let the American people down and I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life up in something and then it snowbo it was my fault I'm not blaming anybody else reading as you've requested the thing the whole cont let me just right there I want to say right here and now I said things that were not true if I try and rob a bank and fail that's no defense I still tried to rub a bank I did not have a corrupt told him and tell you during the 18 and A2 minute Gap there was no cover up of any criminal activity that is obstruction of justice Just moment that's your conclusion not commit in my view an impeachable offense I was concerned about whether or not the other side was bugging us I cut off one arm then cut off the other oh I don't interpret that that way at all recall that conversation I said things that were not true I brought myself why didn't you stop it I gave him a sword and they stuck it in the Breakin the political Scandal began on June 17th 1972 when a security guard at the Watergate complex noticed that a few doors were taped so that they were left unlocked he removed the tape and did not think twice about it but it was only when when he returned to find the doors reted when he got suspicious and called the cops that night five men were arrested on account of attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other Communications these men were vigilo Gonzalez Bernard Barker James W McCord Jr eugeno Martinez and Frank sturis the grand jury charged all five men plus e Howard hunt and G Gordon ly in September for conspiracy burglary and violation of federal wiretapping laws after being tried and convicted in late January it was found that all five men were directly tied to the 1972 committee to reelect the president it was suspected that higher ranked government officials were involved as well the investigation the breaking at Watergate was revealed to have been a part of a huge campaign of political spying and sabotage headed by the people running the Nixon re-election campaign however on November 7th the president was reelected in the biggest landslide in American history reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the post uncovered information which linked the break-in and cover up attemps back to the CIA FBI White House and justice department their most knowledgeable anonymous source deep throat who told them of Howard Hunt's involvement in the break-in and warned them that the FBI was trying to find out who was leaking information of an entire collection of crimes greater than Watergate the trial did not end with five burglars but White House staff members were issued Sabas Senate committee chaired by Senator Irvin was set to examine them April 30th 197 3 Nixon was forced to ask for resignation of his two most powerful AIDS HR halman and John L Richmond and he also fired White House Council John Dean the tapes Alexander Butterfield was asked if there was any taping system in the white house and even though reluctant he answered yes there was a recording system which automatically taped what went on in every room including the Oval Office and Nixon's private office the tapes were sub subed by special prosecutor Archie Bal Cox and later by the Senate Nixon refused to release them but Cox refused to drop his subpoena a conversation vital in the case against Nixon took place March 21st 1973 between Nixon and John Dean where they talked about the Watergate case and the cover up they spoke about the hush money that the team was being paid for their silence Dean states that hunt is blackmailing the White House for the money and Nixon says that the blackmail money should be paid during the congregational debate on impeachment those who believed impeachment required a criminal indictable offense focused their attention on EX 's agreement to Blackmail payments making him a part of the cover up of a conspiracy the audio tapes caused an increasing amount of controversy and when it was found that 18 minutes had been erased from one tape people were suspicious Nixon's personal secretary had said that she erased it by accident but it was found later that many segments from the tapes were found missing the issue of the audio tapes went to the Supreme Court on July 24th 1974 in the United States versus Nixon was forced to hand over subpoenas to the special prosecutor resignation halderman El Richmond Mitchell Charles Coulson Gordon C Straten Robert Maran and Kenneth Parkinson known as the Watergate 7 were indicted for conspiring to hinder the investigation John Dean and Jeb Stewart McGruder had already pleaded guilty like others secretary Dwight chapen was convicted and so was Ed rck Republican lieutenant governor of California The Smoking Gun tape was the unknown audio tape that was found released recorded days after the Breakin it was a conversation between Nixon and halderman halderman discussed the coverup plan and Nixon approved it and is given a lot of information about the Breen's involvement with his campaign after the release of the tape Nixon's own lawyers were able to say that Nixon had been lying to the nation for 2 years still Nixon denied any involvement in the situation but after being told that enough votes existed to remove him by impeachment Nixon decided to resign impact prior to the Watergate scandal everyone in America believed that politicians truly have the people's best interest in mind there were never any questions as to why politicians do what they do or how they do it basically everyone trusted the government after Watergate Americans began to realize that politicians could be corrupt this realization leads to higher demand from the public to know more of what politicians are doing behind closed doors politically the Watergate scandal showed the darker side of the government government and gave the Democrats a chance to rise up the image of the legal system was also severely damaged by Watergate to try and fix this the American Bar Association launched two major reforms also they led a campaign Finance reform for legislation culturally Watergate appeared in every aspect of entertainment during that time many journalists started being more aggressive about reporting on politics and also harsher and more cynical media had the power to bring down a government as proof by Woodward and Bernstein additionally it gave new meaning to the first amendment protection of the freedom of the press nothing is off limits to the journalists there used to be boundaries that journalists felt had to be kept between the government and the media but after the Watergate scandal these boundaries faded ideals as a part of the Watergate scandal Nixon violated the American ideal Justice Nixon lied to the American people and broke a number of laws he promised to follow as an American citizen and the president of the United States he was an unjust leader as he allowed people who work directly under him to violate laws as well Nixon lost the trust of the people he swore to protect from the discussions I have had with Congressional and other leaders I have concluded that because of the Watergate matter I might not have the support of the Congress that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the nation would require I have never been a quitter to leave office before my term is completed is a hor to every Instinct in my body but as president I must put the interests of America First America needs a fulltime president and a full-time Congress particularly at this time with problems we face at home and abroad to continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal Vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the president and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of Peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home therefore I shall resign the presidency effective that noon tomorrow