DAVIS: Stand by to roll tape in 30 seconds.
Settling.
Those shoes.
They're Italian, aren't they?
My shoes? I believe so.
Yeah, that's interesting.
(SNIFFLES)
You don't find them too effeminate?
No.
Well, I guess somebody in your field
can get away with them, you know.
Manolo, just check my collar, will you?
DIRECTOR: David, starting with camera two,
in four, three, two. Cue David. And...
Mr. President. Now, we're going to be covering a lot of subjects
in a great deal of detail over the course of these interviews,
but I'd like to begin completely out of context
by asking you one question,
more than any other, almost every American
and people all over the world want me to ask.
Why didn't you burn the tapes?
Son of a bitch!
Well, Mr. Frost, I'm surprised by your question
since we have an agreement, a contractual agreement, I believe,
that we would cover Watergate in our last taping session.
But if your viewers really do have a major concern,
then perhaps I should briefly respond to it now.
What probably very few people realize
is that the taping system in the White House
was set up by my predecessor, President Johnson,
partly to avoid the necessity of having a secretary in every meeting,
and partly to ensure there was
a record kept of every verbal agreement,
no matter how off the cuff or casual.
Now, initially, on coming into the White House,
I insisted on dismantling the system.
I hadn't liked the idea at all, but the former President,
President Johnson, had repeatedly said
how crazy it would be to remove the system,
which he felt was the best way...
BRENNAN: Well, in boxing, you know, there's always that first moment,
and you see it in the challenger's face.
It's that moment that he feels
the impact from the champ's first jab.
It's kind of a sickening moment, when he realizes that
all those months of pep talks and the hype,
the psyching yourself up, had been delusional all along.
You could see it in Frost's face.
If he didn't know the caliber of the man
that he was up against before the interview started,
he certainly knew it halfway through the President's first answer.
NIXON: You see, since the best advice is
almost always of the confidential variety,
now the tapes have been made public,
people are unlikely ever to feel comfortable
speaking in confidence at the White House.
They're less likely to offer that advice. So in the end,
it's the whole political system and,
by implication, it's the country that suffers.
So much for our "ballsy" opening.
So when did you actually decide...
At what moment did you know you were going to resign?
That's good. That's good.
I remember exactly. It was July 23.
After it was clear the Southern Democrats
that were still against impeachment had
had the screws put on them by the Speaker of the House.
That night I said to Al Haig, "Well, that's it. There goes the presidency."
And, of course, you know, being Al,
he tried to talk me out of it.
And Vice President Ford, I mean, let's not forget
he had the most to gain personally from my stepping down,
he was still absolutely convinced that
we were gonna win the impeachment vote,
and comfortably. John, we have to do something.
We have to move this along.
This is desperate, John. Do something.
Twenty-three minutes on one question?
Okay, let's take a break.
Let's change the tapes. Come on, man.
Stop tape.
DIRECTOR: I'm sorry, gentlemen.
We have to take a break. Tape change.
Oh. Okay, how's that? You getting what you need?
It's fantastic.
Good. Good. Thank you.
Excuse me. One moment, sir.
NIXON: Yeah, sure. Take your time.
What are you doing, David? You've got to stop him rambling.
It's all right. These are just introductory exchanges.
But this session only lasts two hours.
Nearly half of it's gone, and we're wasting valuable material, okay?
The moment that he made the decision to resign,
we should be scoring points with that stuff.
Want me to switch to Vietnam?
No. No. We've got to get something
out of that resignation night. All right?
That was Nixon at his lowest point, a total wreck. On his knees?
Praying with Kissinger? Come on, you can nail him with that stuff.
Listen, was that okay?
Perfect, sir.
It didn't sound too arrogant or self-serving?
Not at all. You sounded controlled, even-handed, statesmanlike.
Good.
Now continue exactly the same way.
Long answers. Control the space.
Don't let him in.
Okay, got you.
DAVIS: Set. And roll.
We're coming back on camera three in four, three, two and...
Reading the account of those extraordinary final days,
it seems your most emotional moment came
in that heart-to-heart you had with Henry Kissinger.
Was that perhaps the most emotional moment of your career?
RESTON: Good, good. NIXON: Yes.
I would say it was about as emotional a moment as I've ever had.
Except, well, you know, it's hard to say
what is the most emotional moment,
because each is different.
I remember the day Eisenhower died.
For God's sake.
And the day I walked my eldest daughter Tricia down the aisle.
And the day during the impeachment hearings
when Julie, that's my youngest, she came into my office,
she threw her arms around me, she kissed me. She cried, you know?
And she so seldom cries.
She said, "Daddy, you're the finest man I know. "
"Daddy, you're the finest man I know"?
"And whatever you do, I will support you.
"You just gotta go through the fire, you know, a little longer."
This is beautiful.
So Kissinger and I were in the Lincoln Sitting Room,
and together we began to reminisce
about some of the great decisions that we'd participated in.
There was China, the Soviet Union,
the peace settlement in Vietnam.
Now, let me tell you something that I never told anybody.
Whenever I have had a really tough decision to make...
Now, we were in the Lincoln Sitting Room at that time.
I have come into this room for the purpose of praying.
"Now, Henry, I'm a Quaker. You're a Jew.
"Neither of us is particularly orthodox,
"but I'd like to think that each of us in our own way
"has a deep religious sensitivity.
"So if you don't mind, could we just have a moment of silent prayer?"
So we knelt down. Now, this was in front of that table where
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
And then after a few moments, we both got up again, and Henry says...
Is there... I'm sorry.
Is there a problem?
That's time.
We're over two hours.
Really? So soon?
Well, Mr. President, I gather our time is up.
Gee, now, that's a pity.
You know, I was beginning to enjoy that.
That was terrific, both of you.
We're getting some great material.
You know, it's so funny, too,
because I was expecting questions on Vietnam.
And we prepared for that, hadn't we, Jack?
Yes, so did I.
I guess we just got caught up, you know, reminiscing.
Indeed.
So, day after tomorrow, 10:00, right?
Yes, indeed.
I look forward to it. Bye-bye.
There's no need to say anything.
REPORTER 1: Mr. President! REPORTER 2: Mr. President!
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
REPORTER 3: Mr. President!
REPORTER 4: Mr. President, please!
(WHISPERING) What are you gonna tell him?
I'm gonna tell him he's gotta get involved.
He's gotta be able to shut him up. Shh.
David, we have some fundamental problems in our approach that I think...
Don't worry, Bob. I'm on it.
We can use some of the Kissinger stuff.
Yeah, but we need to discuss it sooner rather than later...
Look, I'm disappointed, too.
But I wonder, could we possibly spare the post-mortem for now?
I don't mean to minimize it. It's just I've got to get back to LA
to meet some people from Weed Eater.
Thanks, everyone! Great work!
Marv, Lloyd, great day. Bye, David.
I'll see you soon. God bless!
What the hell is Weed Eater?
It's a horticultural mechanism.
One of our sponsors.
What happened to Xerox?
What about General Motors or IBM?
I gather that not all of the blue-chip accounts came through.
We do have Alpo.
Dog food?
(STUTTERING) Wait, John. We're already taping.
So we're close, right? We're very close?
That's probably a question you should ask David.
Are we close, John?
I believe we're at 30%.
To go? Or 30% sold?
Again, that's probably a question you should...
Sold, 30% sold.
Jesus...
I thought we were practically fully financed.
We were. But the financing was always conditional on advertising sales,
and no one predicted that they'd fall apart like this.
Well, why have they fallen apart? Based on what?
Credibility of the project. What else are advertising sales based on?
Listen, I understand your concern.
But could I ask you to go a little easier on David over the next couple of days,
bearing in mind the extraordinary pressure that he's under?
'Cause at the moment, he's effectively paying for all this himself.
So he's in it for a lot more than just his reputation.
And we're not?
FROST: You seemed very confident last time.
I don't understand. Why this sudden change of heart?
All right, this is just madness. It's Richard Nixon.
These interviews will do mid-30s audience share, minimum.
Jimmy! Yes. Yes, back again, like the proverbial bad penny.
Look, I hate to do this to a friend,
and I know you're already in for more than I asked for,
but I need you to dig a little deeper.
I'm right up against it now.
So, I had a chance to review yesterday's tapes.
And?
Honestly? Far too soft, David.
Go on. Beat me, John. Beat me with a stick.
Look. No, I'm serious.
You have got to make it more uncomfortable for him.
You can start by sitting forward. You've gotta attack more.
If he starts tailing off, bang,
jump in with another question.
Don't trade generalizations.
Be specific.
And above all, don't let him give these self-serving, 23-minute homilies.
Right. And keep your distance
before the tape starts running.
He was toying with you yesterday.
All that shit about Ben-Hur and struggling to raise the money.
Those are mind games. Don't engage.
Never forget, you are in there with a major operator.
Got it.
(NIXON CLEARS THROAT)
Ah.
The Grand Inquisitor!
No, just your friendly neighborhood confidant.
(GLASS SMASHING)
It's okay. We just blew a bulb.
NIXON: This is why I got all these Secret Service guys around.
There's nothing to worry about.
As a president, you get used to this kind of stuff.
DAVIS: Ed, we gotta get in here and change out this 750, ASAP.
(WHISPERING) Focus, sir. Yeah.
Okay, we are back. Okay, take it on my count.
Okay, stand by to roll tape. 30 seconds.
DAVIS: Settling.
You have a pleasant evening last night?
Yes, thank you.
Did you do any fornicating?
David, we're starting with camera two in four,
(CLEARS THROAT)
Three, two and...
Mr. President, you came to office promising peace,
but no sooner did you get into the White House
than US involvement in Vietnam deepened and the war was prolonged
with calamitous consequences.
Did you feel that you'd betrayed the people that had elected you?
Well, Vietnam was not my war.
It was my inheritance.
And it looked to me... Jump in.
...as if the reason for our being there
had perhaps not been adequately understood by the American people.
It seemed to me they hadn't realized
how important a test this was of American credibility.
The whole world was watching to see
if we have the character to see it through.
Now, look, I could have bugged out. I could have.
I could have blamed it on my predecessors.
I could have pulled the troops out of Vietnam early,
and very possibly, I would have won
some Scandinavian peace prize into the bargain.
But I believed in the cause.
And sometimes, you know, what you believe in, it's the harder path.
You might even say that I was the last casualty of the Vietnam War.
Yeah, tell that to the paraplegics.
Come on, David, Cambodia.
And Cambodia? An invasion which everybody advised you against.
All the CIA and Pentagon intelligence suggested it would fail.
So why did you do it?
Well, first of all,
as a result of our incursion into Cambodia, we picked up 22,000 rifles,
15 million rounds of ammunition, 150,000 rockets, mortars.
That's all belonging to the North Vietnamese,
which would only otherwise have been directed
right onto American soldiers.
But one of the principal justifications you gave for the incursion
was the supposed existence of
the "headquarters of the entire Communist military operation in South Vietnam,"
a sort of "bamboo Pentagon" which proved not to exist at all.
No, no. Wait a minute there. No, I was... And by sending...
And by sending B-52s to carpet bomb a country,
wiping out whole civilian areas,
you end up radicalizing a once moderate people,
uniting them in anti-American sentiment
and creating a monster in the Khmer Rouge
that would lead to civil war...
All right! ...and genocide.
Yes, good, good, good. There it is.
Okay, run VT.
Roll tape.
Well, sir, I'm sure you'd agree,
some pretty stirring images there.
Look, it was never US policy to kill civilians. That's the enemy's way.
Well, I'm not suggesting...
And if you're asking the question
do I regret the casualties on both sides in the war, yeah, sure, of course I do.
Let me tell you something. It can just wear you down.
Well, all right, sir, when you are faced with someone who...
But whenever I have had my doubts,
I remembered the construction worker in Philadelphia,
because he came up to me
and he said, "Sir, I got only one criticism of that Cambodia thing.
"If you'd gone in earlier,
"you might have captured the gun
"that killed my boy three months ago."
So you're asking me, do I regret going into Cambodia?
No! I don't. You know what?
I wish I'd gone in sooner and harder.
SAWYER: Got him. Safe!
It was horrifying. It was horrifying. And he was so confident.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
REPORTER: What are you gonna say about Watergate?
Sorry, boys, just all talked out, you know?
Better?
It was. Unquestionably better.
What's next?
Foreign policy.
Great. Russia, China, the big power stuff.
Yeah, so?
So if he beats him up like that on Vietnam,
imagine what he's gonna do with his real achievements.
(RESTON LAUGHS)
It ain't gonna be pretty.
The answer was grow by six inches.
It was agony to watch.
Now, that's when Khrushchev called me, begging me to intervene.
You see, he and Mao didn't get along,
and Khrushchev knew that the Chairman
would talk to me, no one else.
You see, I was the only one that Mao would trust personally, man-to-man.
When David tried to lay a finger on him,
Nixon made mincemeat out of him.
ZELNICK: What "revolution," David?
You just let Richard Nixon claim
the country was in a state of revolution?
What, with protestors "bombing" and "assaulting" police officers?
That's not how I remember it.
What I remember is people protesting peacefully and legitimately
against the Vietnam War!
That's what I remember. Music off, please. Off.
By the end, wiretapping students and breaking into journalists' homes
was beginning to sound like a rational response.
Well, I'm sorry you feel this way,
but I simply cannot share your view.
About what exactly?
About any of it, frankly!
I thought today was a huge improvement.
Are you nuts?
Let me tell you how bad things were today.
After the taping finished, I overheard two members of the crew say
they never voted for him when they had the chance,
but if he ran for office again today, he'd get their support.
You're making him look presidential, for Christ's sake!
And forget about the trivia, David.
Who cares whether Nixon took the White House bed to Europe
when he traveled? I do!
Well, it's irrelevant!
And it's just the sort of banal anecdote that would distract a talk...
A what?
Go on. No, say it.
What, you were gonna say "talk show host"?
Yeah. Yeah, I was.
All right, look, it's useless me trying to answer your points.
Frankly, I don't share any of your sense of pessimism or alarm.
And this ridiculous self-flagellation,
in my view, is just depressing.
No!
And threatening to derail the whole enterprise.
Look. If there is anyone here who thinks we're gonna fail,
they better leave now,
or it'll infect everyone else.
No one?
Right.
Good.
Now, I suggest instead of festering around the hotel for the next five days,
we all go our separate ways over Easter.
But before we go, Caroline and I would like you
to join us for a little celebratory dinner
at Patrick Terrail's new place.
Celebrate? Celebrate what, David?
The fact that we're all gonna be working at Burger King?
What are we celebrating? It's my birthday, Bob!
I'd like to celebrate my birthday with a few friends.
(PIANO PLAYING UPBEAT TUNE)
Look, is that Neil Diamond?
(SINGING) Frost and Nixon, Frost and Nixon
And is that Sammy Cahn?
Go together like Prancer and Vixen
David, did you hear that?
Soaring through the airwaves
Jesus, that's Hugh Hefner.
Oh, my God.
Hoping for several hefty paydays
Yeah, I think it is. With Michael York.
That's gotta be Bunnies.
Those are Bunnies? Those are real Bunnies?
Frost and Nixon, Frost and Nixon
Go together like Mason and Dixon
David, just putting it all together it's the most extraordinary accomplishment.
Frost lines up with Dicky...
No one else could have done that.
And these interviews are always gonna be around for future generations
of academics and political historians.
That bad?
He saved it
He wrote a book Now here's the hook
David!
Patrick.
He's not a crook He's paid by David
(GUESTS APPLAUDING)
(PLAYING CLASSICAL MUSIC)
My, what a festive atmosphere. Please, don't get up.
I take it from this that the interviews have gone well?
Better than that, ma'am. It's a shutout.
The President's sitting on an 11-0 lead.
Really? Well. Yeah.
Well, that is most gratifying.
I'm so glad it's all gone according to plan.
(SIGHS) I see.
Is there nothing we can do?
Really?
(SIGHING) Right. Well, thanks for letting me know.
It's true. They've dropped the Australian show.
Oh, no, David.
They felt that I needed to reevaluate my priorities.
Now my producer's worried that the London show will follow.
I'm in this for everything I've got,
and there's still no guarantee it'll ever see the light of day.
What have I done? What was I thinking? Why didn't anyone stop me?
They should have physically stopped me!
No, no, no. Shh.
Look, we don't have to go out tonight. Why don't we stay in?
Hmm?
I'll go down to Trader Vic's and bring something back.
Steak or fish?
David?
Don't worry. I'll call from the restaurant.
(DOOR CLOSES)
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
I'll have a cheeseburger.
NIXON: Mmm. That sounds good. I used to love cheeseburgers,
but Dr. Lundgren made me give them up.
He switched me to cottage cheese and pineapple instead.
He calls them my Hawaiian burgers,
but they don't taste like burgers at all.
They taste like Styrofoam.
I hope I'm not disturbing.
No.
It's a Friday night.
You've probably got somebody there whom you're entertaining.
No.
Well, then what are you doing?
A handsome young fellow,
an eligible young bachelor alone on a Friday night.
If you must know, I'm preparing for our final session.
The all-important final session.
Yes. Watergate.
'Cause I guess the way you handle Watergate's gonna determine
whether these interviews are a success or a failure.
Should I be nervous?
Well, I'm gonna give it my best shot.
Quite right. No holds barred. No holds barred.
You know, it's strange.
Now, we have sat in chairs opposite one another,
talking for hours, it seems, days on end,
and yet I've hardly gotten to know you.
One of my people, as part of the preparation
for this interview, she did a profile on you.
And I'm sorry to say that I just got around to reading it tonight.
There's some interesting stuff in there.
Your Methodist background, the modest circumstances,
and then you're off to a grand university full of richer, posher types.
What was it? Oxford?
Cambridge.
Did the snobs there look down on you, too?
(CHUCKLES)
Of course they did. That's our tragedy, isn't it, Mr. Frost?
No matter how high we get, they still look down at us.
I really don't know what you're talking about.
Yes, you do.
Now, come on. No matter how many awards
or column inches are written about you
or how high the elected office is for me, it's still not enough.
We still feel like the little man,
the loser they told us we were a hundred times.
The smart-asses at college, the high-ups, the well-born,
the people whose respect we really wanted, really craved.
And isn't that why we work so hard now, why we fight for every inch,
scrambling our way up in undignified fashion?
If we're honest for a minute, if we reflect privately just for a moment,
if we allow ourselves a glimpse into that shadowy place we call our soul,
isn't that why we're here now? The two of us?
Looking for a way back into the sun,
into the limelight, back onto the winner's podium.
Because we could feel it slipping away.
We were headed, both of us, for the dirt!
A place the snobs always told us that we'd end up.
Face in the dust.
Humiliated all the more for having tried so pitifully hard.
Well, to hell with that!
We're not gonna let that happen, either of us.
We're gonna show those bums.
We're gonna make them choke on our continued success,
our continued headlines, our continued awards and power and glory!
We are gonna make those motherfuckers choke!
Am I right?
You are. Except only one of us can win.
Yes.
And I shall be your fiercest adversary.
I shall come at you with everything I got,
because the limelight can only shine on one of us.
And for the other, it'll be the wilderness,
with nothing and no one for company
but those voices ringing in our head.
You can probably tell I've had a drink.
It's not too many. Just one or two.
But you believe me,
when the time comes, I'm gonna be focused and ready for battle.
Good night, Mr. Frost.
Good night,
Mr. President.
So with or without cheese? I brought burgers.
David?
I've got to work.
NIXON ON TAPE: Well, who was the asshole that did?
Jesus, is that Liddy?
He must be a little nuts.
HALDEMAN: Yeah, he is.
NIXON: I mean, he just isn't well screwed on, is he?
Isn't that the problem?
Yeah, screw the Cabinet and the rest of those.
But no more sucking around. From now on, they come to me.
There is one thing that I want done,
and I don't want any argument about it.
I want you to direct the most trusted person you have
in the Immigration Service
that they are to look over all the activities at the Los Angeles Times.
AII, underlined. And they are to send their teams in to see
whether they are violating the wetback thing.
Is that clear? MITCHELL: Yes, sir.
(TAPE REWINDING)
NIXON: You open that scab, there's a hell of a lot of things that
we just feel that it would be very detrimental
to have this thing go any further.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Hello?
Jim, it's David.
Hey. What time is it?
How much longer are you gonna be in D.C. For?
Tuesday. Till Tuesday.
Great. Well, you remember you mentioned
going to the Federal Courthouse library?
(BABY CRYING) Honey, can you check on him, please?
Yes, for the Colson stuff?
Well, I've been doing a little light reading this end,
and you remember that hunch you had about the meeting
between Nixon and Colson?
Uh-huh. What are you thinking?
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(KNOCKING CONTINUES)
Hey. Hey.
Good morning.
And?
(TRIUMPHANT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Excuse me, sir.
It's 8:30. Bob, have you seen David?
No. No Frost, no Reston.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
Morning. Good morning. Come on, let's go.
What's that about?
BIRT: First time he's late.
REPORTER: Mr. President!
(CROWD CLAMORING)
Morning.
(DOOR OPENS)
(INDISTINCT)
Mr. President.
Mr. Frost.
DAVIS: Thirty seconds to tape roll!
Thirty seconds. Settling. Settle.
Well, if today's session is anything like our phone call, it should be explosive.
What phone call?
The phone call to my hotel room.
DAVIS: David, starting on camera three in four, three, two and...
Now, looking back on your final year in office,
do you feel you ever obstructed justice
or were part of a conspiracy to cover up or obstruct justice?
No.
And I'm interested that you used the term "obstruction of justice."
Now, you perhaps have not read the statute
with regard to the obstruction of justice.
As it happens, I have.
You have, you say? Well, then, you'll know it doesn't just require an act.
It requires a specific corrupt motive.
And in this case, I didn't have a corrupt motive.
What I was doing was in the interests of political containment.
Be that as it may, the direct consequences
of your actions would have been
that two of the convicted burglars
would have escaped criminal prosecution.
Now, how can that not be a cover-up or obstruction of justice?
Well, I think the record shows, Mr. Frost,
that far from obstructing justice,
I was actively facilitating it.
When Pat Gray of the FBI telephoned me, this was July 6,
I said, "Pat, you go right ahead with your investigation."
That's hardly what you'd call obstructing justice.
Well, that may be, but for two weeks prior to July 6,
we now know that you were desperately
trying to contain or block the investigation.
No, no. Hang on a minute there. I wasn't...
No, no. Obstruction of justice is obstruction of justice,
whether it's for a minute or five minutes,
and it's no defense to say that your plan failed.
I mean, if I try to rob a bank and fail, that's no defense.
I still tried to rob the bank.
Will you just wait one minute there, Mr. Frost?
There is no evidence of any kind that I was...
Well, the reason there is no evidence
is because 18 and a half minutes
of the conversation with Bob Haldeman from this June period
have mysteriously been erased.
That was an unfortunate oversight.
And Bob Haldeman is a rigorous
and a conscientious note taker.
His notes are there for all to see.
Well, we found something rather better than his notes,
a conversation with Charles Colson,
which I don't think has ever been published.
Okay, here we go.
It hasn't been published, you say?
No, but one of my researchers found it in Washington
where it's available to anyone who consults the records.
Well, I just wondered, you know, if we'd seen it.
More than seen it, Mr. President.
You spoke the actual words.
Now, you've always claimed you first learned of the break-in on June 23.
Yeah.
But this transcript of a tape made three days earlier
clearly shows that to be a falsehood.
Now, in it you say to Colson, "This whole investigation rests
"unless one of the seven begins to talk.
"That's the problem."
Well, what do we mean when we say
"one of the seven beginning to talk"?
Then moving on to a conversation you had with John Dean
on March 21, the following year.
In one transcript alone, there in black and white,
I picked out, and these are your words,
one, "You could get $1 million, and you could get it in cash.
"I know where it could be gotten."
Two, "Your major guy to keep under control is Hunt."
Three, "Don't we have to handle the Hunt situation?"
Four, "Get the million bucks.
"It would seem to me that would be worthwhile."
Five, "Don't you agree that you'd better get the Hunt thing going?"
Six, "First you've got the Hunt problem.
"That ought to be handled." Seven, "The money can be provided.
"Ehrlichman could provide the way to deliver it."
Eight, "We've no choice with Hunt
"but the $120,000 or whatever it is, right?"
Nine, "Christ, turn over any cash we've got."
And I could go on. Now, it seems to me
that someone running a cover-up
couldn't have expressed it more clearly than that, could they?
Look, let me just stop you now right there,
because you're doing something here
which I am not doing, and I will not do
throughout these entire broadcasts.
You're quoting me out of context,
out of order. And I might add,
I have participated in all these interviews
without a single note in front of me.
Well, it is your life, Mr. President.
Now, you've always maintained
that you knew nothing about any of this until March 21.
But in February, your personal lawyer came to Washington
to start the raising of $219,000
of hush money to be paid to the burglars.
Now, do you seriously expect us to believe
that you had no knowledge of that?
None. I believed the money was for humanitarian purposes.
To help disadvantaged people with their defenses.
Well, it was being delivered on the tops of phone booths with aliases,
and at airports by people with gloves on.
That's not normally the way lawyers' fees are delivered, is it?
Look, I have made statements to this effect before.
All that was Haldeman and Ehrlichman's business.
I knew nothing. Okay, fine. Fine!
You made a conclusion there.
I stated my view, now let's move on.
Let's get on to the rest of it.
No, hold on. No, hold on.
No, I don't want to talk...
If Haldeman and Ehrlichman were the ones really responsible,
when you subsequently found out about it,
why didn't you call the police and have them arrested?
Isn't that just a cover-up of another kind?
Yeah, maybe I should have done that. Maybe I should have.
Just called the feds into my office
and said, "Hey, there's the two men.
"Haul them down to the dock,
"fingerprint them and then throw them in the can."
I'm not made that way.
These men, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, I knew their families.
I knew them since they were just kids.
Yeah, but you know, politically,
the pressure on me to let them go, that became overwhelming!
So I did it. I cut off one arm,
then I cut off the other, and I'm not a good butcher!
And I have always maintained what they were doing,
what we were all doing, was not criminal.
Look, when you're in office,
you gotta do a lot of things sometimes that are not always,
in the strictest sense of the law, legal, but you do them
because they're in the greater interests of the nation!
Right. Wait, just so I understand correctly,
are you really saying that in certain situations,
the President can decide whether it's in the best interests of the nation
and then do something illegal?
I'm saying that when the President does it, that means it's not illegal.
I'm sorry?
That's what I believe.
Oh, my God.
But I realize no one else shares that view.
So, in that case, will you accept, then,
to clear the air once and for all,
that you were part of a cover-up
and that you did break the law?
Oh, my God, we got him. NIXON: I...
Shit!
(DOOR OPENS)
Okay, let's take a break there.
What the fuck is going on?
Cut it. Cut it.
Excuse me? Shut it down.
Shut it down now.
DAVIS: That's not my call. You're gonna have to talk to the director.
He's in that truck out there. BRENNAN: Get him in here.
DAVIS: Listen, we have an issue in here.
Jack, what are you doing? A break?
Change the tapes.
David, can I talk to you for a minute, please?
What the hell is going on, Jack?
He was about to blow and you know it.
Fellas, this is a critical moment in his life.
You realize we could sue you for this?
You have deliberately sabotaged the interview, Jack.
BRENNAN: Look, we're all in this together.
I'm sure we can find a solution.
ZELNICK: A solution? What the hell are you talking about? It's an interview!
KHACHIGIAN: Bob, may I remind you...
BIRT: This is a breach of contract. We could sue.
(ALL ARGUING)
For heaven's sake, Jim. Why don't you give him a week off?
Give him a year off!
Give him a fucking massage!
GANNON: Watch your language, for crying out loud.
(ALL ARGUING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
What'd you do? Throw in the towel, Jack?
Did you take pity on me?
Sir, I just felt that
if you were going to make some kind of emotional disclosure,
that we should just take a moment
to think it through, sketch it out.
I just want to impress upon you
how crucially important this moment is
and how many potentially devastating consequences
unplanned emotional disclosures could have.
I know.
But to go on and carry on denying it all...
I appreciate the gesture.
We ought to call it a snafu.
(WHISPERING)
Jack, are we on?
We're on. Okay, he's had plenty of time to cook up
some sort of slippery new bullshit, so stay on your toes.
Listen, it's gonna be fine. Pick up where you left off.
Thirty seconds, everyone.
DAVIS: Ten seconds.
David? Four, three, two, and...
Mr. President, we were talking about
the period March 21 to April 30,
and the mistakes you made, and so on, and I was wondering
would you go further than "mistakes"?
The word that seems not enough for people to understand.
Well, what word would you express?
(EXCLAIMS IN DISBELIEF)
My goodness.
All right.
Since you've asked me, I think there are three things
that people would like to hear you say.
One, that there was probably more than mistakes.
There was wrongdoing.
And, yes, it might have been a crime, too.
Secondly, that "I did abuse the power I had as President."
And thirdly, "I put the American people
"through two years of needless agony,
"and I apologize for that." And I know how difficult it is
for anyone, especially you,
but I think the people need to hear it.
And I think that unless you say it,
you're going to be haunted for the rest of your life.
Well, it's true. I made mistakes, horrendous ones,
ones that were not worthy of a president,
ones that did not meet the standards of excellence
that I always dreamed of as a young boy.
But, if you remember, it was a difficult time.
I was caught up in a five-front war
against a partisan media, a partisan House of Congress,
a partisan Ervin Committee.
But, yes, I will admit there were times
I did not fully meet that responsibility
and I was involved in a cover-up, as you call it.
And for all those mistakes I have a very deep regret.
No one can know what it's like to resign the presidency.
Now,
if you want me to get down on the floor and grovel...
No! Never!
I still insist they were mistakes of the heart.
They were not mistakes of the head.
But they were my mistakes. I don't blame anybody.
I brought myself down.
I gave them a sword, and they stuck it in,
and they twisted it with relish.
And I guess if I'd been in their place, I'd have done the same thing.
And the American people?
I let them down.
I let down my friends.
I let down the country.
And worst of all,
I let down our system of government.
And the dreams of all those young people
that ought to get into government,
but now they think, "It's all too corrupt," and the rest.
Yeah.
(SIGHS)
I let the American people down,
and I'm gonna have to carry that burden with me
for the rest of my life.
My political life is over.
You know, the first and greatest sin or deception of television
is that it simplifies, it diminishes,
great, complex ideas, tranches of time.
Whole careers become reduced to a single snapshot.
At first, I couldn't understand why
Bob Zelnick was quite as euphoric
as he was after the interviews,
or why John Birt felt moved to strip naked
and rush into the ocean to celebrate.
But that was before I really understood
the reductive power of the close-up.
Because David had succeeded on that final day
in getting, for a fleeting moment,
what no investigative journalist,
no state prosecutor, no judiciary committee
or political enemy had managed to get.
Richard Nixon's face,
swollen and ravaged by Ioneliness, self-Ioathing and defeat.
The rest of the project and its failings would not only be forgotten,
they would totally cease to exist.
(CAMERAS CLICKING)
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
REPORTER: Who came out on top, Mr. President?
Is this what you call a dachshund?
Mmm-hmm.
Very sweet.
(ENGINE STARTING)
The NixonlFrost interviews were wildly successful.
I think they attracted the largest audience for a news program
in the history of American television.
David was on the cover of Time magazine and Newsweek magazine.
And even the political press corps,
the hard-bitten political press corps,
called David up with messages of contrition and congratulation.
David, I want to say congratulations.
The interviews?
No, I didn't watch them. I couldn't.
(DISCO MUSIC PLAYING)
Hey.
Hello.
I believe David saw the former President just one more time.
Before he left California for London again,
he drove down to San Clemente to say goodbye.
Hey, Mr. Frost. It's nice to see you.
Miss Cushing. Hello.
Please excuse my golf outfit.
It's the official uniform of the retired.
Are you on your way home?
Yes.
Into a bright new dawn of fresh enterprises and challenges, eh?
Well, let's hope so.
Good for you.
I didn't catch the interviews as they went out,
but they tell me that they were a great success.
I gather the journalists that were so positive
about you weren't so kind to me.
Yes, I was sorry to see that.
There's no condolences necessary.
I've grown to expect nothing else from those sons of whores.
Yeah.
Jeez, please forgive me, Miss Cushing.
You know, I would've said "sons of bitches,"
but Manolo here is a lover of dogs,
and he hates me to defame animals.
Can I get something for somebody?
Yes. Would you like some tea or champagne?
Hey, you know, we got that caviar the Shah of Iran sent me.
No, thank you. You sure?
Come on. It'll be no trouble at all.
No, really, we must be...
Okay, fine, fine. Thanks for coming by.
You were a worthy opponent.
Goodbye, Mr. President.
Bye-bye.
Goodbye, Mr. President.
Goodbye.
Oh, God! I almost forgot. I...
I brought you a present, those shoes you admired.
I brought you a pair.
Well, jeez. Thank you.
I'm touched. Safe trip, now.
Oh! Say, David, you think I could speak to you, privately, just for a minute?
Do you know those parties of yours?
The ones that I read about in all the papers?
Do you actually enjoy those?
Of course.
You got no idea how fortunate that makes you.
You know? Liking people, and being liked.
Having that facility, that lightness, that charm.
I don't have it. I never did.
It kind of makes you wonder why I chose a life
that hinged on being liked.
I'm better suited to a life of thought,
debate, intellectual discipline.
Maybe we got it wrong.
Maybe you should have been a politician
and I the rigorous interviewer.
Maybe.
David.
Did I really call you that night?
Yes.
Did we discuss anything important?
Cheeseburgers.
Cheeseburgers?
Goodbye, sir.
RESTON: Well, New York, London and Sydney
welcomed David back with open arms,
as did his friends and investors,
who've made a fortune from these interviews.
He got back all of his shows.
He even got back his table at Sardi's.
As for Richard Nixon,
well, he certainly never achieved
the rehabilitation he so desperately craved.
His most lasting legacy
is that today any political wrongdoing
is immediately given the suffix "gate."