50th Anniversary of Watergate: Inside the White House

They were loyal to President Nixon throughout, even as the Watergate scandal kept growing and after his resignation. Join Washington Post Live to hear from former top Nixon aides Dwight Chapin and Ken Khachigian as they discuss the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, how that story played out inside the White House and what they believe the legacy of the 37th president should be.

Highlights

“Nixon was an introvert in an extrovert's business...He did everything in his power to conduct his presidency in a way that would help the American people...He was, in my estimation, an incredible president and a man of great distinction."- Dwight Chapin (Video: Washington Post Live)

“He was fascinating...He had just enormous knowledge and he had a great grasp of history…He was an extremely hard worker. That was his great strength that he brought to the world stage…I’d say his weakness he had…He was an introvert. He preferred time alone, he didn’t like to get out. His main hobby was working. I didn’t see all those weaknesses in him that people talked about. I saw a lot of things in him that people didn't see. One thing I remember about him, that people don't know about him, was a soft side to him. When Hubert Humphrey was dying back in 1978, I was with him when he placed calls to Hubert Humphrey. The two great warriors were talking with each other. It was just extraordinary; you couldn’t believe it."- Ken Khachigian (Video: Washington Post Live)

“The tapes are going to end up, perhaps, being a blessing as time goes on. Because the tapes, as we get into more and more of them, are starting to provide us material that is exculpatory for President Nixon. What happened with the prosecutors and when these tapes were put out that they did these slices of the tapes, all of which shows the abuse of power…But they don’t show the complete of what was going on in the presidency and how some the comments fit into context. So, I think there’s a lot of road to travel here, but we’re 50 years into it, but we’re a long way from getting to the bottom level of what this thing was all about.”- Dwight Chapin (Video: Washington Post Live)

“He made the mistake of not getting in front of it to begin with…He misled himself at the outset and he didn’t get out in front right in front and that was his real mistake and he paid the price for it. Afterwards, he restored his life after the presidency, I give him credit for that. He gave back to the country and to the world, he wrote eight best-selling books after he left the presidency. He advised other presidents, he advised President Reagan…President Clinton. I think the world would be better off if he was around today advising President Biden, quite frankly.”- Ken Khachigian (Video: Washington Post Live)

Dwight Chapin

Former Deputy Assistant to President Nixon

Ken Khachigian

Former Aide to President Nixon