Richard Nixon-Address to the Nation About the Watergate Investigations (August 15, 1973) — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:13good evening now that most of the major
2. 0:16witnesses in the Watergate phase of the
3. 0:18Senate committee hearings on campaign
4. 0:20practices have been heard the time has
5. 0:23come for me to speak out about the
6. 0:25charges made and to provide a
7. 0:27perspective on the issue for the
8. 0:29American people for over four months
9. 0:32Watergate has dominated the news media
10. 0:34during the past three months the three
11. 0:38major networks had devoted an average of
12. 0:40over 22 hours of television time each
13. 0:43week to this sucker the Senate committee
14. 0:46has heard over two million words of
15. 0:48testimony this investigation began as an
16. 0:52effort to discover the facts about the
17. 0:54break-in and bugging of the Democratic
18. 0:56National Headquarters and other campaign
19. 0:57abuses but as the weeks have gone by it
20. 1:01has become clear that both the hearings
21. 1:04themselves and some of the commentaries
22. 1:07on them have become increasingly
23. 1:09absorbed in an effort to implicate the
24. 1:12president personally in the illegal
25. 1:15activities that took place because the
26. 1:19abuse has occurred during my
27. 1:21administration and in the campaign for
28. 1:23my re-election I accept full
29. 1:26responsibility for them I regret that
30. 1:29these events took place and I do not
31. 1:32question the right of a Senate committee
32. 1:33to investigate charges made against the
33. 1:35president to the extent that this is
34. 1:38relevant the legislative duties however
35. 1:42it is my constitutional responsibility
36. 1:45to defend the integrity of this great
37. 1:48office against false charges I also
38. 1:51believe that it is important to address
39. 1:53the overriding question of what we as a
40. 1:56nation can learn from this experience
41. 1:58and what we should now do I intend to
42. 2:03discuss both of these subjects tonight
43. 2:05the record of the Senate hearings is
44. 2:08lengthy the facts are complicated the
45. 2:10evidence conflicting it would not be
46. 2:12right for me to try to sort
47. 2:13the evidence to rebut specific witnesses
48. 2:15or to pronounce my own judgments about
49. 2:18their credibility that is for the
50. 2:20committee and for the courts I shall not
51. 2:23attempt to deal tonight with the various
52. 2:25charges in detail rather I shall attempt
53. 2:29to put the events in perspective from
54. 2:32the standpoint of the presidency on May
55. 2:3522nd before the major witnesses had
56. 2:38testified I issued a detailed statement
57. 2:41addressing the charges that had been
58. 2:43made against the president I have today
59. 2:46issued another written statement which
60. 2:48addresses the charges that have been
61. 2:50made since then as they relate to my own
62. 2:53contact and which describes the efforts
63. 2:55that I made to discover the facts about
64. 2:58the matter on May 22nd I stated in very
65. 3:02specific terms and I state again to
66. 3:06every one of you listening tonight these
67. 3:08facts I had no prior knowledge of the
68. 3:13Watergate break-in
69. 3:14I need her took part in nor knew about
70. 3:17any of the subsequent cover-up
71. 3:19activities I need her authorized nor
72. 3:23encouraged subordinates to engage in
73. 3:25illegal or improper campaign tactics
74. 3:28that was and that is the simple truth in
75. 3:33all of the millions of words of
76. 3:36testimony there is not the slightest
77. 3:37suggestion that I had any knowledge of
78. 3:39the planning for the Watergate break-in
79. 3:40as for the cover-up my statement has
80. 3:44been challenged by only one of the 35
81. 3:47witnesses who appeared a witness who
82. 3:50offered no evidence beyond his own
83. 3:52impressions and whose testimony has been
84. 3:55contradicted by every other witness in a
85. 3:58position to know the facts I ask tonight
86. 4:02for your understanding so that as a
87. 4:05nation we can learn the lessons of
88. 4:07Watergate and gain from that experience
89. 4:09I ask for your help in reaffirming our
90. 4:13dedication to the principles of decency
91. 4:16honor and respect for the institutions
92. 4:20that have sustained our progress through
93. 4:23these past two centuries
94. 4:25and I asked for your support in getting
95. 4:28on once again with meeting your problems
96. 4:33improving your life building your future
97. 4:39with your help with God's help we will
98. 4:44achieve those great goals for America