Nixon's Memo to Haldeman - HISTORY

On March 10, 1970, President Richard Nixon records a memorandum to his aide H.R. Haldeman asking him to set up a special group to keep tabs on Nixon's opponents.

FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

RELATED CONTENT

A secretly recorded conversation between President Richard Nixon and his aide H.R. Haldeman on June 23, 1972, reveals the president's involvement in the Watergate break-ins and cover-up. During the conversation, which became known as the "Smoking Gun," Nixon and Haldeman discuss telling Deputy CIA Director Vernon Walters to interfere with FBI Acting Director Pat Gray's investigation. They also mention Mark Felt, then an FBI deputy, who 30 years later revealed himself to be the Watergate whistle blower known as Deep Throat.

In a secretly recorded conversation on April 16, 1973, President Richard Nixon discusses with his aide John Dean the need to have the resignations of Dean, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman "at the ready" in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

On April 30, 1973, with the Watergate trial well underway, President Richard Nixon announces on nationwide television and radio the resignation of his closest advisers, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, as well as White House Counsel John Dean and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst.

On March 21, 1973, in a secretly recorded conversation, President Richard Nixon and his aide John Dean discuss the unfolding Watergate scandal. Dean tells Nixon that the cover-up is "a cancer on the presidency."

On January 27, 1972, Washington Post columnist Jack Anderson was leaked information about President Richard Nixon's appointment of Elvis Presley as a special assistant on the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. In this video clip from The History Channel's TV series History Rocks: The 70's, the friendship between President Nixon and Elvis Presley is discussed, along with the letters that they exchanged.

In this History Rocks the 70's video, brought to you by the History Channel, learn about special investigator Archibald Cox's quest to investigate the Watergate cover-up. Nixon tries to get Cox fired several times. He asks Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General Ruckelshaus; both refuse and resign.