Watergate scandal

=== Release of the tapes ===
The tapes revealed several crucial conversations<ref>Kutler, S. (1997). ''Abuse of Power'', p. 247. Simon & Schuster.</ref> that took place between the president and his counsel, John Dean, on March&nbsp;21, 1973. In this conversation, Dean summarized many aspects of the Watergate case, and focused on the subsequent cover-up, describing it as a "cancer on the presidency". The burglary team was being paid [[hush money]] for their silence and Dean stated: "That's the most troublesome post-thing, because Bob [Haldeman] is involved in that; John [Ehrlichman] is involved in that; I am involved in that; Mitchell is involved in that. And that's an obstruction of justice." Dean continued, saying that Howard Hunt was blackmailing the White House demanding money immediately. Nixon replied that the money should be paid: "...&nbsp; just looking at the immediate problem, don't you have to have—handle Hunt's financial situation damn soon?&nbsp;... you've got to keep the cap on the bottle that much, in order to have any options".<ref name="nixonlibrary.gov">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forresearchers/find/tapes/watergate/wspf/886-008.pdf |title=Transcript Prepared by the Impeachment Inquiry Staff for the House Judiciary Committee of a Recording of a Meeting Among the President, John Dean and H.R. Haldeman on March 21, 1973 from 10:12 to 11:55&nbsp;am |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-date=July 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721060530/http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forresearchers/find/tapes/watergate/wspf/886-008.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the time of the initial congressional proceedings, it was not known if Nixon had known and approved of the payments to the Watergate defendants earlier than this conversation. Nixon's conversation with Haldeman on August&nbsp;1, is one of several that establishes he did. Nixon said: "Well&nbsp;... they have to be paid. That's all there is to that. They have to be paid."<ref>Kutler, S. (1997). ''Abuse of Power'', p. 111. Simon & Schuster, Transcribed conversation between President Nixon and Haldeman.</ref> During the congressional debate on impeachment, some believed that impeachment required a criminally indictable offense. Nixon's agreement to make the blackmail payments was regarded as an affirmative act to obstruct justice.<ref name="woodward">Bernstein, C. and Woodward, B. (1976).''The Final Days'', p. 252. New York: Simon & Schuster.</ref>

On December 7, investigators found that an [[18½ minute gap|18½-minute portion]] of one recorded tape had been erased. [[Rose Mary Woods]], Nixon's longtime personal secretary, said she had accidentally erased the tape by pushing the wrong pedal on her tape player when answering the phone. The press ran photos of the set-up, showing that it was unlikely for Woods to answer the phone while keeping her foot on the pedal. Later [[forensic]] analysis in 2003 determined that the tape had been erased in several segments—at least five, and perhaps as many as nine.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clymer |first=Adam |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/09/us/national-archives-has-given-up-on-filling-the-nixon-tape-gap.html |title=National Archives Has Given Up on Filling the Nixon Tape Gap |date=May 9, 2003 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 17, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527231832/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/09/us/national-archives-has-given-up-on-filling-the-nixon-tape-gap.html |archive-date=May 27, 2015}}</ref>