US Presidency
1973

Rather, I shall attempt to put the events in perspective from the standpoint of the Presidency. On May 22, before the major witnesses had testified, I issued a detailed statement addressing the charges that had been made against the President. I have today issued another written statement, which addresses the charges that have been made since then as they relate to my own conduct, and which describes the efforts that I made to discover the facts about the matter. On May 22, I stated in very specific terms, and I state again to every one of you listening tonight these facts, I had no prior knowledge of the Watergate break in; I neither took part in nor knew about any of the subsequent coverup activities; I neither authorized nor encouraged subordinates to engage in illegal or improper campaign tactics. That was and that is the simple truth. In all of the millions of words of testimony, there is not the slightest suggestion that I had any knowledge of the planning for the Watergate break in.