US Presidency
1973

Far from trying to hide the facts, my effort throughout has been to discover the facts, and to lay those facts before the appropriate law enforcement authorities so that justice could be done and the guilty dealt with. I relied on the best law enforcement agencies in the country to find and report the truth. I believed they had done so, just as they believed they had done so. Many have urged that in order to help prove the truth of what I have said, I should turn over to the Special Prosecutor and the Senate committee recordings of conversations that I held in my office or on my telephone. However, a much more important principle is involved in this question than what the tapes might prove about Watergate. Each day, a President of the United States is required to make difficult decisions on grave issues.