Oval Office tapes
White House audio
Secret recordings made in the White House during the Nixon administration, capturing conversations that became central evidence in the Watergate scandal.
Nixon installed voice-activated recording systems in 1971, and the tapes revealed his involvement in covering up the 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters.
The Supreme Court ordered their release in 1974, precipitating Nixon's resignation.
The eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap in the Oval Office tapes was never explained.
- Nixon37th U.S. president
- Watergate1970s political crisis
- recordingsStored audio or video
- secretConcealed information
- scandalDisgraceful public affair
president · White House · transcripts · expletive deleted · surveillance · coverup · wiretap · enemies list · evidence · subpoena · Saturday Night Massacre · resignation · paranoia · conspiracy · erasure · gap · incriminating · testimony
Oval Office tapesfireside chats
Informal presidential broadcasts
public broadcast · televised address · presidential proclamation
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