The "Smoking Gun" Can Now Be Yours
Dateline: 01/22/2000
The public can now buy transcription copies of the Nixon Oval Office Watergate tapes. The audio recordings include over 265 hours of the "Smoking Gun," "Cancer on the Presidency," and "The Milk Fund" conversations that galvanized the nation in 1974 and forced President Richard M. Nixon, faced with impeachment, to resign from office.
Some or all of the Watergate tapes can be ordered from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for $18.00 each. A full set costs $702.
Each tape contains 30 minutes of transcripts from these three categories:
- Watergate Trial Tapes and Transcripts (12 1/2 hours)
- Watergate Special Prosecution Tapes (60 hours)
- Abuse of Governmental Powers Tapes (204 hours)
How to Order the Tapes
You will need to download and fill out NARA's Nixon Presidential Materials Staff's Item Approval Request Form.
You will also need to identify each tape you want by its Reference Number. To help you out, here's a list of the "good" ones...
- "The Milk Fund" conversation -- Tape # E-1
- The "Smoking Gun" conversation -- Tape # E-2
- The "Cancer on the Presidency" conversation -- Tapes #'s E-7, E-8 and E-9
- The "Dean Resignation" conversation -- Tape # E-20
- The "Telephone Conversations" -- Tape # E-24
More NARA Watergate Tape Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Complete details on how to select and order that tapes you want.History of the Nixon White House Tapes
President Nixon himself ordered the installation of the Sony TC-800B machines that recorded about 3700 hours of conversations between himself, his staff and visitors to the Oval Office.Abuse of Government Power
The ten abuses of Government Power (AOGP) involved in the Watergate scandal were...
- 1) Intelligence Gathering - Misuse of Federal Agencies
- 2) Watergate Break-in
- 3) Watergate Cover-up
- 4) Campaign Practices
- 5) Obstruction of Justice
- 6) Campaign Financing
- 7) Milk Fund
- 8) Hughes-Rebozo Investigation
- 9) Emoluments and Tax Evasion
- 10) International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT)
The Watergate Trial
Over twelve hours of the Watergate tapes were played in open court in the case of U.S. v Mitchell, et al and U.S. v Connally in 1974.How NARA Processed the Tapes
"The Nixon Presidential materials are processed and released for public research in accordance with the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 (PRMPA) and its implementing public access regulations (36 CFR 1275)."
The "Watergate" is an apartment-hotel in Washington D.C. that also housed the Democratic National Headquarters in 1974. Persons believed to be acting on orders from President Nixon broke into the Democratic Headquarters in an attempt to steal material possibly damaging to Democratic politicians and party leaders.
In days that followed, the "Watergate scandal" grew to associate President Nixon with other break-ins, money laundering, a subsequent cover-up and other "Abuses of Government Power."
On July 30, 1974, A House of Representatives committee voted to report three three articles of impeachment. President Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974. On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford officially pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office.
Reference Resources 
The Final Days of President Nixon
American History Guide, David Schwalbe, recalls the events and personalities that led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.
Also on US Government Info/Resources |
Should the President Get a Raise?
From $200 - $400,000 a year, that is? Take our Instant Poll.Election 2000 Index
Links to these and other election resources on US Government Info/Resources and other About.com Guide Sites.
Express Your
Opinions
Just click on a topic to read or take part in the discussion.
