 914 00:39:15,962 --> 00:39:17,006 There's no fence around it, just desert. 915 00:39:17,050 --> 00:39:19,313 I said, "John... 916 00:39:19,357 --> 00:39:20,662 "how in the hell did this ever happen? 917 00:39:20,706 --> 00:39:22,229 "You were an honorable lawyer, 918 00:39:22,272 --> 00:39:23,883 a good father, good Christian scientist." 919 00:39:23,926 --> 00:39:25,711 He looked out across the desert 920 00:39:25,754 --> 00:39:28,017 at least thirty seconds and he said, "Pete... 921 00:39:28,061 --> 00:39:30,019 "it took us three-and-a-half years 922 00:39:30,063 --> 00:39:33,066 "to be corrupted by the power of the White House, 923 00:39:33,109 --> 00:39:35,503 "but we came to believe that the reelection of Nixon 924 00:39:35,547 --> 00:39:37,766 was essential to the national security." 925 00:39:39,464 --> 00:39:42,249 And I asked him one more question, 926 00:39:42,292 --> 00:39:44,860 I said, "John, tell me about Nixon." 927 00:39:44,904 --> 00:39:46,296 He shook his head and said, 928 00:39:46,340 --> 00:39:47,776 "I never really got to know him." 929 00:40:34,649 --> 00:40:36,390 - My presence here 930 00:40:36,434 --> 00:40:40,220 is one additional bit of evidence 931 00:40:40,263 --> 00:40:42,091 that the American dream 932 00:40:42,135 --> 00:40:44,659 need not forever be deferred. 933 00:40:49,098 --> 00:40:52,537 - Hallelujah 934 00:40:55,540 --> 00:40:58,020 - We were due to go see "Butch Cassidy" that night 935 00:40:58,064 --> 00:40:59,500 in--in Harvard Square. 936 00:40:59,544 --> 00:41:01,371 I saw the advanced copy 937 00:41:01,415 --> 00:41:03,112 of the Sunday "New York Times." 938 00:41:03,156 --> 00:41:05,071 I think came in around midnight 939 00:41:05,114 --> 00:41:07,029 at the Harvard Square kiosk. 940 00:41:07,073 --> 00:41:08,335 That was how I learned. 941 00:41:08,378 --> 00:41:10,337 I was very happy. Very happy. 942 00:41:19,215 --> 00:41:21,566 - This is a, uh-- 943 00:41:21,609 --> 00:41:24,090 original art from a-- an issue 944 00:41:24,133 --> 00:41:27,267 of "The Incredible Hulk" detailing the time 945 00:41:27,310 --> 00:41:30,357 when June Volper and Ben Vincent 946 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:32,141 rooted out the aliens 947 00:41:32,185 --> 00:41:34,840 who were occupying the Oval Office 948 00:41:34,883 --> 00:41:38,670 and returned America to peace and prosperity. 949 00:41:47,766 --> 00:41:50,551 - That's the one thing 950 00:41:50,595 --> 00:41:53,119 President is not off-limits. 951 00:42:02,171 --> 00:42:03,782 - I was no longer an endangered species. 952 00:42:03,825 --> 00:42:05,174 I was an extinct species. 953 00:42:05,218 --> 00:42:07,176 Liberal Republican. 954 00:42:16,098 --> 00:42:19,232 - I was at CBS News for 44 years. 955 00:42:19,275 --> 00:42:22,148 I do, um, hard news investigative reporting 956 00:42:22,191 --> 00:42:24,890 and documentaries. 957 00:42:34,334 --> 00:42:35,640 - That was Kissinger. 958 00:42:35,683 --> 00:42:37,555 Lying son of a bitch-- pardon me. 959 00:42:46,433 --> 00:42:49,523 - Uh, I'm a climate change skeptic. 960 00:42:49,567 --> 00:42:52,613 What, they call carbon dioxide a pollutant. 961 00:42:52,657 --> 00:42:54,484 Isn't that the food of plants and trees 962 00:42:54,528 --> 00:42:56,486 that Reagan referred to? 963 00:43:05,583 --> 00:43:09,151 - So I have both been fired and resigned for the same job. 964 00:43:09,195 --> 00:43:10,892 - Which do you prefer, sir? - Well, it depends 965 00:43:10,936 --> 00:43:12,720 on what audience I'm talking to. 966 00:43:21,555 --> 00:43:23,252 - Woodward would sometimes 967 00:43:23,296 --> 00:43:26,081 go straight to it and say, uh, 968 00:43:26,125 --> 00:43:28,257 "Why was your finger in the cookie jar, there?" 969 00:43:28,301 --> 00:43:29,563 And I would never do that. 970 00:43:29,607 --> 00:43:31,260 I would say, "You-- 971 00:43:31,304 --> 00:43:33,611 You like coconut macaroons?" 972 00:43:33,654 --> 00:43:35,395 - I mean, come on... 973 00:43:35,438 --> 00:43:36,614 - It's just... 974 00:43:54,501 --> 00:43:56,372 - Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs 975 00:43:56,416 --> 00:43:59,854 worked closely with the Justice Department in my days. 976 00:43:59,898 --> 00:44:01,682 - You had a role in increasing 977 00:44:01,726 --> 00:44:03,379 the criminalization of marijuana possession. 978 00:44:03,423 --> 00:44:05,425 - Uh, not really. 979 00:44:05,468 --> 00:44:08,167 Uh... 980 00:44:13,041 --> 00:44:14,869 Well, that's another-- a whole other area to get into. 981 00:44:14,913 --> 00:44:16,044 - It is. 982 00:44:46,684 --> 00:44:48,337 - All right, cut. - All right. 983 00:44:48,381 --> 00:44:50,339 - Get out of here, you rascals.