On November 17, 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon tells the Associated Press editors, "Well, I am not a crook."
Since the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee Watergate Office Building headquarters in Washington, DC, Nixon's tenure in office was fraught with controversy on issues like obstruction of justice, and abuse of power, which later came to be known as the "Watergate Scandal".
Watergate was one of the United States' biggest political quagmires of both judicial and legislative actions that resulted in many of Nixon's administration officials being indicted or convicted of illegal activities.
On August 5, 1974, The release of the "Smoking Gun" tape was released. The recorded tape revealed Nixon had a meeting with his administration official discussing how to stop the FBI from continuing its investigation of the break-in. It was the tape that many believed led to Nixon's political downfall. Three days later, on August 8, 1974, Nixon resigned in a nationally televised address.