"Smoking Gun": Richard Nixon and Bob Haldeman discuss the Watergate break-in, June 23, 1972

[@SuperLordHawHaw]

I'm amazed that they must've been aware they were being recorded but they still had this conversation there

[@Chuked]

Nixon knew about the tapes, he personally wanted tapes that was his mistake

[@christianthechristian8569]

​@@ChukedNo he did it for historical purposes. And the reason water gate was a scandal was because Nixon tried to cover it up. If he didn't do that there would of been no issue.

[@tomloft2000]

At the time Nixon didn't think anyone else would ever hear them.

[@clint81]

Cocky ness and arrogance

[@SiVlog1989]

Nixon wanted the tapes for his memoirs, in addition, he wanted to protect himself from being undermined by Henry Kissinger. The only problem was, although very few in the Administration were aware of the taping system, as part of the Senate Watergate Committee routine questioning, one of the staff asked exactly the right question to Alexander Butterfield about the nature of the Taping System, which he was forced to admit to the existence of said tapes

[@AlanMitchell-v6g]

My 9th birthday. August 1974 was a relief after YEARS of accelerating and overwhelming news daily on Watergate.

[@michaeldavis2021]

How did Nixon being a lawyer not think these tapings would or could come back to haunt him? I knew that as a child when we wanted to let our mother hear our older brother use profanity when out of her presence. She swore our brother was a saint. My brother never forgot what we did he would bring it up at family functions until the he died in 2016.

[@zpakk4499]

When you are the most powerful man in the world, I imagine it's hard to stop and think before you act.

[@seancampbell9740]

How did he escape from not being jailed

[@canpitt]

@@seancampbell9740 Ford pardoned him.

[@connordeyoung6108]

It's a long story and it comes down to him not trusting those he talked to as well as wanting to make sure foreign translators were being honest. If you Google it you'll get an explanation from one of the men who helped set it up on an archival website

[@hobypatrick]

He felt executive privilege would protect the recordings. But SCOTUS ruling said with the scope of the evidence against him that he had to turn the tapes over.

[@Youtubeisntlettingmeuseczech]

I hate that any Nixon video tends to turn the comment section into a giant bruh moment

[@connordeyoung6108]

It's painful 😢

[@andrewb2475]

Bob Haldeman once said, Nixon should have taken all the tapes onto the White House lawns and set fire to them...............job done!

[@eamonwright7488]

What’s worse is Nixon allowed Haldeman to take them to his house and listen to them after he resigned as his Chief of Staff, then admitted that under oath like it was nothing.

[@pwrofrob]

Listening to this, I kinda get the sense that Nixon (and Haldeman, for that matter) were in the dark about this. Like they knew of 'campaign operations' of a nefarious nature, not unlike what any major campaign would do, but they seem caught off guard by what the burglars actually did, like it wasn't something they approved of. I know history records it differently, but that's what I'm hearing anyway.

[@jaibruh]

He was the President. Would be pretty foolish if he lacked the awareness of what was going on when he very much was a beneficiary.

[@moirhoh]

I agree. Politics attracts odd people. Nixon apparently did not know what they were doing. They were free lancing. In addition, they didn't find anything damaging to the Democrats. Compared to what Biden has done this was nothing.

[@TT_1221]

Yes it's interesting. I suspect Nixon knew in advance of all the campaign's nefarious operations like the watergate break in and the Elsberg office break in but not the details. Impossible to say for sure of course. When it all went wrong and the cover up descended into what we hear on this tape, it probably caught him off guard. The sense of disapproval might also be a realization that he did have advance knowledge, it was a total mess up and so let's just bury it. Disapproval of himself and instructions he issued or approvals he granted. Advance knowledge or not, I think he reaped what he sowed. The cover up did him in but his biggest mistake I think was recording all conversations automatically. LBJ only had certain conversations recorded manually. Other Presidents probably did much worse in but Nixon's tapes really ended it all for him. He should have destroyed them after their existence was revealed.

[@jdunderwood2010]

This is like jaywalking compared to our corrupt lawfare government today.

[@adamredfield]

"Felt will cooperate because he is ambitious." Ironic. Because Felt was indeed ambitious and was passed over for the top job he did NOT cooperate and became Woodward's source "Deep Throat"

[@EBUNNY2012]

Maybe. Maybe not. Seems a lot of people were trying to take Nixon down with an agenda. Not just a guy named Mark Felt.

[@adamredfield]

@@EBUNNY2012 oh I couldn't agree with you more. Many people were out to wreck Nixon, My comment had a pretty narrow focus. Nixon believed Felt's ambition would help and it hurt.

[@jamespfitz]

No it was Felt. It's been confirmed. Felt leaked everything because he got passed over. Little bitch.

[@phooeyfudge]

Felt got passed over because Nixon suspected him of being the leak. Not the other way around.

[@barryallen5313]

Felt DID cooperate.But on the side of law and order namely the WASHINGTON POST.( Not the enemy of the people as prezidont Dump said)

[@filmsage007]

I still think that Nixon should have informed his lawyers about the tapes soon enough. When he resigned, I think it says a lot about the news then compared with the news now

[@easyenetwork2023]

These tapes are what led to his potential indictment for his role in Watergate and the existence of Deep Throat.

[@EBUNNY2012]

02:25 Nixon: This is CIA. How right you are!

[@gregorymilla9213]

lol The CIA ? Too funny the burglars were on Nixons payroll. Follow the money .

[@bookonthetable]

Claude’s answer to “does this tape prove that Nixon ordered the operation?” No, the transcript of the "Smoking Gun" tape doesn't definitively prove that Nixon himself launched or directly approved the original Watergate break-in operation. Here's a more nuanced breakdown: 1. Timing: The conversation took place on June 23, 1972, several days after the June 17 break-in. It doesn't provide evidence of Nixon's involvement in planning the original operation. 2. Focus on cover-up: The tape primarily shows Nixon participating in efforts to cover up the scandal, not in initiating the break-in itself. 3. Lack of prior knowledge: The tape doesn't conclusively prove Nixon knew about the break-in before it happened. 4. Implications: While it strongly suggests Nixon was willing to obstruct justice to protect his administration, it doesn't directly link him to authorizing the initial crime. 5. Broader context: Other evidence and testimonies from the full Watergate investigation provide more insight into the extent of Nixon's overall involvement, but this specific tape doesn't prove he ordered the break-in. 6. Legal interpretation: The tape was seen as proof of obstruction of justice, which was enough for impeachment proceedings, but not necessarily proof of initiating the original crime. The tape was damning because it proved Nixon's participation in the cover-up and obstruction of justice, which contradicted his public statements. However, it doesn't by itself prove he ordered or approved the original break-in operation.

[@isaachoffman2607]

Damn, these guys misread Mark Felt

[@Primitarian]

But not for long. A tape shows that by October 19, 1972 (thus just a few months after the "Smoking Gun" tape of June 23, 1972), they knew it Felt.

[@daricklapaglia4337]

Theyre surprised by the break in

[@kingers36]

Cant they remaster these tapes wtf ?

[@Gurci28]

"Smoking gun" Source: Cornell Law School

[@rowbyrowby]

The tapes were recorded very slowly so they they could record for about 6 hours. Also the tapes were very thin, reducing their quality even more. The microphones were small. And other issues. Many attempts have been made to improve the quality over the decades. But the original recordings were problematic which made them difficult to improve. …Rowby.

[@Gurci28]

Nixon resigned three days later. Source: Quizlet

[@davidevans3227]

try it with the cc/subtitles

[@DP-hy4vh]

They can probably be enhanced with A.I. to remove the tape hiss and the echoing.

[@dhoward5757]

Mark was not cooperating, Mark was deep.

[@frankalejandro1997]

I love how this 'smoking gun' tape includes Haldeman speaking for the majority of it, about legal defense, and simply telling Nixon what had happened with the break in, and possible sources as to who the perpetrator could have been, and Nixon rarely speaking, and when he does speak, get says over and over again that they need to figure out who did this, because they don't know, and they think that the FBI is either out of control, or it was a CIA operation, saying multiple times that they need to figure out who this was, because they had nothing to do with it. The FBI being out of control they say within the 0:00 - 1:30 mark Nixon saying they need to figure out who is responsible for this whole mess: 3:55 - 5:10 Haldeman saying an investigation determined it was a not a White House operation, and that it could have either been a non-political agent, or a result of CIA intervention, possibly with the Cubans: the rest of the video. And yes, the CIA gets involved with internal U.S. affairs. You think these guys really have the cleanest records when it comes to following the law? Also the snippet with the Cubans makes sense, because the Communist-run island is virtually cut off from U.S. financial systems, while simultaneously being close to Miami, therefore they could sneak funds to specific sectors of government. Plus, Castro doesn't want a Nixon that managed to convince China to side against the Soviets, to posture against a possible nuclear launch point in the South of Florida. The thing with these 'smoking gun' tapes, is that no one bothers to actually listen to them, or even learn about the Watergate ordeal from all perspectives, and then from the added perspective of historical precedent: are there ambitious political figures / factions in government (regardless of party) vying for political power? Do people have anything personal to gain? Where is the money going, and coming from? Where is the power headed? When you factor these into your own investigation of this ordeal, if gives perspective on what figures were playing what cards, and how the operation to illegitimately take down a president was carried out. The funny part was that LBJ wiretapped Barry Goldwater's plane in 1964.

[@impitt28]

He ordered the investigation to be halted. That is obstruction. That is a crime. Dude, if he did nothing wrong, what purpose did he have to halt the investigation. Clinton lied about having an affair and was tried for impeachment because he perjured himself. That is a crime! Nixon firing Cox, not releasing the tapes at first, etc etc. All the re-election money going to these people. Smoke-city

[@frankalejandro1997]

@@impitt28 but he wasn't tried for instruction of justice, he was tried for the break in, which he did not order. He also investigated the matter himself. Just like Clinton, he was tried and impeached for political reasons that have nothing to do with the actual crime most people believe he is guilty of

[@danieleade9018]

Terrific analysis.

[@connordeyoung6108]

Internet moment

[@conors4430]

What an absolute load of horse shit.

[@nathanaelwassmann3794]

What happens in the dark always come to light.

[@HighRollersLounge]

Many times, but certainly not always. Don't be naive

[@ExcitedAnacondaSnake-hg8ec]

What stays in the dark is what remains unknown

[@masterspark9880]

Luke 12:2-3

[@anthonylicari7776]

It's not the crime it's the cover up.

[@jaysmith2151]

Like JFK's assassination being covered up by the CIA

[@JoseGomez-cj1tq]

Possibly also a reason for the water gate break in to begin with. To see how much info they had on the Kennedy hit and if the democrats we're going to use dirty politics and release that info about Nixon knowing, have known, or possibly been involved in the assassination to kill Kennedy.

[@cakeicecream7844]

Crime and cover up mix together!!!

[@Bbarfo]

E. Howard Hunt wrote his story on the subject in 2006 in his book, American Spy. It is worth reading.

[@mariemusellak7939]

Bob Woodward was Naval intelligence then his 1st job was to cover this story on the Washington post. 🤔 hhmmm how ironic

[@boise_computer_repair]

Someone just watched Tucker and Rogan...

[@petezereeah517]

Surprised that Haldeman seemed to respect the assessment from John Dean. Kids should watch this. It explains why conspiracy theories are nonsense. Haldeman expresses a very clear fear when he sees the cover up spiraling out of control when he says, "We're getting to the point where we're protecting a hell of alot of names.'

[@FalloutWanderer-uq5sh]

Not all conspiracy theories are nonsense though.

[@dububro]

How exactly does an actual, verified conspiracy explain why conspiracy theories are nonsense?

[@trenken]

@@FalloutWanderer-uq5sh they are theories because they havent been proven, or cant be proven because its fake news. Most conspiracies never evolve into the realm of accepted fact because far more often than not, they are either completely made up, or extreme exaggerations.

[@apesonegotrips7]

@@trenken oh, really? You don’t say? What about video footage of UFO the Pentagon recently released? Or the false flag attack on the USS Maddox that was used to justify escalation of the Vietnam War (ship was never attacked. Maybe they just had really good acid and didn’t realize they were firing back at nothing)? COINTELPRO? Operation Mockingbird? MKUltra? The Patriot Act? These have all made into the realm of accepted fact that you mentioned, though I didn’t realize that reality was determined democratically. Then again I don’t take the daily recommended doses of Fox News and boot licking

[@Colonel_Flanders]

This whole country is literally a conspiracy. They happen all the time.

[@Tobbi1994]

Theres no way these tapes were releasdd 9 years ago and people are just now seei g them....

[@bobbysands6923]

When your hear the name Mark Felt, everything comes full circle. You could say one guy brought him down.

[@AndrewUSA]

Right because this totally doesn't need subtitles. Leave it to the Richard Nixon foundation to screw up royally.

[@uttaradit2]

the darkness reaching out to the darkness

[@BiffJackson-o4i]

Pfft. Nothing burger.

[@rolandpena2473]

Jeb Stuart Magruder (November 5, 1934 - May 11, 2014) was an American businessman and high-level political operative in the Republican Party who served time in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal.[1] He served President Richard Nixon in various capacities, including acting as deputy director of the president's 1972 re-election campaign, Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP). In August 1973, Magruder pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to wiretap, obstruct justice and defraud the United States. He served seven months in federal prison.[2] Committee for the re-election of the President i.e. otherwise known as (creep)..

[@luiscaetano6184]

Wikipedia copy past

[@masterspark9880]

I hate that people served time in prison for Nixon, but Nixon himself got a pardon

[@brianarbenz1329]

And that Nixon filled our prisons with drug offenders (70 percent of whom were non-violent), then gets a pardon due to connections.

[@brianarbenz1329]

“The Democratic break in thing.”

[@matthewmarston5149]

We were naked in The Defence Department before Vietnam came, The Managers of Vietnam should get a raise..

[@brokenToastable]

exonerated 50 years later

[@manfredaxcore]

The guy at the beginning sounds like a 20-year-old Morgan Freeman.

[@TimmyTheTinman]

That’s how most people sounded back then and I miss it

[@brianarbenz1329]

What do you mean “back then?” The voiceover was from either the 2000s or ‘90s. He gives an email address at the end.

[@duncannapier318]

If this was the recordings true quality Nixon should've denied everything. Is there a better quality recording anywhere? 👍🇿🇦

[@1burnman]

That's the famous 18 and a half minute Gap that's why I'm sure you know the history of that if you don't check it out

[@juancpgo]

The gap happened in a recording from June 20 (acc to wikipedia), this is June 23. And there's no transcript of the gap since there is no audible recording.

[@vero8pictures958]

Subtitles should have been used here.

[@Intergalactic3000]

I watched so many videos on the Watergate scandal and I still have no idea what it's all about. Q=Why did they break in to the building and what was the thing they were looking for .

[@rhysthomas5811]

They were trying to get information relating to the upcoming presidential election . They wanted to photograph campaign documents and put listening devices in the telephones of the executive director of the Association of State Democratic Chairmen and also the democratic party chairman.

[@thebigmalkowski]

On May 27, 1972, members of a White House unit nicknamed "The Plumbers", broke into the DNC Headquarters at the Watergate Building to install listening devices in the ceiling and on phones in order to spy on McGovern's campaign moves. On June 17, 1972, they broke back in to adjust the listening devices because they weren't functioning properly. THIS time they were caught in the act of burglarizing the office and got arrested. This same group was Nixon's goon squad, often assigned tasks like finding out who leaked classified information to the media. It was later revealed they also burglarized a psychiatrist's office in Beverly Hills, CA looking for dirt on a patient named Daniel Ellsberg, who was famous for leaking the Pentagon Papers to media. So, the Plumbers were committing all kinds of crimes to dig up dirt on Nixon's "enemies". After the Plumbers were arrested, the White House (including Nixon himself) engaged in covering up the crimes. And because Nixon had his own office bugged with listening devices, we have these recordings, like this one proving when he knew about the Watergate break-in and proves he helped plan a cover-up.

[@Youtubeisntlettingmeuseczech]

@@thebigmalkowski Actually Nixon had a tape recorder installed in his desk, he didn't wiretap himself (tough it wouldn't surprise me if he actually did)

[@thebigmalkowski]

@@KZbinisntlettingmeuseczech He did cause secret listening devices to be installed in the Oval Office and his Executive office. How do we know? The guy who had them installed testified to the installation, under oath, during his testimony to the Subcommittee. In addition to the rooms being bugged, so were his phones.

[@Wixom2200]

One thing is for sure. Power can make people suspicious of other people , why: They think anyone that does NOT agree with their ideologies or policies "hates"them. Nixon had the wrong people around him. They fed that beast, he then was misguided to the next level: PARANOIA. He trusted no one and hated almost everybody. Think of this :The 60s and early 70s in the US have to be in the top 5 most turbulent decades in US history. Every president connected to it was damaged or killed: JFK( Assassinated) , LBJ( stressed out with Civil right legislation, Vietnam etc ) refused to run again because he knew he would die in office, and Nixon( forced to resign, due to criminal conduct in office) in 1974. The 60s and 70s until about 1976 were insane!

[@張海鷗-t2t]

系統業者成員全部被捕獲准送審懲處失職解僱職務執照 處分違約資金償還貸款額度清還處治。撤銷系統工程經營

[@easystreet1888]

?? Good for you that you make the effort to listen to this tape. I've no idea what you've written, however.

[@atticus4406]

this the rrrrrreal shit

[@LegoPostPresidency]

This is The Most Shocking Tape in American History Why did he tape that when it involved him in the #Watergatescandel

[@barryallen5313]

Because Nixon was a dope!!

[@alpha-omega2362]

@@barryallen5313 because all previous Presidents taped,,, or the equivalent...FDR had stenographers downstairs secretly transcribing what was being said in some of the meetings..... LBJ had microphones in the waiting rooms, so he would know what people were saying before they came in to see him......RFK knew all about the secret taping systems and when he came to visit LBJ , wore a jamming devise so that what was said couldn't be recorded.......LBJ was furious after learning about it.....

[@lmontader0rderlmontadar0rd95]

Sahrawi histoire 1976 Le Sahara occidental capital de le monde car le dernier gouvernement du mahdi el montader c'est logique pour information

[@Pettynicolla.YouTubeLLC.]

How are you, PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON.

[@Lilydrakjunior]

😂😂😂

[@Dfgv385]

IF ONLY THE OTHER TRUTH WOULD SURFACE THIS IS PART OF WHAT LEAD TO THE 9/11.

[@markusbertolozzi406]

Bang!!! This is what did him in. OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE!

[@tylerdurden6208]

Shit. I was looking for the Hillary tapes.

[@stoffoncooper3625]

I WAS BORN 8.13.1971..….. BREAK IN CAN MEAN ANYTHING....SUCH AS CHIP OR WIRED...

[@matthewmarston5149]

Uncle President Richard Milhouse Nixon, do tu watch me and hear me over satellite,research, write comments, read French, German, and Mandarin Chinese, USN Admiral of the Navy 6,Devgru 6,Kaiser Tsar Matthew Floyd Marston Romanov Windsor 2 Rothschild Rockefeller Cartier 2 yes pin no 0

[@themarkerchannel3170]

He may have been a crook but hey at least he ended the vietnam war

[@randomcoloradan2878]

he also interfered in the 1968 vietnam peace talks because he thought that if a deal was made it would help humphrey and then he escalated the war when he won

[@6mallards]

This is childs play for biden these days

[@micha3828]

Only Biden? 🤣 Don't be naive.

[@margaretneanover3385]

Proves it happened both here and in Mideast through the bank and the certain truth about rich being the Annie in the poker game . Shame on the greed

[@jacobzaranyika9334]

I have a smoking gun of tapes lying around too.

[@roi2426]

I can’t wait for some young person in 2053 to come back to videos of Trump and Mark Meadows coordinating their MANY crimes, and smile at the fact that our United States is a democracy that holds no person higher than another in the eyes of justice. It’s bittersweet listening to these two wantonly erode centuries of good ethics; it’s tragic but a reminder of what makes our nation great.

[@jakexu2347]

😅

[@themeangene]

🤡

[@mantra11]

haha uhhhhh wow "...no person higher than another in the eyes of justice" - Nixon committed crimes and was pardoned saving him from prison. If a normal citizen did what he did they would be in prison. How exactly does that show the US "democracy" holding no person higher than another in the eyes of justice?

[@cskelly3783]

I love how I was the “conspiracy theorist” for saying that Covid was manufactured in China… Then, these same people turn around and say stuff like this.

[@themeangene]

The United States is not a democracy. This is why more and more Americans support mandatory civics tests to vote. You don't understand the fundamentals of our country

[@cxino4]

ritten house

[@samdrow8268]

Man, so you knew about that Kyle Rittenhouse case 5 goddamn years ago??

[@joan_28]

You have to understand how deep I'm in with Rittenhouse! We have to get the doc!

[@SkatingErinsMom]

The url for the full conversation is www.nixonlibrary.gov/index.php/watergate-trial-tapes Under heading "DATE: Friday, June 23, 1972"

[@GeorgeGr11]

The old man played dirty.. haha

[@firsttimediesels6289]

Holy shit mark set him up 😂

[@matthewmarston5149]

Uncle Richard Marcinko, founder of US Navy Seal Devgru 6 yes 1 no 0

[@Tom-kt8lu]

Nixon did very little wrong. A President to be proud of!

[@1968DodgePolara]

Yes he was... he just went down with the ship like a captain would regardless who broke a hole in the haul.......

[@hopper27]

Get well soon. Your an idiot

[@officerfriendly1230]

You're a idiot.

[@anishkrishna3543]

Are you okay?

[@JohnRichards67]

You’re very, very wrong….like seriously

[@jacobzaranyika9334]

I'm sure there is a few lying around.

[@robb6059]

Read The Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is, haribol!

[@master-kq3nw]

He guilty for watergate

[@TVC-JE]

No. he was guilty for attempting to cover it up.

[@master-kq3nw]

Yeah he spie democrats and want cover up and he lied,,he do mistakes

[@IanPunter]

Ive been a student of JFK assassination since 1990, read most of the best books, watched many docs, listened to numerous talks like the podcasts at blackopradiocom. But the best state of the art look into that event is the long series of youtube videos by Danny Sheehan at his KZbin channel Romero Institute. An absolute must for anyone that wants to get to the bottom this important history.

[@sandyplotkin]

Peter Dale Scott's Crime and Cover-up