tommy gunn same applies now with one distinction: do what you want and it’s okay getting caught too. If you’re running a political party nothing has any consequence anymore
+Stephen Glasskeys Yeah it's amazing, I thought I had already seen every watergate documentary. Thanks a lot to the uploader this must have been hard to find..
+X This came out on a VHS tape in the 1980s. I found it in a video rental store in 1988. Loved it from the very beginning. Like to find a CBS & NBC version.
Thank you SO MUCH for this!!! My Grandfather is Bill Gill (2:50 into this vid) and this is the FIRST time I have been able to see his reporting. That is amazing!! It has been very difficult finding footage of him for a few reasons but I am hoping to run across more. Your channel is fantastic!! So grateful!
Oh wow, that’s so cool! I’m glad you got to see footage of your grandfather and I hope you have better luck finding more footage of him. Maybe you can go to the networks that he worked for and see if they have any footage in their archives. I’m sure they would be willing to give you copies of the footage already broadcast publicly. The unpublished footage may not be available to anyone outside of the network though…
50 years tonight the burglary occurred. Despite being a foreigner (British), I have always been fascinated with Watergate. This video takes us through the events in chronological order. I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
Was this really 46 years ago? I was 16, on a camping trip, in Massachusetts. A group of us sat on the sand, listening to this from all the radios in the campsites. When Nixon said, “I will resign effective..,”.the place erupted with applause and the partying commenced.
Republicans throughout the country felt just the opposite (Remember the rest of the country that voted for Nixon?). Then we got Jimmy Carter - an utter failure of a president.
..."most memorable quotes in presidential history"....."most memorable recent presidential quotes "---->"What you see and what you hear is not whats happening"****Smile
I was 12 when he said that. Even at that age, I thought, ‘What have you done that you need to say the words, “I’m not a crook.”’? I remember feeling embarrassed for our country. That was our President needing to say, “I’m not a crook.”! I wish that he would have just lied again saying, “I’m not guilty.”
This take me back to my high school years, when my parents were Republicans. Every time Nixon was aired that year, my mother cursed at the TV with a few choice words for Nixon and she flipped parties. My question today, where is the outrage?
He did get away with it. He never went to jail, he was pardoned by Ford. He lived a comfortable life in San Clemente California. All his yes men went to jail.
The problem with Nixon, much like Trump is that he never owned up to his crimes. The difference is that the country still had a sense of decency during the Watergate period and even Republicans had to admit that Nixon was wrong. Today, the partisan divide prevents that kind of common sense process from taking place. The only hope is that justice will prevail and those people on the wrong side will wear that shame as a heavy burden... so heavy that the rule of law will once again be respected in this country.
@Najdorfa6 I agree with you. You allow one to get away with misconduct, you open the gates of hell for someone worse down the road. Absolutely correct!
@Najdorfa6 By this logic Nixon is ultimately responsible because Watergate allowed criminality to be rampant in the White House! Kennedy being w/Marilyn Monroe is also responsible Your entire argument is nonsensical on its face
There is a new narrator. It just isn't the same without Peter's beautiful voice and creepy delivery. It was HIS show. Now it's just another crime procedural like hundreds of others.
But Nixon really did beat his wife! More than once! When he resigned, he returned to San Clemente where he battered Pat Nixon so badly, she was hospitalized! So Nixon lies again when he told the press that he’d stopped beating his wife!
They picked the wrong guy to pin the whole thing on - John Dean - that back-fired big time. Nixon said to Dean to keep a list of press people who had given them a hard time about this situation because after the election they were going to get them. Sounds like Trump.
Just to be able to view these in the condition they aired to people of the time, I find invaluable for many reasons - perhaps the most valuable element at all, is that it is here to be viewed. Many thanks for making this and many more broadcasts of the day available 👍🍻
A very paranoid politician all throughout his presidency terms, the chief architect and creator of his own downfall. A very pathetic final Whitehouse speech on the day of his leaving.
I was watching a documentary about his childhood, and Nixon had lost maybe two brothers. He was pressured to please his parents and make them proud during his career. It sounded like he took on the role of three sons.
Nixon had no need to spy on the competition. He won 49 states and 520 out of the 537 Electoral Votes😂. A clear case of what unnecessary Paranoia can do to someone. Nixon could've stayed home the election year and cruised to victory
@@stevenmcghee6649 I'm from Massachusetts. I can see that happening, and it didn't help that our Governor barred his VP, Agnew, from even campaigning here in '72. Plus, Massachusetts is the home of the Kennedys, so there's that too.
6:16 "The Senate tonight voted 77 to nothing". To think that such unanimity on anything was possible so recently. We couldn't get a unanimous vote on the sky appearing to be blue today. And in this case it had political implications. Ha!
Nixon did some great things during his term and couldve been remembered as an incredible President. it’s such a shame his own ego got in the way and Watergate happened. what’s always puzzled me is why he did all this. he won the 72 election in a whopping landslide - the country liked him, and there was literally NO reason for the DNC bugging. i guess the only person who could answer that question would be Nixon himself.
And then Ford pardoned him. Which is how Carter won the presidency in '76. Jimmy was a good, spiritual man. He just didn't have the backbone to be a good president. He had a bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering. Heck, he went in and helped them solve the 3 mile island debacle. Imo, he would have served this country best by being a plant manager at a nuclear power plant
@@annmcerlean6937 the reporter asked if Nixon considered the charges as impeachable if applied to him. Nixons response of “I’ve also stopped beating my wife” was his way of pointing out that the reporters question could have been interpreted as to presume that he was guilty. “Have you stopped beating your wife?” Is the most common example of a loaded question meant to entrap someone into admitting to an inferred crime.
@@annmcerlean6937it was Nixon’s barbed sarcastic way of accusing the reporter of asking a loaded, question-begging, thinly veiled accusation of a “question”designed to entrap him no matter how he answered it.
38:55 “Well, I’ve -uh- also quit beating my wife.” I recently learned that, after he was defeated for governor of California in 1962, Nixon did blacken Pat’s eye. After that she consulted a divorce lawyer.
@@paultheaudaciousbradford6772 Nothing else, really. It was sometime during the Watergate crisis that he beat her, usually when drinking as a result of the strain.
A little better picture grade than my VHS tape (now converted to dvd) that I found at Blockbuster for rent back in the 1980s. How such a minor incident morphed into what it became. One lie always leads to bigger lies. I think if Nixon had come clean, he may have been better off. Buying silence gets no one anywhere for very long.
Mark Muffs- Yeah, if he had simply gotten out in front of it publicly right at the get go, taken responsibility up front and apologized, he might have survived with a political slap on the wrist. He might have gone down in history as a statesman. Instead, his sleazy political instincts were his downfall.
In March of 1974 President Nixon sent General Vernon Walters, who was then deputy director of the CIA, as his special representative for a secret meeting with two PLO leaders, Khalad Hassan and Majed Abu Sharar, who represented, respectively the so-called "right" and "left" wings of Fatah, the largest and most influential of the Palestinian factions that made up the PLO. Although the meeting evidently ended with great promise of working out a comprehensive Middle East settlement, British journalist Alan Hart reports that not long afterward, Henry Kissinger sabotaged that back-channel effort by President Nixon to achieve peace. Although the details are spelled out clearly in Hart’s biography of Yasser Arafat, few Americans know - although they should know - that Chairman Arafat and the two Hassan brothers told Hart, in Hart’s words, "that they were convinced that the government of Israel and the Jewish lobby in America had made use of the Watergate affair to break Nixon before he forced Israel to make the necessary withdrawals for peace." Khalad Hassan also told Hart that he (Hassan) had discussed Nixon’s continuing back-channel peace initiatives with then-King Feisal of Saudi Arabia who had played a part in the effort. Evidently, according to Hart’ rendition, President Nixon himself told King Feisal this: “If [Nixon] found his way blocked by Israel and the Jewish lobby, he would throw away his prepared text when he made his next State of the Union report [in January of 1975] and that he would tell the people of America, live on TV and radio, the whole truth about how Israel and its friends in America were the obstacle to peace.” In other words, Nixon was preparing to expose the way in which the Government of Israel and its supporters in America controlled American foreign policy. President Nixon never had the opportunity to make such a bold move. The media focus on the burgeoning Watergate scandal drove him from office. Thanks to an inside source today remembered as “Deep Throat,” The Washington Post led the the drumbeat for Nixon’s removal from office. In that regard it is interesting to note that former American diplomat Richard Curtiss, executive editor of The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, stated frankly in 1995 that “it’s long been our opinion that whoever played the role of ‘Deep Throat’ was in fact only a conduit for information collected by Israel’s Mossad and used to discredit Nixon,” and that Nixon’s attempt to reassess U.S. relations with Israel was “the catalyst that led directly to his downfall..” There is, in fact, evidence that the enigmatic source “Deep Throat” was, at the least, an indirect operative of Israel’s Mossad. In her book, Katharine the Great, a critical biography of Katharine Graham, the late publisher of The Washington Post, Jewish-American journalist Debra Davis has almost certainly provided the real key to Watergate. Miss Davis presents a solid case that the Post’s famed Watergate source - ”Deep Throat” - was most likely Richard Ober, the right-hand man of James Angleton, the CIA’s counterintelligence chief and longtime and Israeli-allied liaison to the Mossad. Miss Davis revealed that Ober was in charge of a joint CIA-Israeli counterintelligence desk established by Angleton inside the Nixon White House. From this listening post, Ober (at Angleton’s direction) provided inside information about Watergate that helped bring down the Nixon administration. So despite all that you - and the American people - have heard from the major media about Watergate, this information is not something that is in widespread distribution. Suffice it to say, based on what we have discussed here today, I think you understand why.
Americans-and people everywhere-should study history by watching videos such as this one and by reading books and thinking, by asking questions about what they are told. That is a way for leaders everywhere to be kept in check--and for people to learn how to lead .
Joel Bader agreed these documentaries are all different perspectives at the same thing and people should even watch documentaries made from different countries about the same topic because you see their perspectives
Agreed. Not learning from mistakes got us into this mess. It's not just from the right, it's on both sides of the political argument, i.e. the culture wars. Historians are needed in every field, no matter what. I am also becoming a film and television historian, and let me tell you this: if we're going to make sure we NEVER have a repeat of this disastrous chain of events ever again, I'm agreeing with you... and also from other countries about topics like this. Different perspectives on insane events like this could make the world a much safer place than ever before.
You're not going through this again. This is because the republican primary vote is controlled by it's own segment of the media today. This means that standing up to the president today is much harder then it would've been in the 70's.
WesMan He gives his opinion, and then you insult and attack the man. Also, he gave no indication of his political affiliation. You assumed most likely based on his appearance.
Nixon was guilty of opening to China, arms control with Russia, and trying to end the Vietnam War, but they could not assassinate him so soon after the King and Kennedys assassinations. Peace and world cooperation is not possible as long the US exists is present form.
I've always loved that the fox being allowed to edit his own henhouse tapes was thought of as a smart thing to do by those saying that "Nixon was much too smart to do any of this stuff." Let's try it out shall we? "Well, Mr. Police Officer, I know you say that it's on tape that I asked a hitman to kill my husband, but as you can see in this transcript of the tape in question that I edited myself, there's nothing whatsoever showing that at all!" "Oh. Okay, Ma'am. You're free to go, then. Sorry to have bothered you."
It creeped me out because of how fast he switched. He was just making a joke and they laughed and he even smiled. Then on a dime he switches to this creepy dude who drops the boom on those people. His whole face completely changed. It's unsettling to see someone who can easily and quickly switch their personalities.
During Watergate I remember these clocks that came out that had a cartoon picture of Nixon with his eyes ticking side to side marking each second with the caption "I AM NOT A CROOK."
This was a uniquely awesome documentary on the subject. Probably my favorite behind the Discovery Channel Collectors edition from 90s after Nixon passed away.
Clarence Parker III- What's to hate? Nixon was a naval officer, a lawyer, a congressman, a senator, and vice-president for eight years. Sleazy politician or not, experience is comforting.
Nixon would have been considered liberal today if he was alive. He created the EPA, drastically improved segregation, and even proposed universal health care. He was also great at foreign policy. I would take Nixon over Trump any day of the week.
Daniel Bloomfield Nixon had lotsa faults but he wasn’t a bad president by any means. Watergate was his ultimate failure and unfortunately will always be remembered for that.
@Afrika Steele Yeah...I just found it weird and awkward that he would even mention it. I guess he was trying to be humorous but in a way, that made it even worse.
This is an old-time expression used by men to get out of answering loaded questions from reporters. They would no longer be appropriate now but back then it was kind of the standard response when a reporter asked that type of question.
It really was.. on one hand it showed how dry and weird his sense of humor was. On the other it's especially awkward considering that there's actual rumors he beat the hell out of Pat several times (first time was after he lost the California governor's race in 62, there was another one right after his resignation.. yikes.) His daughters denied it but that report insits it was true but he couldn't report on it then and said that was his biggest regret. He wrote a book 2 years ago and it was in it.
@@efan2012 definitely a different time. I love watching and reading stuff about the Watergate era. I find it fascinating. I wish I could find more Haldeman and Erlichman post Watergate interviews.
THIS PALES IN COMPARISON TO WHATS HAPPENING TODAY IN 2023, THE DIFFERENCE :? PEOPLE WERE IDENTIFIED AND PROSECUTED FOR THEIR CRIMES IN 72 FAIRLY QUICKLY
One great thing about the news people of that time is that when they asked a question they just accepted the answer or ask another question. They didn't cut someone off , they just let it go and went on to another question. They realized that elected officials can't always give a detailed answer. Then was much more cordial than today.
It's nothing compared to what happened to JFK in Dallas and what goes on now days. The news reporters where great in those days. They reported the raw truth about anything that they found out. Still they were very professional.
Question. Does anyone know the story behind Nixon practically assaulting that dude in the beginning? It looked like one of his staffers so I assumed he was joking. However his face looked like he was furious and the victim looked genuinely alarmed but they may have cut the footage before he laughed. Either way I'm dying to know the story. 0:34 is the time stamp
@ erselley Nixon hated the news media and was in a bad mood . to get the reporters to back off and quit hounding him he turned around HIS press secretary Ron Ziegler and pushed Ziegler towards the reporters like a battering ram to fend them off. he ( nixon ) was not mad at his press secretary but the national media . P.S. i also was curious why Nixon shoved his aid away from him , so i did some research on this famous incident. take what i believe now, with a grain of salt. i am not always correct.
Somewhere in the depths of my study of Watergate, I think there is a witnessed retelling of what Nixon said to Ziegler during the 'push'. It may have come from The Final Days by Woodward/ Bernstein. In any event, that book is a stunning piece of journalism. The chapter on the choreography used to transfer certain tapes from the Grand Jury to the Judiciary Committee is worth reading. That careful, memorialized process of sending vital evidence between branches of government restored my faith in our national institutions.
47:25 the Judiciary Committee voted out the articles. The full House did not vote them out yet, so the Senate could not conduct a trial yet as the narrator erroneously stated.
"....and the ultimate triumph of the American system." Nixon needed to go, but I struggle with that statement. The President would never go through an impeachment trial because countless other heads would have rolled in government if he talked, so a deal must have been worked out. My opinion.
Agreed. Especially the dirt he must have had on Ford alone. He mustve told them that unless he gets a full pardon hed take it to trial and begin spilling his guts and probably collapse any trust that was left in the govt.
What the heck is this? Why isn't there a panel of """experts"""" picking out the sound bites and discussing them for an hour? Where are the rotating graphics and swoosh noise for screen transitions? WHY ARE THEY REPORTING WHAT WAS SAID?
+randy rysdale Cox was a special prosecutor hired for the case. When he was hired there wasn't any public knowledge of the tapes but when it came out, he demanded them and stood his ground. Transcripts wouldn't do. So Nixon fired him. At the time I thought wtf---how does one get fired for doing their job?? The next guy they hired they had it set up that the president couldn't touch him. Cox lived to the ripe old age of 92, outliving Watergate by 30 years.
It was so obvious that Nixon was covering up...What he would never have done is accept help from USSR produced intelligence on McGovern, Kennedy, Muskie...Even Nixon had limits, I guess.
Sure was great to see Harry Reasoner again. Always my #1 on TV. Even as a kid, I always thought that he would have made a super cowboy character for TV.
All three networks were broadcasting in color by 1966. The Watergate scandal, 1973-74, was all in color. These must be from the networks' "source" tapes, which were still black and white.
Before the resignation of Richard Nixon, cheap beer and blatant stupidity in Cleveland, Ohio on the teams "Ten Cent Beer Night" in a baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers led to one of the worst sports riots in American history in which you saw Mike Hargrove nearly get hit in the head with a jug of Thunderbird Wine, fans throwing firecrackers in the Rangers dugout, fans running on to the field with some of them leaving their clothes in the stands, both the Indians and Rangers fighting their own fans, nine arrests, three bases stolen (never to be returned), the Cleveland SWAT Team having to swing their batons at people who wanted to fight the police in which they had to throw tear gas on to the field, and the game being forfeited in favor of the Texas Rangers after the head umpire got hit in the head with a chair, cut by a rock and found a knife in the infield grass.
When the Nixon's and Ford's walked to the helicopter Ford was in reality already President. Because twenty minutes before Nixon gave his resignation to the Secretary of State . So, then he was no longer President. This was an excellent program. I appreciate the way it was done. I was a kid in the 70s. So, I barely understood it. So with this we can look back on this important historical even.
Everything on network TV was broadcast in full color by 1966, but not everything [like the news and sporting events] ended up being preserved in color. Videotape was expensive and space consuming back then. Not sure if ABC News saved a color videotape of every single newscast, but they definitely made black and white kinescopes [film], which is what you're seeing in many parts of this program. Maybe a lot of the original color videotapes were not easily available when this show was being produced, or maybe they didn't exist anymore. But take my word [from someone who was around back then], anything you're seeing in black & white here WAS originally broadcast in color!
Does anyone wonder if the future generations will look back on this time period like we are looking at the Watergate scandal now? Will it be a prominent event in American history that will be taught to school children with the same impetus as the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, Watergate?
I remember the moment Nixon resigned - on my summer job as a 14 year old dish washer of the Lancaster, Pa Horse Inn restaurant. I watched it live with the entire restaurant staff on the bar TV around closing time.
