Man: GOOD EVENING.
PRESIDENT NIXON REPORTEDLY WILL ANNOUNCE
HIS RESIGNATION TONIGHT.
VICE PRESIDENT FORD WILL BECOME
THE NATION'S 38th PRESIDENT TOMORROW.
THAT WORD COMES UNOFFICIALLY FROM AIDES AND ASSOCIATES...
Man #2: THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN PART OF POLITICS
FOR 28 YEARS NOW,
PART OF THE NATIONAL POLITICAL SCENE
FOR ABOUT 24 OF THOSE YEARS,
AND THIS APPEARS TO BE
THE FINAL DAY OF HIS ADMINISTRATION.
Man #3: TONIGHT AT 9:00 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
WILL ADDRESS THE NATION
CONCERNING DEVELOPMENTS TODAY AND OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS.
THIS HAS, OF COURSE, BEEN A DIFFICULT TIME.
Man #4: THIS IS INDEED AN HISTORIC DAY,
THE ONLY TIME A PRESIDENT HAS EVER RESIGNED FROM OFFICE
IN OUR NEARLY 200 YEARS OF HISTORY.
YOU SEE THE WHITE HOUSE THERE.
IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS NOW,
PRESIDENT NIXON WILL BE APPEARING BEFORE THE PEOPLE,
PERHAPS FOR THE LAST TIME AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
HAVE YOU GOT AN EXTRA CAMERA IN CASE THE LIGHTS GO OUT?
Man: [ SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ]
MAN #2: 15 seconds to air, please.
I KNOW.
THIS WAS MUCH WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
NIXON WAS WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
WHAT HAPPENED WAS WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
Brokaw: HE VIOLATED THE LAW,
HE COMPROMISED THE OFFICE,
AND HE LEFT A DEEP AND WIDE BLACK MARK
IN AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY.
NO, THERE WILL BE NO PICTURE.
JUST TAKE IT RIGHT NOW.
THIS IS RIGHT AFTER THE BROADCAST.
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ] YOU GOT IT?
COME ON.
OKAY.
THAT'S ENOUGH.
THANKS.
MY FRIEND OLLIE ALWAYS WANTS TO TAKE A LOT OF PICTURES.
[ CHUCKLES ]
I'M AFRAID HE'LL CATCH ME PICKING MY NOSE.
[ CHUCKLES ]
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
Maddow: I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT
THAT GUY WAS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
BECAUSE HE IS JUST BRANDED
IN OUR NATIONAL MEMORY AS A CROOK,
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND
THE WRONG APPROACH TO EXECUTIVE POWER
THAT LED NIXON TO THOSE CRIMES.
OH, YOU WANT A LEVEL, DON'T YOU?
YES, YES.
GOOD EVENING.
THIS IS THE 37th TIME
I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU FROM THIS OFFICE,
WHERE SO MANY DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE
THAT SHAPED THE HISTORY OF OUR NATION.
NEED ANY MORE?
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
Bradlee: THERE WAS GOOD IN HIM.
HE HAD BEEN A GOOD VICE PRESIDENT,
BUT HE WAS A FATALLY FLAWED MAN
AND A FATALLY FLAWED PRESIDENT.
Scarborough: RICHARD NIXON, A GUY WHO HAD BEEN
A HERO TO MILLIONS OF AMERICANS --
HERE'S A GUY WHO RECEIVED MORE VOTES THAN ANYBODY ELSE
IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY,
BUT THE RICHARD NIXON THAT THEY SUPPORTED THROUGH THE YEARS
WAS NOT THE RICHARD NIXON THAT THEY THOUGHT THEY KNEW.
EVERY GENERATION HAS TO LOSE THEIR VIRGINITY,
AND IT WAS JUST THE DAY THAT MY GENERATION DID,
BUT TO THINK THAT WE'RE THE ONLY GENERATION
THAT HAD THAT EXPERIENCE
IS PROBABLY THE MISTAKE THAT A LOT OF GENERATIONS MAKE.
Man: HE IS READY BEFORE THE CAMERAS NOW.
PRESIDENT RICHARD MILHOUS NIXON,
37th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
THROUGHOUT THE LONG AND DIFFICULT PERIOD OF WATERGATE,
I HAVE FELT IT WAS MY DUTY TO PERSEVERE.
WATERGATE DOESN'T GO AWAY
BECAUSE IT WAS SO EXTRAORDINARY.
IT WAS SO HIDDEN.
Carville: WE ACT LIKE IT CAN'T HAPPEN AGAIN,
AND THEY DID A LOT OF STUFF AFTER IT.
THERE WAS A LOT OF HOO-HA-ing
AND PASSING LAWS AND GIVING SPEECHES,
BUT IF YOU ASK ME DO I THINK WE LEARNED ANYTHING FROM IT?
NO.
I HAVE NEVER BEEN A QUITTER.
TO LEAVE OFFICE BEFORE MY TERM IS COMPLETED
IS ABHORRENT TO EVERY INSTINCT IN MY BODY.
BUT AS PRESIDENT,
I MUST PUT THE INTERESTS OF AMERICA FIRST.
Redford: A PRESIDENT HAD BEEN DRIVEN FROM OFFICE
BECAUSE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
HAD LEARNED THE TRUTH ABOUT RICHARD NIXON.
BUT HOW WE LEARNED THE TRUTH -- THAT FASCINATED ME.
NIXON'S DOWNFALL HAD BEGUN TWO YEARS EARLIER,
WHEN FIVE MEN WERE CAUGHT SPYING AND WIRETAPPING
AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
AT AN OFFICE COMPLEX CALLED WATERGATE.
OVER AT THE WASHINGTON POST, TWO ROOKIE REPORTERS,
BOB WOODWARD AND CARL BERNSTEIN, PICKED UP THE STORY.
THEIR INVESTIGATION WOULD UNFOLD LIKE A POLITICAL THRILLER.
AND SO I THOUGHT THAT THE PART THAT THEY PLAYED
IN EXPOSING THE SCANDAL WOULD MAKE A MOVIE --
MAYBE EVEN A GOOD MOVIE.
Man: ALL RIGHT, ROB. ACTION.
IN HOLLYWOOD TERMS,
WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN WERE THE GOOD GUYS,
AND THEIR WEAPON WAS THE WRITTEN WORD.
DID HE CONFIRM IT? ABSOLUTELY.
WE'VE GOT TO TELL BRADLEE.
I PLAYED BOB WOODWARD IN THE FILM.
CARL BERNSTEIN WAS PLAYED BY DUSTIN HOFFMAN.
Hoffman: ONE OF THE THINGS I HAD OBSERVED WITH CARL
IS THAT HE SMOKED SO INCESSANTLY,
AND CARL WAS ALWAYS --
ALWAYS HAD ASHES ON HIS TIE AND HIS SHIRT,
AND I SAID, "THAT'S GOT TO BE IN THE MOVIE."
IS THERE ANY PLACE YOU DON'T SMOKE?
[ ELEVATOR BELL DINGS ]
Redford: 40 YEARS LATER, THE TWO INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS
ARE BACK IN THE WASHINGTON POST NEWSROOM.
I JOINED THEM FOR A REUNION WITH BEN BRADLEE...
I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU.
...THEIR FORMER EDITOR.
YOU'RE LOOKING LIKE A WORKING REPORTER.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES WE'VE ALL BEEN TOGETHER.
HELLO, ROBERT.
HOW ARE YOU?
IT'S TEMPTING TO THINK
THAT WATERGATE COULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN,
BUT THESE TWO REPORTERS AND THEIR EDITOR KNOW BETTER.
Bradlee: COME ON. I LOOK PRETTY DAMN GOOD, CONSIDERING.
Woodward: YES. IT WAS ONLY 40 YEARS AGO.
I WANTED TO DIG DEEPER INTO THEIR STORY
AND TO SEE WHAT, IF ANY, IMPACT IT HAD
ON OUR CULTURE TODAY.
Leibovitz: OKAY. SO, CARL...
LET ME GET THESE GUYS OUT OF THEIR MISERY.
VANITY FAIR PHOTOGRAPHER ANNIE LEIBOVITZ IS HERE
TO DOCUMENT THE THREE MEN WHO TOOK ON A PRESIDENT.
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]
FOR BOB WOODWARD, WATERGATE STARTED
MUCH THE SAME WAY MOST STORIES DO --
WITH A PHONE CALL FROM HIS EDITOR.
THE MOMENT -- THE TIME I GOT THE CALL,
ABOUT 9:00 A.M. ON SATURDAY MORNING, JUNE 17th...
THAT'S GOOD. [ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]
...NO ONE FLASHED A MESSAGE TO ME,
"THIS IS GONNA BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DAYS
OF YOUR LIFE."
Bernstein: I WAS IN THE OFFICE THAT DAY,
AND I SAW ALL THIS COMMOTION
AROUND THE CITY DESK ON THIS SATURDAY MORNING.
I WENT TO FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS,
AND THERE WAS THIS MOMENT IN HISTORY
THAT BECAME KNOWN AS WATERGATE.
Brokaw: WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN,
FOR THOSE OF US WHO WERE IN THE PROFESSION --
I THINK WE WERE QUICKLY IN AWE OF WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
Abramson: I BECAME TRULY INSPIRED
BY BOTH THEIR INCREDIBLE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
AND THEIR STORYTELLING.
Redford: I REMEMBER THINKING
WHEN I FIRST READ THE WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN ARTICLES,
"WHERE'S THIS GOING?"
ESPECIALLY COMING IN THE MIDST
OF ALL THE TURMOIL THAT WAS PLAYING OUT
IN THE STREETS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
[ SIREN WAILS, INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]
PRESIDENT NIXON'S FIRST TERM IN OFFICE HAD BEEN MARRED
BY LOUD, FREQUENT, AND SOMETIMES VIOLENT PROTESTS,
LARGELY AGAINST THE VIETNAM WAR.
IT REALLY DID SEEM LIKE THE WORLD WAS UNRAVELING.
GROWING UP IN A SUBURBAN EXISTENCE WITH PARENTS,
YOU SAW CHICAGO IN 1968 ERUPT INTO FLAMES,
SAW PEOPLE BURNING THEIR DRAFT CARDS,
SAW SEXUAL REVOLUTION,
SAW A DRUG REVOLUTION,
SAW WOODSTOCK COME INTO THEIR HOMES.
AND VIETNAM IS THE AMERICAN...
Krogh: WHEN I JOINED THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE,
THERE WERE A LOT OF DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST THE WAR.
IT PROBABLY WAS SOME OF THE MOST INTENSE TIMES
I THINK OUR COUNTRY HAD EVER FACED.
[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]
I MEAN, OFTEN WE WERE FEELING
LIKE WE WERE IN A STATE OF SIEGE.
Man: HOLD ON! HOLD ON!
YOU FELT IT PHYSICALLY.
Man #2: GET DOWN! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!
[ CROWD CHANTING "STRIKE" ]
AND WE KNEW THAT WE WERE GONNA HAVE TO PROTECT THE WHITE HOUSE.
THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT USING TROOPS
DIRECTLY FACING THE DEMONSTRATORS,
WHICH I FELT COULD LEAD TO DIRECT CONFRONTATIONS
AND CONFLICTS,
AND SO IT CAME TO ME --
WHY DON'T WE DO WHAT JOHN WAYNE DID?
LET'S JUST CIRCLE THE WHITE HOUSE WITH BUSES --
NOT WAGONS, BUT WITH BUSES, WHICH IS WHAT WE DID.
[ CHANTING CONTINUES ]
Scarborough: AND SO DID YOU WANT TO BE
ON THE SIDE OF JANE FONDA
OR JOHN WAYNE?
MY PARENTS CHOSE JOHN WAYNE,
AND, THEREFORE, THEY WERE FOR NIXON,
AND NIXON WAS ON THE SIDE OF LAW AND ORDER.
[ UP-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ]
♪ MORE THAN EVER ♪ ♪ NIXON NOW ♪
♪ MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED NIXON NOW ♪
♪ MORE THAN EVER ♪ ♪ NIXON NOW ♪
Redford: NIXON'S LAW-AND-ORDER PLATFORM WAS VERY POPULAR.
IN THE COMING ELECTION,
HE SEEMED A SHOO-IN FOR A SECOND TERM.
I AGAIN PROUDLY ACCEPT YOUR NOMINATION
FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
BY THE SUMMER OF 1972,
NIXON'S CAMPAIGN MACHINE WAS IN FULL FORCE.
[ CROWD CHANTING "FOUR MORE YEARS" ]
BUT AMIDST THE HOOPLA, HIS RE-ELECTION COMMITTEE
WOULD SUDDENLY BECOME ENTANGLED
WITH A MYSTERIOUS ILLEGAL BREAK-IN.
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]
Man: FIVE MEN WERE ARRESTED EARLY SATURDAY
WHILE TRYING TO INSTALL EAVESDROPPING EQUIPMENT
AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE.
Woodward: WELL, IT WAS THE SUNDAY AFTER THE BURGLARY.
WE WERE THE ONLY TWO WHO SHOWED UP IN THE OFFICE.
I WAS IN THE OFFICE THAT DAY.
I WAS WRITING A PROFILE, AND I SAID,
"THIS IS A BETTER STORY THAN THE ONE I'M WORKING ON,
AND I THINK I'D LIKE TO WORK ON THIS."
AND IT TURNS OUT THAT ONE OF THE MEN HAS AN OFFICE
IN THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE COMMITTEE
FOR THE RE-ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT.
JAMES McCORD, THE LEAD BURGLAR,
HAD BEEN IN THE CIA AND THE SECURITY BUSINESS FOR DECADES
AND NOW WAS THE HEAD OF SECURITY AT THE NIXON CAMPAIGN,
AND WE THOUGHT, "WAIT A MINUTE.
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"
Redford: WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN NEVER IMAGINED
THAT ANSWERING THAT QUESTION WOULD LEAD THEM
SMACK INTO THE OVAL OFFICE.
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
Redford: ON AUGUST 1, 1972, I PICKED UP
WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN'S THIRD ARTICLE ON WATERGATE.
IT SAID THAT ONE OF THE WATERGATE BURGLARS
HAD GOTTEN MONEY FROM THE NIXON CAMPAIGN.
WHAT THE REPORTERS WOULD SOON DISCOVER
WAS THAT NIXON'S RE-ELECTION COMMITTEE
WAS ENGAGING IN A CAMPAIGN OF ESPIONAGE AND SABOTAGE
AGAINST THE DEMOCRATS.
WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN
WERE BEGINNING TO PULL BACK THE CURTAINS
ON A STRANGE AND SHADOWY WORLD,
AND I WANTED TO KNOW HOW THEY WERE DOING IT.
I GOT REALLY INTRIGUED WITH THE IDEA OF MAKING A FILM
ABOUT WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN
BECAUSE ONE WAS A JEW, THE OTHER WAS A WASP,
ONE WAS A RADICAL LIBERAL, AND THE OTHER WAS A REPUBLICAN,
AND WHAT INTERESTED ME WAS, BEYOND THAT,
WAS REALLY THE HARD WORK THAT THEY DID TOGETHER
TO GET AT THIS STORY.
SO, I GAVE WOODWARD A CALL.
HE WAS PRETTY CHILLY ON THE PHONE.
I SAID, "HI. THIS IS BOB REDFORD CALLING."
HE SAID, "YEAH?"
AND I SAID, "I WANTED TO KNOW
"IF I COULD MEET YOU AND YOUR PARTNER,
'CAUSE I HAVE THIS IDEA I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU."
Bernstein: WOODWARD CAME TO ME
AND SAID THAT REDFORD HAD CALLED,
AND I PUT TOGETHER WHO REDFORD WAS,
AND WAS INTERESTED IN TALKING TO US OR WHATEVER.
I SAID, "WE'RE BUSY. WE GOT TO DO THIS STORY."
Redford: FOR WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN,
IT WASN'T ONLY THAT THE BREAK-IN SEEMED FISHY.
THERE WAS SOMETHING JUST AS ODD ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE.
PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SECRETARY RON ZIEGLER
CALLED IT A THIRD-RATE BURGLARY ATTEMPT.
Woodward: RON ZIEGLER CALLING IT A THIRD-RATE BURGLARY --
THAT WAS THE TIP-OFF TO US.
THERE SEEMED TO BE NOTHING THIRD-RATE ABOUT IT
EXCEPT THEY GOT CAUGHT.
THEY HAD RAISED THE STAKES SO HIGH
WITH THIS "THIRD-RATE BURGLARY" NONSENSE,
AND IT WAS APPARENT
THAT SOMETHING HERE WAS REALLY ROTTEN.
Redford: NIXON ASSIGNED HIS TOP LIEUTENANTS,
THE PRESIDENT'S MEN,
THE TASK OF MANAGING THE FALLOUT FROM THE BREAK-IN.
AMONG THEM, CHIEF OF STAFF BOB HALDEMAN
AND PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER JOHN EHRLICHMAN
WOULD BECOME THE GUARDIANS OF THE CLANDESTINE ACTIVITIES.
WATERGATE BEGINS TO MONOPOLIZE MORE AND MORE OF THEIR TIME.
WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE NIXON HAD
A SECRET TAPE-RECORDING SYSTEM IN THE OVAL OFFICE.
IT WOULD MAKE ONE HELL OF A MOVIE,
BUT NOT VERY FUNNY.
HALDEMAN AND EHRLICHMAN KNEW WHAT THEY HAD TO DO --
COVER ALL THE TRACKS LEADING TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
THEY STARTED BY ENLISTING ANOTHER OF THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.
LEGAL ADVISER JOHN DEAN WOULD MONITOR DAY-TO-DAY CHANGES.
Dean: AFTER THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN,
I REALLY VERY QUICKLY BECOME
THE DESK OFFICER AT THE WHITE HOUSE ON WATERGATE.
I'M THE PERSON WHO OTHERS BELOW ME REPORT
AND THEN I, IN TURN, REPORT UP TO HALDEMAN AND EHRLICHMAN.
Haldeman: THERE'S NO ONE ELSE IN THE WHITE HOUSE THAT HAS
ANY KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT'S GOING ON THERE AT ALL.
SO, THEY'RE DEEPLY INVOLVED.
IT IS A CLASSIC CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
Redford: AS WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN HAD SUSPECTED,
THE FIRST CLUE TO THAT CONSPIRACY WOULD BE FOUND
AT THE REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE TO RE-ELECT THE PRESIDENT.
THE TREASURER WAS HUGH SLOAN.
Sloan: WE'D RAISED $60 MILLION,
WHICH WAS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING TO THAT POINT
IN HISTORY OF ANY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
Redford: BUT SOME OF THE COMMITTEE'S PRACTICES
WERE STARTING TO MAKE SLOAN UNEASY.
Woodward: HUGH SLOAN --
HE WAS RIGHT OUT OF REPUBLICAN CENTRAL CASTING --
CLEAN-CUT, SEEMED ALWAYS TO HAVE A SHIRT AND TIE ON,
BUT HE WAS TROUBLED
BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE WHO WAS GIVING OUT THE MONEY.
I WAS FINE WITH EVERYTHING
UP TO THE POINT I WAS DIRECTED TO GIVE CASH
TO SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS.
Redford: SLOAN WOULD SOON LEARN THAT SOME OF THE CAMPAIGN MONEY
RAISED BY THE RE-ELECTION COMMITTEE
HAD FOUND ITS WAY INTO THE HANDS OF THE WATERGATE BURGLARS.
Bernstein: THE KEY WAS THE MONEY
AND FINDING THESE PEOPLE WHO CONTROLLED THESE FUNDS
AND FIGURING OUT WHAT THEY DID WITH THE MONEY.
Redford: BY NOW, WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN
WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES FOLLOWING THE MONEY.
THE FBI WAS ON THE TRAIL,
AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY,
A GRAND JURY HAD BEGUN ITS OWN INVESTIGATION.
AND EVERYONE WANTED TO TALK TO HUGH SLOAN.
THE CASH THAT FINANCED THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN --
FIVE MEN HAD CONTROL OF THE FUND.
Sloan: BERNSTEIN AND WOODWARD SHOWED UP,
AND THEY FIRST RECOMMENDED THAT THE RIGHT THING TO DO
WAS TELL THEM THE WHOLE STORY SO THEY CAN PRINT IT.
WE'RE NOT ASKING YOU TO BE OUR SOURCE.
ALL WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO IS CONFIRM --
I'M NOT YOUR SOURCE ON HALDEMAN.
Sloan: I MEAN, THEY WERE VERY ENGAGING PEOPLE,
LITTLE BIT THE GOOD-GUY/ BAD-GUY COP KIND OF ROUTINE.
SAY WE WROTE A STORY THAT SAID THAT HALDEMAN
WAS THE FIFTH NAME TO CONTROL THE FUND.
RIGHT. WOULD WE BE IN ANY TROUBLE?
WOULD WE BE WRONG?
AND THEY HAD ESTABLISHED,
THROUGH CONVERSATIONS AND OTHER MEANS,
THAT I WOULD HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED BASICALLY FIVE PEOPLE
AS HAVING THE AUTHORITY TO TELL ME TO DISPENSE FUNDS,
AND ONE OF THEM WAS BOB HALDEMAN.
LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY.
I WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEMS IF YOU WROTE A STORY LIKE THAT.
YOU WOULDN'T? NO.
THAT'S IT, THEN. IT'S OKAY. YEAH.
Woodward: IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A PHRASE
THAT DEFINED WHAT THE EXECUTION OF WATERGATE WAS,
IT WAS A HALDEMAN OPERATION.
IT WAS DRIVEN BY NIXON,
BUT, OPERATIONALLY, IT WAS HALDEMAN DOING IT.
Redford: ON OCTOBER 25th, TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE ELECTION,
THE POST FRONT-PAGE HEADLINE POINTED THE FINGER
AT THE NUMBER-ONE MAN IN THE PRESIDENT'S INNER CIRCLE,
BOB HALDEMAN.
WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN REPORTED THAT,
UNDER QUESTIONING BY THE GRAND JURY,
SLOAN HAD TESTIFIED
THAT HALDEMAN CONTROLLED THE CAMPAIGN'S SECRET FUND.
IT WAS A JOURNALISTIC COUP,
BUT THEY WERE WRONG.
I'D NEVER BEEN ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT BOB HALDEMAN.
Redford: SLOAN, IN FACT, HAD NOT NAMED HALDEMAN IN HIS TESTIMONY.
THE WHITE HOUSE POUNCED.
I DON'T RESPECT THE TYPE OF JOURNALISM,
THE SHABBY JOURNALISM, THAT IS BEING PRACTICED
BY THE WASHINGTON POST,
AND I USE THE TERM
"SHODDY JOURNALISM," "SHABBY JOURNALISM,"
AND I USE THE TERM "CHARACTER ASSASSINATION"...
Redford: THIS WAS THEIR OPPORTUNITY
TO DISCREDIT THE POST,
WOODWARD, AND BERNSTEIN
AND BURY THE STORY.
THEY CAME AFTER US -- ZIEGLER, THE PRESS SECRETARY --
SO, WE KNEW THAT AT THAT POINT
THE STAKES WERE VERY HIGH AND WE WERE THE TARGETS.
ALL I KNOW IS THAT THE STORY THAT RAN THIS MORNING
IS INCORRECT.
Bernstein: WE MADE A MISTAKE. WE [BLEEP] UP.
WE HAD AN INTELLECTUAL UNDERSTANDING
OF THE FACTS OF THE STORY
AND HALDEMAN'S ROLE IN WATERGATE,
BUT WHAT WAS IN THE WASHINGTON POST WAS UNTRUE.
WE SHOULD NOT HAVE ALLOWED THAT TO HAPPEN.
I WAS ANGRY AT MYSELF AND CARL AND HOW WE GOT IT WRONG,
AND WE THOUGHT MAYBE WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO RESIGN,
MAYBE WE SHOULD RESIGN.
I MEAN, WE WERE KIND OF AT THE END OF OUR ROPE.
Redford: FOR WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN,
THE PATH TO THE TRUTH
HAD JUST GOTTEN LONGER AND HARDER.
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
Man: BUT NOW WITH 496 ELECTORAL VOTES TO HIS CREDIT
ON THE VERGE OF A LANDSLIDE WIN...
Man #2: WE CAN SEE THE DIMENSIONS
OF MR. NIXON'S LANDSLIDE TONIGHT.
ACCORDING TO OUR CBS NEWS ESTIMATE,
PRESIDENT NIXON HAS BEEN RE-ELECTED.
AND LET'S GO NOW TO THE REPUBLICAN HEADQUARTERS
AT THE SHOREHAM HOTEL IN WASHINGTON.
I'VE NEVER KNOWN A NATIONAL ELECTION
WHEN I WOULD BE ABLE TO GO TO BED EARLIER THAN TONIGHT.
[ LAUGHTER AND CHEERS ]
Burger: AND PLEASE REPEAT AFTER ME.
I, RICHARD NIXON, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR...
...THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE OFFICE
OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES...
Redford: LOOKING BACK AT THE EARLY WATERGATE REPORTS,
IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT NIXON WAS COMPLETELY UNSCATHED.
...TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY.
...AND WILL TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY...
IMAGINE A PRESIDENT
GETTING AWAY WITH THAT UNFOLDING SCANDAL
IN TODAY'S POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT.
...PRESERVE AND PROTECT AND DEFEND
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES...
...SO HELP ME GOD.
WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN WENT BACK TO THEIR DESKS,
PUT THEIR HEADS DOWN,
AND CONTINUED TO GRIND AWAY AT THE STORY.
I KNEW THAT I WAS GONNA BE JUDGED,
THE PAPER WAS GONNA BE JUDGED ON THIS STORY,
AND, THEREFORE, YOU KNOW,
I THINK YOU COULD GET AWAY
WITH NOT BEING 100% ACCURATE ON DAY ONE,
BUT YOU HAD TO BE AS CLOSE AS YOU COULD GET,
AND YOU HAD TO BE CLOSER THE NEXT DAY
AND THEN CLOSER THE DAY AFTER THAT.
Redford: THEY KNEW THAT HALDEMAN
WAS CONTROLLING THE CAMPAIGN'S SECRET FUND.
THE QUESTION WAS, WHO WAS CONTROLLING HALDEMAN?
I WAS AMAZED BY WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN'S RESOLVE.
THERE'S NOTHING GLAMOROUS ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE DOING,
BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO PORTRAY
THE TEDIUM, THE HARD WORK.
AND THE FEELINGS ABOUT THE FILM FROM THE STUDIO'S STANDPOINT
WAS NONCOMMERCIAL.
NEWSPAPERS, TYPEWRITERS, PHONES -- MNH-MNH.
WASHINGTON -- UNH-UNH.
Hoffman: AND BOB DID SOMETHING WHICH WAS BRILLIANT.
HE SAID, "THESE GUYS, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE FROM SEPARATE,
"YOU KNOW, DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS,
"THINK OF THEM AS ONE,
PARTICULARLY WHEN THEY'RE INTERVIEWING PEOPLE."
HE SAID, "LET'S LEARN NOT ONLY OUR OWN LINES,
BUT LET'S MEMORIZE THE OTHER GUY'S LINES."
WHAT'S THIS RIGHT HERE?
WHERE ARE YOU READING ABOUT SLOAN?
SLOAN. SLOAN WAS THE TREASURER OF THE COMMITTEE.
HIS WIFE DID WHAT? HIS WIFE IS PREGNANT,
AND SHE MADE SLOAN QUIT BECAUSE, APPARENTLY,
HE NO LONGER WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT.
WE GOT TO GO SEE SLOAN.
OKAY, MAKE A NOTE OF IT.
SO, WHAT DO WE GOT? WHERE IS THAT MATCHBOOK?
EACH OF US WOULD COME IN AT ANY TIME.
WE WOULD TAKE ONE HALF OF A SENTENCE, HE'D FINISH IT.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT? BECAUSE SHE SAID IT...
RIGHT HERE.
SHE SAID, "AT THE TIME OF THE BREAK-IN,
"THERE WAS SO MUCH MONEY FLOATING AROUND
THAT I KNOW THAT GORDON GOT PART OF IT."
I THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING
AND MOST SUCCESSFUL THINGS THAT WE DID IN THAT FILM.
Redford: LIKE WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN,
DUSTIN AND I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE OPPOSITE.
MR. REDFORD. [ CHUCKLES ]
HOW ARE YOU? I'M GOOD.
BEEN TOO LONG.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REMEMBER YOU TELLING ME
WAS THAT YOU HAD TROUBLE --
EVEN YOU AT THAT TIME HAD TROUBLE --
GETTING A STUDIO TO SAY YES
BECAUSE THEY ALL SAID, "WE KNOW THE ENDING,
SO WHY SHOULD WE DO 'ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN'?"
THEY SAID, "WHY WOULD WE DO THIS
WHEN WE KNOW WHAT THE OUTCOME IS?"
I SAID, "WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT THE STORY'S ABOUT.
IT'S ABOUT THE TWO GUYS..." THAT'S RIGHT.
"...AND WHAT THEY DID THAT NOBODY KNEW ABOUT."
AND YOU SAID IT WAS A DETECTIVE STORY.
A DETECTIVE STORY.
BUT THE MAIN THING --
I MEAN, AND I THINK THAT YOU FELT THE SAME WAY --
WAS THE ALCHEMY OF THE TWO GUYS,
CONSIDERING THEIR DIFFERENCES.
AND ONE OF THE TOUGH STORY POINTS FOR ME WAS
HOW TO DEAL WITH NIXON.
HOW DO YOU PORTRAY SOMEONE SO TWISTED ON THE INSIDE
AND SO STRAIGHTLACED ON THE OUTSIDE?
Maddow: RICHARD NIXON IS NOW THE GUY WHO,
WHEN YOU SEE PHOTOS OF HIM EVEN AT HIS PRIME,
YOU CANNOT BELIEVE HE WAS EVER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Stein: HE SEEMED TO ME TO BE THE KID IN THE SCHOOLYARD
WHOM ALL THE OTHER KIDS PICKED ON,
AND I IDENTIFIED WITH THAT.
WHO WAS NIXON?
NIXON.
NIXON WAS A PARTY GUY, AN ANIMAL.
YOU KNOW, TO ME,
NIXON WAS A CARICATURE, UNFORTUNATELY.
AND, MAN, I HAD MY NIXON DOWN.
YOU KNOW, 10 YEARS OLD, WALKING AROUND THE HOUSE,
YOU KNOW, JUST... [ As Nixon ] BRRR.
AH. BRR. I AM NOT A CROOK.
[ Normal voice ] NOW I HAVE A MUCH MORE COMPLEX VIEW
OF THE MAN AND HIS PRESIDENCY.
Man: PRESIDENT NIXON CREATED A BRAND-NEW FEDERAL DEPARTMENT,
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.
THE QUESTION "WHO IS RICHARD NIXON?"
IS ALMOST IMPONDERABLE.
I LOOKED AT HIM AS ONE OF --
REALLY, ONE OF THE GREAT MINDS
THAT HAS EVER REALLY BEEN IN THE PRESIDENCY.
HE HAD ACHIEVED SOME EXTRAORDINARY BREAKTHROUGHS --
I MEAN, HIS OPENING TO CHINA,
DéTENTE WITH THE SOVIET UNION.
Stewart: THE SAD TRUTH IS I THINK NIXON WOULD,
BY TODAY'S STANDARDS, BE CONSIDERED
MAYBE A CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRAT,
MAYBE, AT SOME LEVELS, A RADICAL LEFTIST.
[ TELEPHONE RINGS ] HELLO?
Man: HERE'S ONE OF THE MEN AROUND THE PRESIDENT
WE DON'T HEAR MUCH ABOUT -- ALEX BUTTERFIELD,
DEPUTY ASSISTANT WHO HANDLES MUCH OF THE PAPERWORK.
MY FIRST MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT -- OH, MY GOD.
I-I CAN'T TELL IT WITHOUT ACTING.
AND TODAY BUTTERFIELD AND THE PRESIDENT...
NIXON CAME OUT FROM BEHIND HIS DESK
AND LOOKED VERY TENTATIVE.
HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO.
SO HE BEGAN TO GESTURE.
OKAY, FINE.
NO WORDS CAME OUT -- NO DISCERNABLE WORDS.
IT'S JUST THIS DEEP, GUTTURAL "UR-URR-URRL, URR, URR."
THIS IS THE PRESIDENT. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.
Redford: ALEXANDER BUTTERFIELD WOULD PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE
IN THE WATERGATE INVESTIGATION.
HE HAD DIRECT KNOWLEDGE
OF THE SECRET TAPING SYSTEM IN THE OVAL OFFICE.
Butterfield: HALDEMAN CAME TO ME.
HE SAID, "THE PRESIDENT WANTS A TAPE-RECORDING SYSTEM."
THE SECRET SERVICE HAS A TECHNICAL SECURITY DIVISION,
ELECTRONICS GUYS AND COMMUNICATIONS GUYS,
SO THAT'S WHO I WENT TO.
THE FIRST THING,
HE INDICATED, HE INTIMATED THAT THEY HAD DONE THIS BEFORE.
HE DIDN'T SAY, "YEAH, WE DID IT FOR JOHNSON.
YES, WE DID IT FOR THIS PRESIDENT OR THAT," BUT --
AND HE ALSO INDICATED
THESE THINGS USUALLY DON'T WORK OUT VERY WELL.
HE WAS A PARANOID MAN.
HE WAS SURE THAT PEOPLE WERE OUT TO GET HIM.
I'M SURE SOME PEOPLE WERE OUT TO GET HIM,
BUT HE GAVE THEM A LOT TO GET HIM WITH.
HE WASN'T GLAMOROUS. HE WASN'T SOCIAL.
HE WAS KIND OF AWKWARD
AND VERY SMART,
BUT IT'S HARD TO GET PAST THE TAPES
AND WHAT YOU HEAR ON THE TAPES
AND THE RAMBLING AND THE PARANOIA
AND JUST THE INSANITY.
I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW RICHARD NIXON
WHEN I WENT INTO THE WHITE HOUSE.
I HAD A PUBLIC IMAGE OF HIM,
AND AS HE GETS MORE COMFORTABLE WITH ME,
I START TO SEE THE RATHER DARK SIDE OF THIS MAN,
AND I REALIZED VERY QUICKLY
HE'S A MAN WHO HARBORED TREMENDOUS ANIMOSITY
TOWARDS HIS ENEMIES, LITERALLY.
HE DOESN'T FORGIVE, HE DOESN'T FORGET,
AND HE WANTS TO GET EVEN.
THE REAL NIXON IS ON THOSE TAPES.
IT IS A ROAD MAP OF HIS MIND.
IT IS A ROAD MAP OF HIS PRESIDENCY.
Redford: FOR WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN,
THE ROAD MAP WOULD LEAD
TO AN EERIE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE...
AND THEIR NEXT BIG BREAK.
THERE WOODWARD MET WITH A HIGHLY PLACED GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL
WHO HAD A DEEP UNDERSTANDING
OF WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
HE WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS "DEEP THROAT."
JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY.
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
Redford: DEEP THROAT WOULD BECOME
THE MOST MEMORABLE FIGURE IN THE WATERGATE SCANDAL.
WHEN WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN'S BOOK
"ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN" CAME OUT,
GUESSING DEEP THROAT'S IDENTITY
TURNED INTO A COTTAGE INDUSTRY.
I HAVE TO DO THIS MY WAY.
YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW, AND I'LL CONFIRM.
I'LL KEEP YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IF I CAN,
BUT THAT'S ALL.
JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY.
DEEP THROAT WAS A BLESSING
THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO MESS WITH.
IN MY DAY, IT WAS SIMPLY KNOWN AS THE DOUBLE CROSS.
IN OUR PRESENT CONTEXT...
IT MEANS INFILTRATION OF THE DEMOCRATS.
I JUST FELT IT WAS A WONDERFUL PIECE OF DRAMA.
Woodward: I WANT TO TALK ABOUT WATERGATE. I KNOW --
DEEP THROAT: We're not going to talk about that subject.
Woodward: SOMETIMES HE JUST WAS NOT VERY FORTHCOMING,
AND A COUPLE OF KEY TIMES, HE WAS.
IT'S CLEAR FROM THE BOOK AND, I HOPE, FROM THE MOVIE
THAT IT'S SOMEBODY WHO WAS CONSCIENCE-STRICKEN,
SOMEBODY WHO CROSSED LINES
THAT SOMEBODY IN THAT SORT OF RESPONSIBLE POSITION
RARELY CROSSES AND CROSSED FOR THE BEST OF REASONS.
Bernstein: HE GAVE US A SOLIDITY
IN WHAT OTHERS WERE TELLING US
THAT MIGHT HAVE SOUNDED UNBELIEVABLE,
GIVEN HOW CRAZY SOME OF IT WAS.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT DEEP THROAT EVEN LOOKED LIKE.
DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IF IT WAS A MAN OR A WOMAN OR A DOG.
THE DEEP THROAT MYSTIQUE, RIGHT?
I MEAN, "A," IT'S EMBARRASSING. IT'S DEEP THROAT.
[ Laughing ] LIKE, HE'S NAMED AFTER A PORN MOVIE, RIGHT?
THE NICKNAME "DEEP THROAT"
WAS PRURIENT AND DIRTY FROM THE BEGINNING,
AND YET, BECAUSE HE WAS SO IMPORTANT TO THE STORY,
EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT "DEEP THROAT THIS" AND "DEEP THROAT THAT"
IN THIS VERY CASUAL WAY.
THE TERM "DEEP THROAT" --
EVERYTHING WAS ON DEEP BACKGROUND,
MEANING YOU COULD USE IT,
BUT NOT WITH ANY KIND OF ATTRIBUTION AT ALL
THAT WOULD INDICATE WHERE IT CAME FROM.
I WOULDN'T QUOTE YOU EVEN AS AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE.
I MEAN, YOU'D BE ON DEEP BACKGROUND.
THE FASCINATION WITH THAT ONE SOURCE
I THINK WAS DRIVEN IN PART BY THE ANONYMITY -- RIGHT? --
THAT WE KNEW WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ADMINISTRATION,
WE KNEW THROUGH "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN"
HOW WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN FERRETED OUT THE STORY,
WE KNEW ALL THESE OTHER THINGS, AND THE ONE THING WE DIDN'T KNOW
WAS THE IDENTITY OF THIS ONE SOURCE.
I TEND TO THINK THAT NO DEEP THROAT, NO MOVIE.
I JUST THINK THERE IS SOMETHING SO INCREDIBLY BOND-ISH ABOUT IT
THAT WITHOUT THAT, I'M NOT SURE YOU'D GET
THE HOLLYWOODIZATION OF THE STORY,
BECAUSE HE, TO ME, WAS PROBABLY A CRUCIAL ELEMENT
IN, YOU KNOW, [Deep voice] "FOLLOW THE MONEY."
Redford: DEEP THROAT WAS WOODWARD'S CONTACT,
AND IT TOOK HIM A WHILE TO LET BERNSTEIN IN ON THE SECRET.
Bernstein: HE SAYS, "I HAVE SOMEBODY WHO WORKS AT THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
WHO'S IN A VERY ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION."
HE TOLD ME A BIT ABOUT HIM,
DIDN'T TELL ME EXACTLY WHO HE WAS OR WHERE HE WORKED.
Woodward: HE DIDN'T WANT TO TALK ON THE PHONE
'CAUSE HE KNEW ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH WIRETAPS
AND HOW THEY WOULD GO AFTER JOURNALISTS,
SO HE SAID, "WE HAVE TO MEET."
IT STRUCK ME AT THE TIME AS KIND OF ODD,
BUT, AGAIN, I WAS JUST BEGINNING
THIS PROCESS OF WASHINGTON REPORTING.
SOUNDED REASONABLE TO ME.
LET'S MEET AT 2:00 A.M. IN THIS UNDERGROUND GARAGE.
Redford: IN THIS GARAGE UNDER THE COVER OF NIGHT,
DEEP THROAT BEGAN TO ALLUDE TO A FAR-REACHING CONSPIRACY
DEEP IN THE HEART OF THE WHITE HOUSE.
IT INVOLVES THE ENTIRE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY --
FBI, CIA, JUSTICE.
IT'S INCREDIBLE.
Bernstein: DEEP THROAT WAS A GREAT HELP
IN THAT HE CONFIRMED INFORMATION
THAT WE HAD OBTAINED ELSEWHERE, FOR THE MOST PART,
AND IT GAVE US A BETTER IDEA OF HOW BIG THE CONSPIRACY WAS.
DEEP THROAT WAS OUT THERE,
AND WE BEGAN TO HEAR ABOUT IT FROM THE GROUND UP
THAT BOB HAD THIS SPECIAL SOURCE.
WHEN WILL THE REST OF THE WORLD KNOW WHO IS DEEP THROAT?
WHEN THAT SOURCE PASSES AWAY
OR RELEASES US FROM OUR AGREEMENT
AND PLEDGE OF CONFIDENTIALITY.
Man: ALL RIGHT, THE INEVITABLE QUESTION -- WHO IS DEEP THROAT?
WE'VE SAID DEEP THROAT IS A MAN.
Man: YOU CAN RULE OUT SOME SUSPECTS, LIKE DIANE SAWYER,
A FORMER NIXON PRESS AIDE, NOW NETWORK ANCHOR.
WOODWARD SAYS DEEP THROAT WAS A MAN.
YOU BUILD A FAIRLY STRONG CASE
FOR THE IDENTITY OF ALEXANDER HAIG.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO DEEP THROAT WAS?
DEEP THROAT IS, IN MY OPINION, A COLLECTION OF PEOPLE.
AND PEOPLE ASK, "HOW DID THE SECRET OF DEEP THROAT
LAST FOR SO LONG?"
AND THE ANSWER IS, NEITHER OF US TOLD OUR EX-WIVES.
SO, DURING OUR FILMING, WOODWARD CASUALLY MENTIONED
THAT THE ACTOR HAL HOLBROOK'S PORTRAYAL OF DEEP THROAT
WAS PRETTY CLOSE TO THE REAL THING.
SO, WHEN I ASKED HIM WHO THE MAN WAS,
HE JUST SMILED.
Woman: OTHER GUESSES OVER THE YEARS --
NIXON CAMPAIGN AIDE JOHN SEARS
AND FBI OFFICIAL MARK FELT.
I NEVER LEAKED ANY INFORMATION,
I DIDN'T GIVE ANYBODY ANY DOCUMENTS,
AND I'M GETTING PRETTY FED UP WITH THE WHOLE THING.
Redford: MARK FELT
CERTAINLY CAUGHT SOME PEOPLE'S ATTENTION.
HE WAS THE NUMBER-TWO MAN IN THE FBI,
AND HE LOOKED THE PART.
NO, NO, I AM NOT DEEP THROAT,
AND THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY
IS THAT I WOULDN'T BE ASHAMED TO BE.
THREE DECADES LATER,
BOB WOODWARD WENT TO VISIT MARK FELT.
THE ELDERLY MAN WAS LIVING WITH HIS DAUGHTER
ON A QUIET STREET IN A SUBURB OF SAN FRANCISCO
COINCIDENTALLY NAMED REDFORD PLACE.
Joan: WELL, I WAS TALKING TO A FRIEND OF MINE,
AND FOR SOME REASON, WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT WATERGATE,
AND HE ASKED ME ABOUT MY FATHER,
AND I STARTED TELLING HIM ABOUT ALL THE REPORTERS CALLING,
AND I SAID, "YOU KNOW, AS A MATTER OF FACT, ONE REPORTER --
"I THINK HE SAID HIS NAME WAS BOB WOODWARD
"FROM THE WASHINGTON POST --
"CAME TO THE HOUSE TO TRY AND GET AN INTERVIEW WITH DAD
AND TRY AND FIND OUT IF DAD IS DEEP THROAT,"
AND MY FRIEND SAID, "JOAN,
BOB WOODWARD KNOWS WHO DEEP THROAT IS,"
AND THAT'S WHEN I STARTED THINKING,
"OH, MY GOSH. MAYBE DAD COULD BE DEEP THROAT."
BUT DAD DENIED IT.
HE SAID THAT HE WASN'T DEEP THROAT,
AND I SAID, "DAD, YOU GOT TO TELL ME THE TRUTH.
"PLEASE TELL ME THE TRUTH.
I NEED TO KNOW. TELL ME."
AND SO HE DID.
HE LOOKED ME IN THE EYES AND SAID,
"ALL RIGHT. IF THAT'S THE WAY IT'S GONNA BE," HE SAID,
"ALL RIGHT.
I AM. I WAS THAT PERSON."
I GOT A CALL FROM VANITY FAIR, WHERE I'M A CONTRIBUTING EDITOR,
AND TOLD THAT IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS,
THEY WERE GONNA BREAK A STORY
SAYING THAT FELT WAS DEEP THROAT
AND WOULD I CONFIRM IT?
CARL CAME DOWN TO WASHINGTON, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS.
SHOULD WE REVEAL IT?
SHOULD WE CONFIRM IT?
WHAT'S THE OBLIGATION NOW?
AND THEN BEN BRADLEE STEPPED IN AND SAID,
"IT'S OUT. IT'S OVER.
YOU NEED TO CONFIRM IT," AND SO WE DID.
Woman: FELT WAS THE NUMBER-TWO MAN AT THE FBI
WHEN HE SAYS HE BECAME THE SOURCE
WHO HELPED REVEAL WATERGATE,
THE SCANDAL THAT BROUGHT DOWN PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON.
MY DAD -- I KNOW HIM.
I KNOW HIM SO WELL, AND HE'S A GREAT MAN.
HE'S SO KIND.
HE'S SO ATTENTIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE, AND LOVING,
AND WE'RE ALL SO PROUD OF HIM,
NOT ONLY FOR HIS ROLE IN HISTORY,
BUT FOR THAT, FOR THE CHARACTER THAT HE IS,
THE PERSON THAT HE IS.
CLEARLY, THERE WAS AN ELEMENT
OF THE CONFLICTED MAN, THE DIVIDED MAN,
BUT THEN WHEN I SAW HIM ON THE DOORSTEP,
THE VIDEO OF MARK FELT
IN HIS PAJAMAS AND WALKER
WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE, THE SMILE OF, LIKE --
I HAD NEVER SEEN HIM SMILE.
HE WAS NOT A HAPPY PERSON
IN ALL THE YEARS I DEALT WITH HIM.
TURNS OUT TO HAVE BEEN LIBERATING FOR US,
FOR THE TRUTH, FOR FELT,
BECAUSE NOW, YOU KNOW,
THERE WAS AN AWFUL LOT OF SPECULATION IN THOSE 30 YEARS,
INCLUDING BY MANY OF OUR PEERS AND COLLEAGUES,
THAT WE MADE THIS UP.
THIS WAS AN ELEMENT OF CLARITY AND CLOSURE,
ANSWERING A QUESTION THAT HAD PERSISTED FOR A LONG TIME.
Redford: DEEP THROAT BEGINS TO GUIDE WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN
THROUGH AN ELABORATE MAZE OF COVERT ACTIVITIES.
GRADUALLY, THE REPORTERS BEGIN TO CONNECT WATERGATE
TO MANY MORE OF THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.
BY THE BEGINNING OF 1973,
CONGRESS COULD NO LONGER IGNORE THE SCANDAL.
THEIR INVESTIGATION WOULD BOIL DOWN
TO ONE SIMPLE QUESTION.
WHAT DID THE PRESIDENT KNOW, AND WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
[ SIREN WAILS ]
THE SENATE TONIGHT VOTED 77-0 TO ESTABLISH A SELECT COMMITTEE
TO INVESTIGATE THE WATERGATE BUGGING CASE.
THE COMMITTEE WILL BE HEADED BY NORTH CAROLINA...
Redford: BARELY EIGHT MONTHS
AFTER WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN PUBLISHED THEIR FIRST ARTICLE,
THE SENATE CREATED A SELECT COMMITTEE
TO INVESTIGATE THE WATERGATE SCANDAL.
THE STORY HAD STARTED WITH A COUPLE OF YOUNG REPORTERS
NOSING AROUND A SUSPICIOUS BREAK-IN.
IT HAD NOW GROWN INTO A FULL-FLEDGED EXAMINATION
OF THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.
I KNOW WE'RE OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE.
I'VE TOLD HALDEMAN THAT. I'VE TOLD EHRLICHMAN THAT.
THEY DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR IT.
AT ONE POINT, EHRLICHMAN MADE A WONDERFUL, CLASSIC REMARK
I COULDN'T FORGET.
HE SAID, "JOHN, THERE'S SOMETHING PUTRID
IN YOUR DRINKING WATER OUT THERE IN OLDTOWN, WHERE YOU LIVE,"
AND I SAID, "NO, JOHN.
I'M JUST A REALIST. WE GOT PROBLEMS."
Redford: ON MARCH 21st,
JOHN DEAN WALKED INTO THE OVAL OFFICE
TO GIVE NIXON A BLUNT ASSESSMENT
OF THE DAMAGE WATERGATE WAS DOING TO HIS PRESIDENCY.
Dean: HE HAD HAD HIS FEET ON THE DESK,
AND AS HE OFTEN DID,
HE WAS KIND OF LOOKING AROUND HIS SHOES AT ME.
Dean: I HAVE THE IMPRESSION
THAT YOU DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING I KNOW,
AND IT MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT
FOR YOU TO MAKE JUDGMENTS THAT ONLY YOU CAN MAKE.
AND AFTER THAT REMARK,
HIS FEET WERE SOLIDLY ON THE FLOOR,
HE HAD SLID HIS CHAIR UP, AND I HAD HIS FULL ATTENTION.
I KNEW AT THAT POINT HE KNEW SOMETHING, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH.
THERE'S NO DOUBT
ABOUT THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM WE'VE GOT.
I'M WARNING HIM HE'S GOT PROBLEMS.
THIS WAS NOT GOOD NEWS I WAS ABOUT TO SHARE
THAT THERE WAS A CANCER ON HIS PRESIDENCY.
WE HAVE A CANCER WITHIN --
CLOSE TO THE PRESIDENCY THAT'S GROWING.
IT'S GROWING DAILY.
HE KIND OF JUST ABSORBS THAT FOR A MINUTE
AND THINKS ABOUT IT AS THE CONVERSATION GOES ON.
AND I SAY, "YOU KNOW, MR. PRESIDENT,
"I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS WILL END.
IT'S JUST GONNA KEEP GOING UP."
Redford: THE SENATE INVESTIGATION
WAS CLOSING IN ON THE PRESIDENT.
TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM THE COVER-UP,
NIXON NEEDED SCAPEGOATS.
IN ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISIONS OF MY PRESIDENCY,
I ACCEPTED THE RESIGNATIONS
OF TWO OF MY CLOSEST ASSOCIATES IN THE WHITE HOUSE,
BOB HALDEMAN, JOHN EHRLICHMAN --
TWO OF THE FINEST PUBLIC SERVANTS
IT HAS BEEN MY PRIVILEGE TO KNOW.
WHEN HE GETS RID OF HALDEMAN AND EHRLICHMAN,
HE'S ALSO PLANNING HIS DEFENSE.
THE WATERGATE SCANDAL BROKE WIDE OPEN TODAY.
THE TWO CLOSEST MEN TO THE PRESIDENT,
H.R. HALDEMAN AND JOHN EHRLICHMAN,
HAVE RESIGNED.
Dean: AND HE THINKS THIS WILL PROTECT HIM,
AND HE WILL CLAIM THAT HE HAS KNOWN NOTHING ABOUT A COVER-UP
UNTIL I TOLD HIM ON MARCH 21st.
SO, HE'S SORTING ALL THIS OUT UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH,
WHEN HE DECIDES HE'S JUST GOT TO LET EVERYBODY GO,
AND THEN, OF COURSE, HE FIRES ME.
Redford: ON MAY 17th,
THE SENATE HELD ITS FIRST PUBLIC HEARING.
ONE BY ONE, THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
WERE SUMMONED TO THE SENATE CHAMBER.
UNDER CROSS-EXAMINATION, EACH WAS ASKED,
HAD THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
BROKEN THE LAW?
WHAT DID THE PRESIDENT KNOW, AND WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?
Brokaw: I DON'T THINK THERE'S EVER BEEN A MOMENT
IN AMERICAN NONFICTION TELEVISION HISTORY
THAT IS AS RIVETING AS THE WATERGATE HEARINGS WERE.
Maddow: I DID NOT GROW UP
WITH A MEMORY OF HAVING SEEN IT, OBVIOUSLY,
BUT IT WAS THIS OMNIPRESENT THING
IN THE WAY THAT MY MOM TALKED ABOUT MY CHILDHOOD,
'CAUSE SHE WAS A YOUNG MOTHER,
HOME WITH A BABY ON THE HIP,
AND WHAT SHE DID FOR MY INFANCY
WAS FEED ME AND WATCH WATERGATE.
[ GAVEL TAPS ]
I WAS SITTING IN A DRESSING ROOM,
MAKING THE FILM "THE GREAT GATSBY,"
AND TO KEEP YOURSELF FROM GOING MAD,
YOU'D WATCH THE HEARINGS,
AND THAT WAS FINE BECAUSE THE HEARINGS WERE SO INTERESTING,
YOU COULDN'T STOP, AND WHAT WAS INTERESTING WAS
THE DRAMA AND THE TENSION
AND THIS CERTAIN AREA OF MYSTERY --
WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?
DO I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE TESTIFYING
THAT THE COMMITTEE TO RE-ELECT THE PRESIDENT
AND THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH HIM...
Stewart: THE WATERGATE HEARINGS WERE
AN ABSOLUTE UNIFYING TELEVISION EXPERIENCE
FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
Man: THIS IS A SPECIAL REPORT FROM...
I CAN REMEMBER WATCHING IT AND THINKING,
"MAN, THEY'RE INTERRUPTING SOAP OPERAS? WOW."
YOU JUST FIGURED THAT THIS MUST BE
SOMETHING ENORMOUSLY FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR DEMOCRACY.
Redford: MOST OF US THOUGHT THE MOST DRAMATIC TESTIMONY
WOULD COME FROM HALDEMAN AND EHRLICHMAN.
BUT IN THE END,
IT WOULD BE JOHN DEAN WHO TRANSFIXED THE COUNTRY.
Dean: HALDEMAN, EHRLICHMAN, AND THE PRESIDENT KNEW
WE DID HAVE AN OPTION.
WE COULD, AT THAT POINT,
DRAG THE WAGONS AROUND A GIANT LIE
THAT WOULD PROTECT EVERYBODY WHO WAS WILLING TO LIE.
WHO WAS WILLING TO LIE? HALDEMAN, EHRLICHMAN.
THE POINT IS, I DIDN'T RUN AROUND
TRYING TO BRIBE ANYBODY.
I DIDN'T RUN AROUND TRYING TO SHRED DOCUMENTS.
MATTER OF FACT, WE PRESERVED THE DOCUMENTS.
THE PRESIDENT, EHRLICHMAN, AND I
MADE NO ATTEMPT TO TAKE OVER THE WATERGATE CASE.
THE VIEW OF ALL THREE OF US THROUGH THE WHOLE PERIOD
WAS THAT THE TRUTH MUST BE TOLD, AND QUICKLY,
ALTHOUGH WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE TRUTH WAS.
SO, WHEN I TESTIFIED...
COUNSEL WILL CALL THE FIRST WITNESS.
Man: MR. JOHN W. DEAN III.
I KNEW CLEARLY, WAS I IN OR OUT, WAS THE QUESTION,
AND I DECIDED I COULD NOT PLAY THAT GAME.
I'VE MADE MISTAKES,
WE'VE GOTTEN OURSELVES IN A DEEP PROBLEM,
AND FURTHER LYING AND LIVING THAT LIE,
EVEN IF I COULD GET AWAY WITH IT,
ISN'T SOMETHING I'M COMFORTABLE WITH.
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
[ GAVEL TAPS ]
Ervin: DO YOU SWEAR
THAT THE EVIDENCE THAT YOU SHALL GIVE
SHALL BE THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH,
AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, SO HELP YOU GOD?
I DO, SO HELP ME GOD.
Redford: LIKE MOST AMERICANS,
I, TOO, WAS RIVETED BY JOHN DEAN'S TESTIMONY.
YOUR NAME IS JOHN W. DEAN III.
THAT IS CORRECT.
I REMEMBER BEING STRUCK BY HOW METHODICALLY
HE PRESENTED NIXON'S PATTERN OF DECEPTION.
WHEN THE PRESIDENT CALLED ME,
AND WE HAD A RATHER RAMBLING DISCUSSION,
I TOLD HIM AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE CONVERSATION THAT EVENING
THAT I WANTED TO TALK WITH HIM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
ABOUT THE WATERGATE MATTER
BECAUSE I DID NOT THINK HE FULLY REALIZED
ALL THE FACTS AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THOSE FACTS
FOR THE PEOPLE AT THE WHITE HOUSE,
AS WELL AS HIMSELF.
Thompson: YOU HAD THE PRESIDENT'S COUNSEL --
PEOPLE FORGET HE WAS THE PRESIDENT'S LAWYER.
[ Chuckling ] YOU CAN'T --
YOU CAN'T HAVE ANYTHING WORSE HAPPEN TO YOU
THAN YOUR OWN LAWYER TURNING AGAINST YOU.
I BEGAN BY TELLING THE PRESIDENT
THAT THERE WAS A CANCER GROWING ON THE PRESIDENCY,
AND IF THE CANCER WAS NOT REMOVED,
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF WOULD BE KILLED BY IT.
I ALSO TOLD HIM THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT
THAT THIS CANCER BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY
BECAUSE IT WAS GROWING MORE DEADLY EVERY DAY.
Butterfield: JOHN DEAN'S TESTIMONY WAS ON FOR FOUR DAYS.
IT WAS MESMERIZING.
PEOPLE WERE MISSING AIRPLANES.
PEOPLE WERE STANDING AROUND FURNITURE STORES
THAT SOLD TV SETS,
WATCHING IN THE PLATE-GLASS WINDOWS --
THE TELEVISION.
I TOLD HIM THE CASH THAT HAD BEEN AT THE WHITE HOUSE
HAD BEEN FUNNELED BACK TO THE RE-ELECTION COMMITTEE
FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING THE SEVEN INDIVIDUALS
TO REMAIN SILENT.
AND DEAN WASN'T PULLING ANY PUNCHES.
...WHO HAD BEEN A RECIPIENT OF WIRETAP INFORMATION,
AND THEN HALDEMAN HAD ALSO RECEIVED SOME INFORMATION
THROUGH STRACHAN.
AND I SAID TO MYSELF, "WOW.
"EVERYTHING JOHN DEAN IS SAYING TO THAT COMMITTEE,
I HOPE THEY KNOW IT IS TRUE."
THE COUNSEL WAS RETAINED AT THAT TIME.
Man: WHAT DATE WAS THAT?
THAT WAS ON THE 25th, AS I RECALL.
WE ABSOLUTELY BELIEVED WHAT HE WAS SAYING,
AND THE MORE EVIDENCE WE GOT,
THE MORE IT CONFIRMED WHAT HE WAS SAYING.
MEETING OF MARCH 21st.
AS I HAVE INDICATED,
MY PURPOSE IN REQUESTING THIS MEETING,
PARTICULARLY WITH THE PRESIDENT,
WAS THAT I FELT IT NECESSARY THAT I GIVE HIM
A FULL REPORT OF ALL THE FACTS THAT I KNEW
AND EXPLAIN TO HIM WHAT I BELIEVED TO BE
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THOSE FACTS.
WE HAD WHITE HOUSE LOGS OF MEETINGS,
SO WHEN HE SAID, "I MET WITH THE PRESIDENT ON MARCH 21st,"
WE COULD LOOK AT THE LOG AND SEE, WELL, HE CERTAINLY DID.
HOW DO YOU EXPECT US
TO RESOLVE THE TRUTH IN THIS MATTER
WHEN YOU STATE ONE STORY,
AND YOU'VE TESTIFIED HERE
AND MADE YOURSELF SUBJECT TO CROSS-EXAMINATION,
AND THE PRESIDENT STATES ANOTHER STORY
AND HE DOES NOT APPEAR BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE?
CAN YOU GIVE US ANY INFORMATION
AS TO HOW WE MIGHT RESOLVE THIS?
MR. CHAIRMAN, I THINK THIS.
I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THE TRUTH ALWAYS EMERGES.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL BE DURING THESE HEARINGS,
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL BE
THROUGH THE PROCESSES OF HISTORY,
BUT THE TRUTH WILL OUT SOMEDAY.
IT'S VERY HARD TO THINK ABOUT
THE PRESIDENT NOT BEING BELIEVED
AND JOHN DEAN BEING BELIEVED,
SO IF IT CAME DOWN TO "HE SAID, HE SAID,"
THE PRESIDENT WAS GONNA WIN.
PRESIDENT NIXON AND HIS COUNSEL, JOHN DEAN,
NOW APPEAR TO BE AT ODDS OVER THE WATERGATE SCANDAL.
Redford: ONE NIXON AIDE KNEW HOW TO PROVE WHO WAS LYING,
BUT NO ONE HAD ASKED HIM.
Butterfield: WHILE IN THE BARBERSHOP,
I'M WATCHING THE HEARINGS,
AS WAS EVERYONE EVERYPLACE.
THIS IS THE MORNING OF MONDAY, THE 16th OF JULY.
I WAS REALLY QUITE RELAXED UNTIL I GOT THAT PHONE CALL.
[ TELEPHONE RINGS ]
"WE'RE GONNA WANT YOU TO COME UP HERE AND TESTIFY.
THE SENATOR WANTS YOU TO TESTIFY AT 2:00."
SO, I SAID, "WELL, YOU CAN JUST TELL HIM I'M NOT COMING."
SO, ON THE TUBE,
I SEE THIS GUY GO IN BEHIND THE SENATORS
AND WHISPER IN ERVIN'S EAR,
AND THOSE BIG, BUSHY EYEBROWS OF HIS
WENT "WHOOP."
YOU COULD SEE THEM GOING UP AND DOWN,
AND HE WASN'T PLEASED.
YOU COULD TELL THAT.
AND HE TELLS THIS YOUNG MAN SOMETHING,
AND THE GUY LEAVES.
PREDICTABLY, RIGHT AWAY, THE PHONE RINGS.
[ TELEPHONE RINGS ]
AND HE SAID, "I JUST TOLD THE SENATOR WHAT YOU SAID,
"AND HE SAID IF YOU'RE NOT IN HIS OFFICE AT 1:00,
HE WILL HAVE FEDERAL MARSHALS PICK YOU UP ON THE STREET."
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID.
CARL STERN IS OUTSIDE THE SENATE CAUCUS ROOM,
AND MAYBE HE CAN TELL US MORE ABOUT MR. BUTTERFIELD
AND WHAT HE IS EXPECTED TO TELL THIS COMMITTEE -- CARL?
Thompson: WELL, THERE WAS A LOT OF SPECULATION.
OBVIOUSLY, SOMETHING WAS COOKING AS FAR AS WHAT HE WAS GONNA SAY
BECAUSE WE WERE DEVIATING FROM THE SCHEDULE.
Man: WE BELIEVE HIS TESTIMONY WILL HAVE TO DO
WITH WHITE HOUSE PROCEDURES...
Butterfield: THAT ROOM WAS CHOCK-FULL OF PEOPLE --
BOYFRIENDS WITH GIRLS STANDING ON THEIR SHOULDERS,
PEOPLE IN THE WINDOW LEDGES UP THERE,
CAMERAS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
I'D LIKE TO CHANGE THE USUAL ROUTINE OF QUESTIONING
AND ASK MINORITY COUNSEL
TO BEGIN THE QUESTIONING OF MR. BUTTERFIELD.
Thompson: THANK YOU, MR. DASH.
THE OLD CAUCUS ROOM WAS PACKED FULL
OF FAMOUS NAMES AND CELEBRITIES AND WHATNOT,
YOU KNOW -- KIND OF A CIRCUS ATMOSPHERE, FRANKLY.
MR. BUTTERFIELD, I UNDERSTAND
YOU PREVIOUSLY WERE EMPLOYED BY THE WHITE HOUSE?
IS THAT CORRECT?
THAT'S CORRECT.
DURING WHAT PERIOD OF TIME
WERE YOU EMPLOYED BY THE WHITE HOUSE?
I WOULD LIKE TO PREFACE MY REMARKS
IF I MAY, MR. THOMPSON, WITH...
I'M SORRY. I BELIEVE -- ...ONE STATEMENT.
GO RIGHT AHEAD.
ALTHOUGH I DO NOT HAVE A STATEMENT AS SUCH,
I WOULD SIMPLY LIKE TO REMIND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
THAT WHEREAS I APPEAR VOLUNTARILY THIS AFTERNOON,
I APPEAR WITH ONLY SOME THREE HOURS' NOTICE.
I WANTED HIM TO KNOW I WAS ENJOYING A HAIRCUT
JUST AT 11:00 TODAY.
MR. BUTTERFIELD, ARE YOU AWARE
OF THE INSTALLATION OF ANY LISTENING DEVICES
IN THE OVAL OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT?
I TRIED TO THINK, "IS THAT DIRECT?
YEAH, THAT'S DIRECT."
THAT'S A VERY DIRECT QUESTION.
I'M NOT TRYING TO SOUND DRAMATIC HERE,
BUT I KNEW THEN THAT THE JIG WAS UP.
I WAS AWARE OF LISTENING DEVICES.
YES, SIR.
I WAS UNDER THE ASSUMPTION
THAT THIS TAPE-RECORDING SYSTEM
WAS STILL DEEP, DARK SECRET OVER AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
THAT SECRET WAS WELL KEPT.
WHEN YOU STOP AND THINK, ROSE MARY WOODS,
HIS SECRETARY, NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE TAPES.
HENRY KISSINGER, AS CLOSE AS HENRY WAS,
NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE TAPES.
JOHN EHRLICHMAN NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE TAPES.
Woodward: TWO PEOPLE TOLD ME ABOUT IT BEFORE IT BECAME PUBLIC.
I CALLED BRADLEE AT HOME AT 9:00
ON A SATURDAY NIGHT, I BELIEVE, AND SAID,
"NIXON TAPED HIMSELF. WHAT SHOULD WE DO?"
AND BEN SAID, "I WOULDN'T BUST ONE ON IT,
AND IT'S KIND OF A B-PLUS STORY."
"OKAY, THE BOSS SAYS B-PLUS.
I WON'T WORK ON IT."
I TOOK SUNDAY OFF, AND MONDAY THEY CALLED BUTTERFIELD,
AND I REMEMBER BEN CAME BY AND KNOCKED ON MY DESK
AND SAID, "OKAY, IT'S BETTER THAN A B-PLUS."
FROM THAT POINT ON, OF COURSE, IT'S A FIGHT FOR THE TAPES
BECAUSE THEY ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.
AM I TELLING THE TRUTH? IS THE PRESIDENT TELLING THE TRUTH?
AND WHAT ELSE HAPPENED, YOU KNOW?
THE PROSECUTORS IMMEDIATELY SUBPOENA THE TAPES,
THE SENATE SUBPOENAS THEM,
SO NIXON IS EARLY ADVISED TO DESTROY THE TAPES. ï»¿1
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
Redford: THE DISCOVERY OF THE NIXON TAPES
WOULD IGNITE A NEW BATTLEGROUND IN THE WATERGATE DRAMA,
AND IT WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
NIXON'S ATTORNEY GENERAL HAD APPOINTED A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR,
ARCHIBALD COX, TO INVESTIGATE WATERGATE.
THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR THEN DEMANDED
THAT NIXON HAND OVER EIGHT OF THE TAPES.
EIGHT SPECIFIC TAPES
OF CONVERSATIONS
EITHER IN THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
OR ON HIS TELEPHONE.
NIXON NOT ONLY REFUSED,
BUT ON A SATURDAY NIGHT IN OCTOBER 1973,
HE ALSO ORDERED HIS ATTORNEY GENERAL
TO FIRE THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WAS APPALLED.
HE SAID NO AND RESIGNED.
THEN THE PRESIDENT TOLD ONE OF HIS ASSISTANTS
TO CALL THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL.
Ruckelshaus: WHEN I PICKED THE PHONE UP, IT WAS AL HAIG --
SAID HE WANTED ME TO FIRE COX.
I SAID, "I'M NOT GONNA DO IT."
RUCKELSHAUS REFUSED,
IN A MOMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL DRAMA,
TO OBEY A PRESIDENTIAL ORDER
TO FIRE THE SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR.
Krogh: FIRST, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, TO HIS GREAT CREDIT,
JUST SAYING, "I'M NOT GONNA DO THAT," AND RESIGN,
AND THEN THE NEXT PERSON,
WHO WAS THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL,
BILL RUCKELSHAUS --
ONE OF THE GREAT PEOPLE IN THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION,
ONE OF THE MOST ETHICAL MEN I'VE EVER KNOWN --
HE, TOO, WAS NOT WILLING TO DO IT.
SO THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, RUCKELSHAUS,
ALSO RESIGNED.
WELL, THERE'LL BE AN ANNOUNCEMENT
OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE LATER ON.
I CAN'T SAY A THING. THERE WILL BE?
DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH THE RESIGNATION
OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL? WELL, IT MIGHT,
BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO GET IT FROM THEM.
Ruckelshaus: AL HAIG -- HE SAID, "WELL,
YOUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF IS ORDERING YOU TO DO THIS."
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT ADDED TO THE DISCUSSION,
BUT HE SAID, "WELL, WHO ELSE IS AROUND?"
AND I SAID, "WELL, BOB BORK IS HERE."
HE WAS THE NUMBER-THREE GUY IN THE DEPARTMENT,
AND BORK WAS THE LAST ONE THAT WAS REALLY ELIGIBLE TO DO IT.
Redford: THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE
WILLING TO CARRY OUT HIS ORDERS.
BORK FIRED COX.
AND I HAVE ASKED ALL THE PERSONNEL IN THE DEPARTMENT
TO STAY AND HELP KEEP THE DEPARTMENT GOING
IN THIS EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT TIME.
Redford: AND SO ENDED WHAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN
AS THE SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE.
ONE WHITE HOUSE SOURCE SAID
THE PRESIDENT'S MOTIVE WAS SOLELY TO REMOVE
THE POSSIBILITY OF A CONSTITUTIONAL CONFRONTATION
AS QUICKLY AND AS THOROUGHLY AS POSSIBLE.
RICHARD NIXON VIOLATED THE LAW,
HE COMPROMISED THE OFFICE,
AND HE VIOLATED THE COMPACT THAT WE THOUGHT WE HAD WITH HIM.
BEFORE HE DID ALL THIS, HE MUST HAVE CONSIDERED
THE PROBABLE REACTION IN CONGRESS,
INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF IMPEACHMENT.
THERE WERE SOME OF US WHO FELT
THAT THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY WAS GETTING OUT OF HAND.
THE SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE
WAS A SIGNAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
THAT A PRESIDENT WAS PUTTING HIMSELF ABOVE THE RULE OF LAW,
AND THEY DEMANDED ACTION.
[ CROWD CHANTING "IMPEACH NIXON" ]
Wine-Banks: AND THE PUBLIC OUTCRY
TO THE SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE
WAS SO SIGNIFICANT.
JUST THE INSANITY OF THE SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE --
LIKE, WHO DOES THAT?
HOW COULD YOU THINK YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH THAT?
IT'S JUST NOT STABLE.
[ CROWD CHEERING ]
Thompson: PEOPLE IN HIGH OFFICE
TEND TO WANT TO ARROGATE POWER TO THEMSELVES,
AND THEY TEND TO WANT TO KEEP IT.
POWER STILL TENDS TO CORRUPT.
Maddow: PRESIDENTS, BY THE NATURE OF THE JOB,
ARE JUST UNLIKELY TO EVER SHED
ANY OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER
THAT THEIR PREDECESSORS HAVE ACCRUED AT THE OFFICE.
EVERY PRESIDENT SINCE JIMMY CARTER
HAS EXPANDED THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENCY,
AND WHEN PRESIDENT OBAMA RAN FOR OFFICE,
HE HAD AS PART OF HIS PITCH AS A CANDIDATE
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE EXPANDED EXECUTIVE POWER
THAT WAS ASSERTED BY THE GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION,
ESPECIALLY ON NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES --
THINGS LIKE TORTURE AND RENDITION AND SECRET PRISONS
AND ALL THAT STUFF AFTER 9/11.
BUT HE HASN'T GIVEN ANY OF THAT POWER BACK
NOW THAT HE IS PRESIDENT.
TONIGHT I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE MY ANSWER
TO THOSE WHO HAVE SUGGESTED THAT I RESIGN.
I HAVE NO INTENTION WHATEVER
OF WALKING AWAY FROM THE JOB I WAS ELECTED TO DO.
Man: AFTER FOUR MONTHS OF LEGAL SQUABBLING,
THE PRESIDENTIAL TAPE RECORDINGS WERE FINALLY DELIVERED TODAY
TO CHIEF JUDGE JOHN SIRICA, WHO WON'T HEAR THEM, HOWEVER,
UNTIL ALL THE DISCREPANCIES HAVE BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR,
AND TODAY THAT SITUATION GREW WORSE, NOT BETTER.
Redford: MUCH WORSE.
NIXON HAD HANDED OVER THE TAPES, BUT THERE WAS A CATCH.
Brokaw: I WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, THINGS WERE FAIRLY QUIET,
AND I GOT A CALL TO GO TO RON ZIEGLER'S OFFICE.
I GO UP TO RON'S OFFICE, THINKING IT'S SOMETHING ROUTINE,
AND ZIEGLER IS CLEARING HIS THROAT A LOT
AND IS KIND OF RATTLING HIS COFFEE CUP,
AND THAT'S WHEN WE LEARNED ABOUT THE GAP IN THE TAPES.
WE HAD BEEN TOLD JUST ABOUT THREE DAYS EARLIER
THAT THE WORST IS BEHIND US,
AND SUDDENLY THERE WAS AN
AND ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE AGAIN.
THE CONVERSATION IN QUESTION TOOK PLACE
JUST THREE DAYS AFTER THE WATERGATE BURGLARS WERE CAUGHT,
AND THE WATERGATE PROSECUTOR THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT.
WE KNOW THAT THE 18 1/2-MINUTE GAP
WAS A CONVERSATION ABOUT WATERGATE
BECAUSE IT WAS WITH HALDEMAN AND THE PRESIDENT,
AND HALDEMAN WAS A METICULOUS NOTE-TAKER,
AND HE TOOK NOTES.
Man: THE PRESIDENT'S PERSONAL SECRETARY, ROSE MARY WOODS,
WAS RECALLED TO EXPLAIN HOW SHE ACCIDENTALLY ERASED
CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT
THREE DAYS AFTER THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN.
"IT DIDN'T HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT"
WOULD HAVE BEEN OUR FIRST SUSPICION.
I WAS THE LAWYER WHO QUESTIONED ROSE MARY WOODS
ABOUT THE 18 1/2-MINUTE GAP.
ARE YOU DISCUSSING TESTIMONY TOMORROW
OR AN ACTUAL NOTHER RE-ENACTMENT,
BRINGING IN HER DESK?
I DON'T WANT TO COMMENT ON THAT.
MOSTLY, I'M CALLED THE MINISKIRTED BITCH.
THAT WAS MY NAME.
PICTURES OF ME WERE ALWAYS HEAD TO TOE.
MY MALE COLLEAGUES ARE SHOULDER UP.
THAT'S JUST HOW IT WAS.
ROSE MARY WOODS REPRESENTS, REALLY,
THE MAJORITY OF WOMEN AT THAT TIME.
YOU COULD BE A NURSE, YOU COULD BE A TEACHER,
YOU COULD BE A SECRETARY, OR YOU COULD BE A HOUSEWIFE.
THOSE WERE YOUR CHOICES.
I WAS A VERY EARLY PROFESSIONAL,
AND THERE WE WERE, HEAD-TO-HEAD COMBAT, BASICALLY.
Man: MISS WOODS SAID IT WAS A MISTAKE --
A "RECORD" BUTTON HIT ACCIDENTALLY
WHILE SHE TOOK A PHONE CALL.
SHE DESCRIBED THAT SHE HAD PUSHED THE WRONG BUTTON.
INSTEAD OF PUSHING "STOP," SHE HAD PUSHED "RECORD."
SHE ALSO HAD TO KEEP HER FOOT ON THE PEDAL.
MISS WOODS USED THE MACHINE TO SHOW HOW IT HAPPENED.
SO, WHEN I ASKED HER TO DEMONSTRATE,
SHE PUSHED THE BUTTON, KEPT HER FOOT ON,
AND SHE SUPPOSEDLY REACHED BACK
ABOUT SIX FEET TO GET THE TELEPHONE.
HER FOOT CAME OFF THE PEDAL JUST WITH THE MERE MOVEMENT,
AND THERE WAS JUST NO WAY IT WAS BELIEVABLE.
THE WHITE HOUSE CONTENTION
THAT THE TALK BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND HALDEMAN
WAS ACCIDENTALLY ERASED
WILL GIVE MORE AMMUNITION TO THE PRESIDENT'S CRITICS.
TO HEAR SOMETHING THAT WAS SO OBVIOUSLY UNTRUE,
IT CHANGED A LOT OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC'S VIEW
OF THE WHOLE SITUATION.
Redford: ROSE MARY WOODS WOULD STAND BY HER STORY.
BOB WOODWARD WOULD LATER WRITE,
"THE 18 1/2-MINUTE GAP BECAME A SYMBOL
"FOR NIXON'S ENTIRE WATERGATE PROBLEM.
"THE TRUTH HAD BEEN DELETED.
THE TRUTH WAS MISSING."
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
[ BELL DINGS ]
Redford: WATERGATE WAS BECOMING A BLOODY MESS.
NIXON WAS A WOUNDED PRESIDENT.
"ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN" WAS A VERY VIOLENT MOVIE.
IT WAS VIOLENT IN A DIFFERENT SENSE.
YOU DIDN'T SEE ANYBODY SHOT OR BLOWN UP OR POISONED,
BUT PEOPLE WERE OUT TO KILL EACH OTHER.
Deep Throat: GET OUT YOUR NOTEBOOK. THERE'S MORE.
AND THE WEAPONS WERE TELEPHONES, TYPEWRITERS, AND PENS.
YOUR LIVES ARE IN DANGER.
SO, AS A RESULT, WE WOULD ACCENTUATE THE VOLUME
IN ALL THOSE INSTRUMENTS.
Brokaw: I LOVE THE SCENE WHEN REDFORD,
PLAYING THE PART OF BOB WOODWARD,
SEES CARL REWORKING HIS STORY.
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
HOW'S IT GOING?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING? POLISHING A LITTLE.
YOU'RE WHAT? POLISHING.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT?
NOTHING, NOTHING. IT'S GOOD.
THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH IT?
I'M JUST HELPING. IT'S A LITTLE FUZZY.
MAY I HAVE IT?
I DON'T THINK YOU'RE SAYING WHAT YOU MEAN.
I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN.
[ BELL DINGS ] NOT HERE.
I CAN'T TELL FROM THIS
WHETHER HUNT WORKS FOR COLSON OR COLSON WORKS FOR HUNT.
MAY I HAVE IT, PLEASE? AND SOME OF THE CONCLUSION'S
NOT THERE. MAY I HAVE IT?
YES. I'M NOT LOOKING FOR A FIGHT.
I'M NOT LOOKING FOR A FIGHT, EITHER.
I'M JUST AWARE OF THE FACT
THAT YOU ONLY BEEN HERE NINE MONTHS.
NOW, HAVING KNOWN BOTH OF THEM,
THAT WAS SO TRUE,
AND THAT'S WHAT GOES ON IN NEWSROOMS.
IF YOU'RE GONNA DO IT, DO IT RIGHT.
HERE ARE MY NOTES.
IF YOU'RE GONNA HYPE IT, HYPE IT WITH THE FACTS.
I DON'T MIND WHAT YOU DID. I MIND THE WAY YOU DID IT.
Redford: THE THING ABOUT BERNSTEIN
THAT I THINK YOU CAPTURED SO WELL
WAS HIS ASSUREDNESS
ABOUT HOW RIGHT HE WAS, YOU KNOW?
[ LAUGHS ]
AT THE SAME TIME, TOTALLY INTUITIVE,
TOTALLY INSTINCTIVE, WHERE HE HAD TO PUSH WOODWARD,
AND YOU'RE REWRITING ME... RIGHT, RIGHT.
...'CAUSE YOU'RE A BETTER WRITER,
AND YOU DO IT WITHOUT EVEN THINKING
HOW BRUISED IT'S GETTING YOU.
WOODWARD WAS -- IF THE RIGHT WORD IS,
I DON'T KNOW, "DIDACTIC."
HE WOULD GO "A," "B," "C," "D" IN HIS INVESTIGATIVE WORK,
AND BERNSTEIN WOULD GO "A," "B," "H."
Woodward: WE HAD THE LUXURY OF A FAT, DYNAMIC INSTITUTION,
THE WASHINGTON POST.
IT WAS RIGHT AT ITS PEAK.
THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN SOME CHICANERY
IN AMERICAN POLITICS.
YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE SOME UNDERHANDED DEALINGS --
NOTHING COMPARABLE TO THIS.
Scarborough: IT ENDED UP THAT WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN
USHERED IN A NEW ERA OF JOURNALISM
THAT OPENED UP THE WHITE HOUSE IN A WAY
THAT WOULD HAVE MADE LBJ AND JFK AND FDR VERY UNCOMFORTABLE.
MARCUS, EVERYONE ASKS THE QUESTION,
"COULD THE POST DO A STORY LIKE WATERGATE
OR DO WATERGATE NOW?"
WHAT'S YOUR...
YOU KNOW, IN TODAY'S WORLD,
THAT STORY WOULD CATCH FIRE MUCH FASTER.
THE MINUTE THE BREAK-IN OCCURRED,
YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD TWEET IT.
BOTH SIDES WOULD SEIZE ON IT.
IT'S AN ELECTION CAMPAIGN.
YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD BE USING IT IMMEDIATELY
AS FODDER FOR THEIR -- BOTH SIDES IN THE BATTLE.
EVERYBODY WOULD CHASE.
I MEAN, THERE WOULD BE BLOGGERS,
AND, AS A RESULT, IT WOULD BE MUCH HARDER TO DO WHAT YOU DID
PROBABLY BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE SUCH --
IT WOULD CLAMP DOWN MUCH FASTER.
Engelberg: IT'S A GREAT QUESTION HOW WATERGATE MIGHT UNFOLD
IN THE CURRENT NEWS ENVIRONMENT.
YOU COULD LOOK AT THE SORT OF GLASS-HALF-FULL ARGUMENT
AND SAY, MY GOODNESS --
WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE ON TWITTER
AND ALL THESE REPORTERS,
YOU KNOW, AND THE 24-HOUR NEWS CYCLE
THAT IF A BIG STORY BEGAN TO EMERGE,
IT WOULD NEVER BE TWO LONELY GUYS
PURSUING IT FOREVER 'CAUSE, YOU KNOW,
THE ENTIRE PACK OF THE CYBER UNIVERSE WOULD BAY LIKE WOLVES
AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE UNTIL IT HAPPENED.
Man on radio: ...FIGURE IN AMERICAN POLITICS...
Carr: THEY USED TO SAY A REPORTER
WAS ONLY GOOD AS HIS PHONE NUMBERS.
WE CAN HUNT AND STALK SOURCES SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
THE TOOLBOX THAT I HAVE AVAILABLE TO ME AS A REPORTER --
DIGITAL VOICE RECORDING,
E-MAIL, SOCIAL MEDIA --
WE CAN TRUTH-TELL THEM IN REAL TIME.
WHEN THEY SAY SOMETHING,
WE CAN BE GOOGLING WHAT THEY'RE SAYING,
PLAYING BACK TO THEM.
WE HAVE ACCESS TO ALL KNOWN THOUGHT
ONE CLICK AWAY --
ABILITY TO SURROUND AND FERRET OUT SOURCE
IN A WAY THAT WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN
ONLY DREAMED OF.
THE INTERNET IS A TOOL
JUST LIKE A TYPEWRITER IS A TOOL, TELEPHONE IS A TOOL.
AT THE END OF THE DAY,
JOURNALISM REQUIRES INCREDIBLY DOGGED PERSISTENCE
ON THE PART OF JOURNALISTS WHO ARE SEEKING THE TRUTH.
WE WERE OVER HERE SOMEWHERE.
WE WORKED OVER HERE.
I'M HERE. YOU'RE THERE. YOU'RE HERE, AND I'M HERE.
AND IT WAS THE NOISE OF TYPEWRITERS,
AND IT WAS THE SMOKE OF PEOPLE WHO SMOKED...
PEOPLE SMOKING.
...38 YEARS AGO.
WHY DO THINGS HAVE TO CHANGE?
Bernstein: EVERY DAY, BOB AND I
WOULD GO HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE TOGETHER IN THE MORNING
IN A LITTLE VENDING-MACHINE ROOM OFF THE NEWSROOM.
IT SURE IS QUIET IN HERE. [ LAUGHS ]
AND ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY,
NOT THAT LONG AFTER THE BREAK-IN,
I PUT A DIME IN THE COFFEE MACHINE,
WHICH IS WHAT IT COST THEN,
AND I LITERALLY FELT THIS CHILL GO DOWN MY NECK.
I MEAN, LITERALLY -- MADE MY HAIR STICK UP, I THINK.
AND I TURNED TO WOODWARD, AND I SAID,
"OH, MY GOD, THIS PRESIDENT IS GONNA BE IMPEACHED."
AND WOODWARD LOOKED AT ME, AND HE SAID,
"OH, MY GOD. YOU'RE RIGHT."
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD A PERSONAL WORD
WITH REGARD TO AN ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN OF GREAT CONCERN
TO ALL AMERICANS OVER THE PAST YEAR.
I REFER, OF COURSE, TO THE INVESTIGATIONS
OF THE SO-CALLED WATERGATE AFFAIR.
I BELIEVE THE TIME HAS COME TO BRING THAT INVESTIGATION
AND THE OTHER INVESTIGATIONS OF THIS MATTER TO AN END.
ONE YEAR OF WATERGATE IS ENOUGH.
[ APPLAUSE ]
Redford: BUT AS HARD AS NIXON TRIED,
WATERGATE WOULD NOT GO AWAY.
Rodino: THE MEETING WILL COME TO ORDER.
RESOLVE THAT THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
IS AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED
TO INVESTIGATE FULLY AND COMPLETELY
WHETHER SUFFICIENT GROUNDS EXIST
TO IMPEACH RICHARD M. NIXON,
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
IT TOOK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO FORCE CONGRESS INTO ACTION.
THIS WAS NOT LIKE WHAT HAPPENED WITH PRESIDENT CLINTON,
WHERE A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR SAID, "YOU SHOULD DO AN IMPEACHMENT."
THERE WERE THOSE OF US IN CONGRESS
WHO WANTED TO TAKE ACTION, BUT THE POWERS THAT BE REFUSED.
IT WAS ONLY WHEN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
BROKE DOWN THAT WALL OF RESISTANCE AND SAID,
"YOU'VE GOT TO DO WHAT YOU CAN DO
"UNDER THE CONSTITUTION
TO REIN IN THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENT."
Redford: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE LOSING PATIENCE,
AND THE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE WAS FURIOUS.
THEY KNEW THEY HAD ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE.
THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF RECORDINGS,
BUT NIXON WAS REFUSING TO RELEASE ANY OF THEM.
Reporter: PRESIDENT NIXON TODAY DEFIED SUBPOENAS
DEMANDING THAT HE PRODUCE TAPES AND PAPERS IN HIS POSSESSION,
AND THE COUNTRY MOVED CLOSER TO A CLASH
BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE CONGRESS
AND THE COURTS,
WHICH WILL BE UNPRECEDENTED IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
IT BECAME CLEAR HE WASN'T GONNA PRODUCE THEM VOLUNTARILY.
THERE'S A REASON WHY HE'S DRAWING THE LINE,
HE'S TAKING ALL THIS FLAK.
THERE MUST BE SOME DAMAGING THINGS ON THERE.
I WAS CONCERNED.
WE WERE CONCERNED THAT HE MIGHT DISPOSE OF THE TAPES.
THAT IN AND OF ITSELF COULD BE A CRIMINAL OFFENSE --
THE BURNING OF THE TAPES, DESTROYING THE TAPES.
NIXON NEVER THOUGHT THE TAPES THAT HE WAS MAKING SECRETLY
WOULD EVER SURFACE PUBLICLY.
THEY WOULD ALWAYS BE FOR HIS PRIVATE USE.
Woodward: IT WAS NEVER DESIGNED THAT THEY WOULD COME OUT,
SO THERE'S A KIND OF SPONTANEITY AND FREE FLOW
OF PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THEIR AUTHENTIC CONCLUSIONS,
AND IT'S HORRIFYING.
Man: MR. PRESIDENT, YOU'VE MADE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR
YOU DON'T INTEND TO RELEASE THOSE TAPES.
PERFECTLY CLEAR? PERFECTLY CLEAR.
[ LAUGHTER ]
Redford: IT WOULD BE UP TO THE SUPREME COURT
TO MAKE THE DECISION.
ON JULY 24, 1974, THE COURT ISSUED ITS RULING.
GOOD MORNING.
THE SUPREME COURT HAS JUST RULED ON THE TAPES CONTROVERSY,
AND HERE IS CARL STERN, WHO HAS THAT RULING.
IT IS THE UNANIMOUS DECISION, DOUG, 8-0 --
JUSTICE REHNQUIST TOOK NO PART IN THE DECISION --
ORDERING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
TO TURN OVER THE TAPES.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
Holtzman: THE COURT VOTED UNANIMOUSLY --
UNANIMOUSLY -- TO REQUIRE THE TAPES TO BE RELEASED.
SOME OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE COURT HAD BEEN APPOINTED
BY RICHARD NIXON HIMSELF.
SO YOU HAD THE COURT SYSTEM ACTING IN A NONPARTISAN WAY,
IN A CREDIBLE WAY, REGARDLESS OF POLITICS.
IMAGINE THAT IN THE POLITICIZED SUPREME COURT
THAT WE'VE HAD IN OUR RECENT HISTORY.
Dean: WHILE NIXON TRIED TO PUT ON THE PRETEND ACT
THAT OPERATIONS WERE GOING ON AS NORMAL, THEY WEREN'T.
THEY WERE DISINTEGRATING EVERY DAY.
Redford: THREE DAYS AFTER THE SUPREME COURT RULING,
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TOOK THE STEP MOST DREADED
BY THE PRESIDENT --
IMPEACHMENT.
NIXON'S FATE NOW RESTED IN THE HANDS OF THE COMMITTEE.
TODAY I AM AN INQUISITOR,
AND HYPERBOLE WOULD NOT BE FICTIONAL
AND WOULD NOT OVERSTATE
THE SOLEMNNESS THAT I FEEL RIGHT NOW.
MY FAITH IN THE CONSTITUTION IS WHOLE.
IT IS COMPLETE. IT IS TOTAL.
AND I AM NOT GOING TO SIT HERE AND BE AN IDLE SPECTATOR
TO THE DIMINUTION, THE SUBVERSION,
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CONSTITUTION.
Man: MR. HUNGATE.
AYE.
MR. CONYERS. AYE.
Holtzman: SOME REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED FOR THE IMPEACHMENT,
SOME DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED FOR IMPEACHMENT --
THEY WERE PUTTING THEIR POLITICAL LIVES ON THE LINE,
AND ALL OF US WERE PUTTING OUR REPUTATIONS ON THE LINE.
MISS HOLTZMAN.
AYE.
WE VOTED ON THE IMPEACHMENT.
IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST SOBER AND SOLEMN MOMENTS IN MY LIFE
AND I THINK IN THE LIFE OF EVERYBODY ON THAT COMMITTEE.
EVERYBODY UNDERSTOOD THE STAKES FOR THE COUNTRY.
THAT'S WHAT THIS WAS ALL ABOUT.
AND IT WAS ABOVE PARTY.
IT WAS WHAT WAS GOOD FOR AMERICA
AND WHAT OUR DEMOCRACY REQUIRED.
MR. RAILSBACK.
AYE.
IT WAS THE REPUBLICANS THAT ULTIMATELY PROVIDED
A REAL MEASURE OF PUTTING COUNTRY AHEAD OF PARTY.
Redford: NIXON HELD HIS GROUND.
HE INSISTED HE KNEW NOTHING OF THE COVER-UP.
BUT AMONG THE THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF TAPES,
ONE CONVERSATION RECORDED SHORTLY AFTER THE BREAK-IN
WOULD DESTROY WHAT WAS LEFT OF HIS CREDIBILITY
AND HIS PRESIDENCY.
WHAT FINALLY CATCHES HIM IS WHEN THE TAPES ARE RELEASED,
THE SMOKING GUN TAPE PUTS THE LIE TO THE STATEMENT
THAT HE HAD NO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE.
Redford: ON THE TAPE, YOU HEAR NIXON TELLING HALDEMAN
TO DIRECT THE CIA TO STOP AN FBI INVESTIGATION.
THOSE WORDS CLEARLY LED TO AN OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.
AND I WAS ALWAYS AMAZED AT THE PRESIDENT'S NONCHALANCE.
HE DIDN'T SEEM TO CARE.
I WANTED TO SAY TO HIM, "MY GOD, MAN!
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST SAID?
DO YOU KNOW THOSE TAPES ARE ROLLING?"
Wine-Banks: AFTER THE SMOKING GUN TAPE CAME OUT,
THE PRESIDENT LOST ALL SUPPORT --
REPUBLICAN AS WELL AS DEMOCRAT.
REPUBLICANS WENT TO HIM AND SAID, "YOU HAVE TO RESIGN.
WE CANNOT SUPPORT YOU ANYMORE."
IT WAS REPUBLICANS, FINALLY, WHO MADE SURE
THAT NIXON HAD TO LEAVE OFFICE --
BARRY GOLDWATER MARCHING DOWN TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
SO, WE SAT THERE IN THE OVAL ROOM,
AND THE PRESIDENT ACTED LIKE HE JUST PLAYED GOLF
AND JUST HAD A HOLE IN ONE.
YOU'D NEVER THINK THIS GUY'S TAIL WAS IN A CRACK.
NIXON SAID, "HOW MANY VOTES IF I'M IMPEACHED IN THE HOUSE?
HOW MANY VOTES IN THE SENATE -- ABOUT 20?"
AND GOLDWATER SAID...
"VERY FEW AND NOT MINE."
Redford: THE 37th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WAS FACING
THE ULTIMATE DISGRACE.
FOR A MAN WHO CRAVED POWER, THE QUESTION WAS,
WOULD NIXON CONTINUE TO FIGHT?
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
I DON'T -- I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY
WHERE I WAS OR WHAT I WAS DOING
THE NIGHT NIXON RESIGNED,
BUT I REMEMBER THE FEELING -- RELIEF.
OKAY. SIR.
Nixon: HEY, YOU'RE BETTER-LOOKING THAN I AM.
WHY DON'T YOU STAY HERE? [ CHUCKLES ]
BLONDES, THEY SAY, PHOTOGRAPH BETTER THAN BRUNETTES.
Reporter: WE'RE STANDING BY NOW
FOR PRESIDENT RICHARD MILHOUS NIXON,
OF THE UNITED STATES.
HAVE YOU GOT AN EXTRA CAMERA IN CASE THE LIGHTS GO OUT?
WHERE -- WHO'D WE GET IT FROM? IS THAT AN NBC?
LET ME SEE THE --
DID YOU GET THESE LIGHTS PROPERLY LIT?
Man: YES.
MY EYES ALWAYS HAVE --
YOU'LL FIND AS YOU GET PAST 60 --
THAT'S ENOUGH. THANKS.
IN JUST A MOMENT NOW,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
WILL BEGIN HIS SPEECH --
PERHAPS HIS LAST SPEECH FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
GOOD EVENING.
Woodward: WE WATCHED IT SITTING ON THE FLOOR,
EATING BALONEY SANDWICHES
AND HAVING A SENSE OF UNREALITY, QUITE FRANKLY.
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.
Bernstein: I WAS JUST AWESTRUCK AT THE WHOLE THING --
NO GLOATING, VERY LITTLE SENSE OF SELF.
IT WAS REALLY ABOUT THE MAGNIFICENCE
OF WHAT HAD OCCURRED IN TERMS OF THE RIGHT THING.
THEREFORE, I SHALL RESIGN THE PRESIDENCY,
EFFECTIVE AT NOON TOMORROW.
VICE PRESIDENT FORD WILL BE SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT
AT THAT HOUR IN THIS OFFICE.
OUR FIRST REACTION REALLY WAS,
"OKAY, HE'S NOT PRESIDENT ANYMORE.
HE'S JUST A CITIZEN. NOW WE CAN INDICT HIM."
HONESTLY, THAT IS WHAT WE THOUGHT.
Stein: THE MORNING HE RESIGNED,
I REMEMBER I WALKED DOWN THE STREET
AND BOUGHT A BOTTLE OF SCOTCH.
EARLIER TODAY THE EAST ROOM OF THE WHITE HOUSE
WAS THE SCENE OF AN EMOTIONAL MEETING
BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT, HIS CABINET,
AND THE AIDES WHO HAVE STAYED WITH HIM
DURING ALL OF THESE YEARS
OF MR. NIXON'S TENURE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
YOU HAVE THIS PRESIDENT WHO IS BITTERLY RESENTFUL
OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO HIM IN HIS POLITICAL CAREER
OVERLAID WITH A SHAKESPEAREAN LEVEL OF PARANOIA,
AND HE WAS WILLING TO ENGAGE IN EXTRAORDINARY ACTS
TO PRESERVE HIS POWER.
Stein: ALL PRESIDENTS ARE HUMAN BEINGS.
I ASSUME THEY WILL HAVE FAULTS AND FLAWS.
I ASSUME THEY WILL MAKE MISTAKES.
I ASSUME THAT ONCE THEY'RE CAUGHT IN THEIR MISTAKES,
BECAUSE OF WHO THEY ARE AND THE KIND OF PEOPLE THEY ARE,
THEY WILL TRY TO COVER UP THOSE MISTAKES.
[ APPLAUSE ]
Brokaw: I WAS IN THE EAST ROOM OF THE WHITE HOUSE
WHEN HE MADE THAT VERY BITTERSWEET,
VERY POIGNANT, MAUDLIN SPEECH
WITH HIS FAMILY GATHERED AROUND HIM.
I LOOK AROUND HERE,
AND I SEE SO MANY ON THIS STAFF THAT, YOU KNOW, I...
SHOULD HAVE BEEN BY YOUR OFFICES AND SHAKEN HANDS,
AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE TALKED TO YOU
AND FOUND OUT HOW TO RUN THE WORLD.
[ CHUCKLES ]
[ Voice breaking ] EVERYBODY WANTS TO TELL THE PRESIDENT WANT TO DO.
[ SNIFFLES ] AND, UH, BOY,
HE NEEDS TO BE TOLD MANY TIMES --
BUT I JUST HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME.
HE'S NOT LOOKING INTO THE CAMERA.
HE'S KIND OF STARING OFF
AND GOING INTO THIS STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
ABOUT HIS MOTHER, WHO WAS A SAINT.
I GUESS ALL OF YOU WOULD SAY THIS ABOUT YOUR MOTHER.
MY MOTHER WAS A SAINT.
AND THAT'S THE MOST HONEST SPEECH
I'VE EVER HEARD ANY POLITICIAN GIVE,
AND I'M STANDING THERE --
MUCH, MUCH THINNER, YOUNGER VERSION OF MYSELF --
CRYING.
WE THINK THAT WHEN WE LOSE AN ELECTION,
WE THINK THAT WHEN WE SUFFER A DEFEAT...
THAT ALL HAS ENDED.
[ Voice breaking ] IT REALLY WAS SAD -- REALLY SAD.
AND I -- [CLEARS THROAT]
I DON'T THINK ANY PRESIDENT HAS BEEN MORE WRONGLY PERSECUTED
THAN NIXON EVER.
I JUST THINK HE WAS A SAINT.
ALWAYS REMEMBER OTHERS MAY HATE YOU,
BUT THOSE WHO HATE YOU DON'T WIN
UNLESS YOU HATE THEM,
AND THEN YOU DESTROY YOURSELF.
Bernstein: ULTIMATELY, WHAT COMES THROUGH ON THE TAPES
AND WHAT COMES THROUGH IN NIXON'S ACTIONS IS HIS HATE,
HIS VENGEFUL HATE,
AND IN THAT LAST FAREWELL,
HE GIVES THAT SELF-REVEALING LINE
THAT HATE WILL DESTROY YOU.
THAT THIS PISTON OF HATE,
THIS ALL-ENCOMPASSING DESIRE
TO GET THE OPPOSITION, TO WIRETAP, TO SPY,
TO DESTROY, TO SABOTAGE --
THE UGLINESS OF WARFARE WAS BROUGHT TO AMERICAN POLITICS
BY RICHARD NIXON,
AND THE DAY HE RESIGNED, HE KIND OF SEEMED TO GET IT,
SEEMED TO SAY, "YEAH, I DESTROYED MYSELF."
Brokaw: THERE WERE NO TANKS IN THE STREET.
THERE WERE NO ARMED MEN AROUND THE WHITE HOUSE.
WE HAD THIS EXCEPTIONALLY PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF POWER
AT A VERY TRAUMATIC TIME IN OUR LIVES.
THE PRESIDENCY WAS SECURED BY THE DECENCY OF GERALD FORD
AND BY THE EXTRAORDINARY STRENGTH
OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
THAT DEFINES WHAT THE PRESIDENCY IS.
Dean: THERE WAS THIS RELIEF
THAT, SOMEHOW, THE SYSTEM HAD WORKED,
AND THEN THERE WERE, IN THE AFTERMATH,
A LOT OF REFORMS THAT WERE PUT IN PLACE.
THE MEDIA CHANGED.
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM HAD BEEN AN INCIDENTAL SITUATION
PRE-WATERGATE.
POST-WATERGATE, IT IS -- IT ALMOST BECOMES THE STANDARD.
[ HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING ]
PRESIDENTS BEFORE WATERGATE HAD BEEN --
REALLY, BY MOST REPORTERS --
BEEN GIVEN A PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE.
IN THE AFTERMATH, THEY'RE ALMOST PRESUMED GUILTY.
IT REALLY DRAMATICALLY CHANGES THE RELATIONSHIP
OF THE NEWS MEDIA WITH THE PRESIDENT.
Bernstein: THE SYSTEM HAD WORKED, INCLUDING THE ROLE OF THE PRESS,
BUT, REALLY, THE IDEA THAT THE SYSTEM HAD WORKED
IN THIS AMAZING WAY,
THAT A CRIMINAL PRESIDENT HAD BEEN FORCED TO LEAVE OFFICE,
THE PRINCIPLE THAT NOBODY IN THIS COUNTRY
IS ABOVE THE LAW,
INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Redford: FOR NIXON AND THE NATION,
ONE QUESTION REMAINED UNANSWERED --
WOULD THE PRESIDENT NOW BE HAULED INTO COURT?
[ TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING ]
Redford: AFTER NIXON LEFT OFFICE,
WE LEARNED THAT THE WATERGATE BREAK-IN,
THAT THIRD-RATE BURGLARY, WAS NOT AN ANOMALY.
THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION WAS INVOLVED
IN A WHOLE RANGE OF QUESTIONABLE ACTIVITIES.
Maddow: BREAKING AND ENTERING, WIRETAPPING,
DESTRUCTION OF GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS,
FORGERY OF STATE DEPARTMENT DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS,
SECRET SLUSH FUNDS,
PLANS TO AUDIT TAX RETURNS FOR POLITICAL RETALIATION,
CONSPIRACY TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE --
ALL OF THIS BY THE LAW-AND-ORDER ADMINISTRATION OF RICHARD NIXON.
SOUNDS BAD WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT, HUH?
Redford: IN THE END, SOME 40 PEOPLE PLED GUILTY
TO WATERGATE-RELATED CRIMES.
JOHN EHRLICHMAN, BOB HALDEMAN, JOHN DEAN,
AND 16 OTHERS WENT TO JAIL.
YOU KNOW, TO THIS DAY, I'M NOT QUITE SURE
WHEN I ENTERED THE CONSPIRACY TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE.
THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS
I'M ACTUALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.
WHEN DID I CROSS THE LINE?
WHEN DID I ENTER THAT ILLEGAL CONSPIRACY?
NO QUESTION I WENT ACROSS IT.
THERE WAS A REAL MAJOR BREAKDOWN IN PERSONAL INTEGRITY
AS WELL AS ORGANIZATIONAL INTEGRITY
ON THE PART OF US THAT WERE GIVEN THOSE ASSIGNMENTS.
I'M NOT QUITE SURE EXACTLY WHERE I'M GOING TO BE
FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, BUT, UH, THAT'S, UH --
I'M GONNA MISS YOU ALL.
IT ALSO REQUIRES YOU TO ASK THE ETHICAL QUESTIONS.
IS THIS RIGHT? IS IT RESPECTFUL?
IS IT RESPONSIBLE? IS IT FAIR?
WE DIDN'T ASK ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS,
AND WE SHOULD HAVE STARTED WITH, "IS IT LEGAL?"
WE WERE SO CAUGHT UP IN TRYING TO SERVE
THE PRESIDENT'S NEEDS OR DESIRES
THAT WE DID NOT ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.
I, GERALD R. FORD,
DO GRANT A FULL, FREE, AND ABSOLUTE PARDON
UNTO RICHARD NIXON
FOR ALL OFFENSES AGAINST THE UNITED STATES, WHICH HE...
Redford: PRESIDENT FORD'S PARDON OF RICHARD NIXON
STUNNED THE NATION.
NIXON'S LEGAL PROBLEMS WERE NOW OVER.
WELL, WHEN THE PRESIDENT DOES IT,
THAT MEANS THAT IT IS NOT ILLEGAL.
BY DEFINITION? EXACTLY.
THE FORMER PRESIDENT
WAS STILL NOT ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY.
THREE YEARS AFTER RESIGNING,
NIXON WAS PAID TO PARTICIPATE IN AN HISTORIC INTERVIEW
WITH THE BRITISH TELEVISION JOURNALIST DAVID FROST.
AT THE VERY END, THE INEVITABLE QUESTION CAME UP.
DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU EVER OBSTRUCTED JUSTICE
OR WERE PART OF A CONSPIRACY TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE?
Frost: HE WOULD NOT --
HE WOULDN'T REALLY ADMIT ANYTHING,
NOT EVEN MISTAKES OR WHATEVER.
HE WAS REALLY STONEWALLING COMPLETELY,
AND HE WAS BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE THE HAUNTED NIXON
OF THE ACTUAL WATERGATE HEARINGS
RATHER THAN THE CALIFORNIAN EX-PRESIDENT.
AND SO FINALLY, I SAID TO HIM,
"BUT WON'T YOU GO FURTHER THAN THE WORD 'MISTAKE'?"
WHAT WORD WOULD YOU EXPRESS?
AND THAT WAS A REAL GOB-STOPPING,
GOB-SMACKING MOMENT.
MY GOODNESS. THAT'S A --
I THREW ASIDE MY CLIPBOARD,
AND I SAID, "WELL, I THINK THERE ARE THREE THINGS
"YOU'VE GOT TO SAY.
"THE FIRST IS THAT, IN FACT, YOU DID GO
"TO THE VERY VERGE OF CRIMINALITY,
"AND, SECONDLY, THAT YOU LET DOWN
YOUR OATH OF OFFICE, 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
AND MOST OF ALL YOU,
BUT I THINK THAT PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR IT,
AND I THINK UNLESS YOU SAY IT,
YOU'RE GONNA BE HAUNTED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
YOU'RE WANTING ME TO SAY
THAT I PARTICIPATED IN AN ILLEGAL COVER-UP?
NO.
THE KEY TO NIXON REALLY IS
HIS DISLOCATED RELATIONSHIP WITH TRUTH.
Bradlee: "IF TRUE..."
GREATEST WORDS EVER WRITTEN IN JOURNALISM.
WHAT IS THE TRUTH? WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?
Bradlee: YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY PRETTY TIRED, RIGHT?
WELL, YOU SHOULD BE.
GO ON HOME. GET A NICE, HOT BATH.
REST UP 15 MINUTES
AND GET YOUR ASSES BACK IN GEAR.
WE'RE UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE, YOU KNOW,
AND YOU PUT US THERE.
NOTHING'S RIDING ON THIS
EXCEPT THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION,
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS,
AND MAYBE THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY.
NOT THAT ANY OF THAT MATTERS.
ARGUABLY, MAYBE THE BEST MOVIE ON REPORTING MADE.
WHAT I DIDN'T EXPECT WAS
THE ECHO OF THE MOVIE TO LAST THAT LONG.
TO THIS DAY, I KEEP HEARING ABOUT IT.
ONE THING ABOUT WATERGATE --
IT WAS GONNA CHANGE THE CULTURE OF WASHINGTON.
IT DID NO SUCH THING.
YOU KNOW THAT, OF COURSE,
THIS KIND OF THING IS GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN.
AND IT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN A MUCH, MUCH BIGGER SCALE.
WHETHER YOU TALK ABOUT FDR OR WHETHER YOU TALK ABOUT NIXON
OR WHETHER YOU TALK ABOUT KENNEDY
OR WHETHER YOU TALK ABOUT CLINTON,
WE HAVE PRESIDENTS THAT SEEM TO BE
IN POLITICS FOR THE RIGHT REASON
BUT PRESIDENTS THAT ALSO HAVE A FATAL FLAW.
RICHARD NIXON'S FATAL FLAW BROUGHT HIM DOWN.
Thompson: PEOPLE IN HIGH OFFICE TEND TO NOT WANT
TO LAY THEMSELVES OPEN TO THEIR ENEMIES
AND ACKNOWLEDGE EMBARRASSING THINGS
OR MISTAKES THAT THEY HAVE MADE, AND THEY TEND TO WANT TO LIE
WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT.
ALL THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN AROUND LONG BEFORE WATERGATE
AND STILL ARE AROUND.
IT WAS AN AGE-OLD STORY
OF AN ABUSE OF POWER
AND FORGETTING THAT YOU'RE ACCOUNTABLE
TO THE PEOPLE THAT PUT YOU THERE.
AND THERE'LL BE MORE, AND WE'LL SURVIVE.
Woodward: WHAT PULSES THROUGH THE NIXON STORY
IS THE QUESTION, "WHY?"
WHEN HE WAS ELECTED,
THE GOODWILL OF THE NATION AND THE WORLD -- IT WAS HIS.
THAT'S THE SADNESS OF THE NIXON PRESIDENCY
OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN.
Redford: WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN
ARE AMONG THE MOST FAMOUS JOURNALISTS OF OUR AGE.
THEIR NAMES WILL ALWAYS BE ASSOCIATED
WITH THE DOWNFALL OF A PRESIDENT.
IT'S A MOMENT TO ASK
WHAT THE GREATEST POLITICAL SCANDAL IN MODERN HISTORY
MEANS TO US.
IT'S AN EVOLUTIONARY TALE, AND WE'VE EVOLVED,
AND WE'RE OLDER.
BOB AND I BROUGHT VERY DIFFERENT BAGGAGE TO THE STORY,
AND IT MESHED.
SO, THIS WAS WHEN YOU WERE 29,
YOU'LL NEVER SEE A STORY THIS GOOD AGAIN.
WELL, WHO KNOWS? WHO KNOWS?
YOU KNOW? [ LAUGHTER ]
WHO KNOWS?
Redford: IT'S A TALE TO MAYBE INSPIRE A WHOLE NEW GENERATION --
MAYBE -- A GENERATION WHO ARE NOW LEARNING ABOUT WATERGATE
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.