From the Archives 17: The Altered Nixon Speech — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00I have prior knowledge of the Watergate
2. 0:02break-in I've authorized subordinates to
3. 0:07engage in illegal campaign tactics I
4. 0:11accept full responsibility for the
5. 0:13break-in and bugging in the Democratic
6. 0:15National Headquarters and other campaign
7. 0:17abuses let me explain to you what I did
8. 0:21about Watergate after the break-in
9. 0:22occurred I took part in the subsequent
10. 0:26cover-up activities my effort throughout
11. 0:30has been a burglary bugging of party
12. 0:34headquarters obstructing justice
13. 0:36harassing individuals and compromising
14. 0:39those agencies of government that should
15. 0:41be above politics we of course must be
16. 0:45extremely careful in the way we go about
17. 0:47this I shall continue to subvert the
18. 0:52institutions of government by unlawful
19. 0:54means how to carry out this Duty is
20. 0:57often a delicate question that is the
21. 1:03simple truth this investigation began as
22. 1:07an effort to discover the facts about
23. 1:09the break-in and bugging of the
24. 1:10Democratic National Headquarters and
25. 1:12other campaign abuses because the abuse
26. 1:16has occurred during my administration
27. 1:18and in the campaign for my re-election I
28. 1:21accept full responsibility for them on
29. 1:27May 22nd I stated in very specific terms
30. 1:30and I state again to every one of you
31. 1:34listening tonight these facts I had no
32. 1:38prior knowledge of the Watergate
33. 1:40break-in I neither took part in nor knew
34. 1:44about any of the subsequent cover-up
35. 1:46activities I neither authorized nor
36. 1:50encouraged subordinates to engage in
37. 1:52illegal or improper campaign tactics
38. 1:55that was and that is the simple truth
39. 2:01and all of the millions of words of
40. 2:03testimony there is not the slightest
41. 2:05suggestion that I had any knowledge of
42. 2:06the planning for the Watergate break-in
43. 2:08as for the cover-up my statement has
44. 2:12been challenged by only one of the 35
45. 2:14witnesses who appeared to most of us
46. 2:18Watergate has come to mean not just a
47. 2:21burglary and bugging of party
48. 2:23headquarters but a whole series of acts
49. 2:25that either represent or appear to
50. 2:27represent an abuse of trust no political
51. 2:33campaign ever justifies obstructing
52. 2:35justice or harassing individuals or
53. 2:38compromising those great agencies of
54. 2:40government that should and must be above
55. 2:42politics in a free society the
56. 2:46institutions of government belong to the
57. 2:49people they must never be used against
58. 2:53the people only last year the Supreme
59. 2:57Court said that implicit in the
60. 3:00president's constitutional duty is the
61. 3:02power to protect our government against
62. 3:04those who would subvert or overthrow it
63. 3:06by unlawful means how to carry out this
64. 3:10Duty is often a delicate question to
65. 3:13which there is no easy answer