nation's commanders in chief and lectures in history delving into america's past and real america featuring educational films from the 1930s through the '70s. c-span3, created by the cable tv industry and funded by your local cable or satellite provider. >> tonight on c-span3, american history tv in prime time, taking you back to richard nixon's resignation, a special report announcing president nixon's decision to resign. followed by president nixon's 15 minute address to the nation. then journalist bob woodward and carl bernstein talk about the presidency in a discussion hosted by the washington post.

>> the announcement came august 8th, 1974 in a televised address from the white house oval office. next, 1974's cbs news special report with then anchor walter cronkite followed by nixon's address to the nation. >> this is a cbs news special report. here is walter cronkite. >> president nixon makes what seems will be his last address from the white house, he goes on the air and it is reported he will announce his resignation as president of the united states. that seemed to have been the fact for the last nine and a half hours since he called vice president ford into the oval office and in a 1:10 private conversation with him told him he has decided an will announce

tonight on his resignation. george her man is at capitol hill for the senate view on the question which now is being asked on whether some sort of immunity might be offered to the president against prosecution for any wrong doing in the white house during his administration. george? >> the legal discussion between my colleagues with some interest because up here i guess you would have to say it's not viewed so much as a legal question as it is as a political question. i think the members of the senate that i've talked to are more concerned with what they would call a practical political reality of the situation. some of them feel, for example, that if they were a sense of congress resolution, that the president should be granted immunity, that most probably most prosecutors, he is sfeshlly federal prosecutors under president gerald ford, most federal prosecutors would not

prosecute not because -- but because of the practical politics of the situation. some of the members of the senate see the question of immunity as i guess what my colleagues call plea bargaining. it's pretty clear they've been doing old fashioned political body english, trying to send a message to the white house without saying it in so many words. senator mansfield and bird have said publicly, that if there's to be a successful resignation meaning a resignation that leaves the country happy or united or comparatively happy and leaves the country united without a bitter taste in its mouth, it must be a resignation which admits to some degree of guilt on the part of the president. can't say i'm bowing out because of the good of the country or my leaders in the congress and both houses have told me i have to because i'm going to be

impeached and convicted. they feel he must come up with some time of resignation which admits to good on his part for the good of the country. they've been trying for the carrot and stick, if he does not resign in that form, this is to say with some admission of guilt, then the trial could go on and senator mansfield on tuesday and wednesday thought it was too late, things had gone too far, the trial should go on and have to go on. that's not a view that is generally shared up there but senators appreciate it that senator mansfield and lesser extent with him robert bird of virginia, the assistant democratic leader were sending that message to the president. if you don't come up with a resignation which is viable, we could go through this. it is not widely agreed to in the house. on the other hand, the question of immunity as i've indicated has many dimensions and feels

that is not the business of the legislative branch of the government because immunity can be granted only by the executive branch where the prosecution would be continued. as i mentioned earlier, the senator feels it would be kind to take this burden away from the incoming president, gerald ford so he would not be forced to make the decision whether he would allow prosecution of the man who made him vice president and consequently making him president so that congress could take this painful decision away from the new president, gerald ford and make it for him. make it once again not in a fully legal sense but political sense, selt the scene and set the stage and emotions of the nation so it would not be wise for any prosecutor to try them. none of this applies to the question which was discussed by fred of being a witness at the trial. applies only to immunity. what you've seen here now two days, two and a half days of body english by the congress

trying to extract from the president the kind of resignation they would like to see from him. >> one other problem, the dilemma of the republican members, they wanted to get the word to the president that his chances were virtually nil. on the other hand did not want to fall into the trap of urging him to resign. that could be dangerous and lead the president to say either in his resignation speech or history books to come, that he wanted to stay on and believed he was innocent and pressured by his own party. something they have not wanted to do. what you have seen here is sort of very careful maneuvering, very careful sending of signals, sending of messages without putting them into words which could then be quoted. only time will tell whether they have succeeded or not, we'll have to wait and see.

>> almost no way i can think of or have heard that i am muntd could be granted in this case, indeed it would be most unfair and highly equitiable to do so. and you couldn't legs late against the right of another citizen to sue, i should think. >> to the best of my knowledge here in any fashion, i don't think it has come up at all. very legal possibilities have been discussed but almost all had to deal with forms of direct immunity. i don't think any group in congress wants to put itself out in on that particular limb which would be an awfully sticky one. >> we'll continue to wait for the president to speak. we've been around the country in a couple of our locations where they are waiting. and sandy gilmore in st. louis is waiting with some of them.

>> shopping and entertainment center and one of anticipation relief and resentment. this is of course the show me state of missouri still say they need to be shown that the president is indeed guilty and not being railroaded out of office by democrats and also by the media. we've been hearing comments. mr. nixon should stay and fight it out. i talked with a ward boss who owns a bar in st. louis city and said the regulars in the bar feel a resignation will hurt the country and the country was falling apart. what will the russians think? they will think we are weak. many people are still arguing indeed the president's guilt or innocence and if the president's statement tonight falls short of a confession, it it comes out to be as some people said another checkered speech, then many

people here will still a say that president nixon has been unjustly ousted from the white house. this is sandy gilmore, cbs news in st. louis. >> the man who president nixon defeated for the presidency in 1968, hubert humphrey, and burdened with the vietnam war as his principle difficulty, getting to the presidency himself of president nixon defeated him by 7/10 of one% in a very close race. hubert humphrey was interviewed in minneapolis by wcco tv. >> wishing to keep it out of partisan politics and says resignation is the right choice for nixon and the nation. >> i believe the nation needs relief from the tremendous

tension under which it has been under which it's been for the last year, year and a half. there's a need of getting our country back together again, getting on with the business of government, tremendous problems facing us. the nation needs to be brought back together. we've simply got to get ourselves and restore our sense of confidence and trust in government. how do you feel history will judge the nixon presidency? >> in the field of foreign affairs judged well. in the field of domestic affairs, poorly. in the matter of the conduct of the office, particularly in these recent months, i think it will be judged harshly. >> should mr. nixon be granted immunity by criminal prosecution by congress? >> that's a matter that has to have a very careful study. no need to hurry on this. the president will have suffered

greatly simply by the resignation having to give up his office. i'm not one that wants to pin somebody to the wall so to speak. >> this is rod challenger in minneapolis. >> coverage continues throughout this evening. the president's speech due in 20 minutes from now. we'll be back with more of that special report in a moment. with president nixon's administration presumably on the hours you have to run, the reports being very strong that he will resign when he goes on the air 15 or so minutes from now. we've had no con tra indications for the last 10 or 12 hours. what about this matter of presidential power? has the lesson come through and with a balance between the executive and legislative be greater in the next administration? >> i think it will, it's natural in human events in nature that a force going a certain direction keeps going that direction until

it meets an obstacle and big one. this tide and high tide of the so-called imperial presidency has been going on since franklin roosevelt and carried to the ultimate extreme by mr. nixon. not no accident that his man said of course we have one man rule because he's the only nationally elected officer that was the state of mind. this has gone to the brink and over. i think you'll get a new balance if mr. ford now becomes president. he comes in with one great advantage that people will wish him well. he'll have the sympathy of the country. all of that will be the case as has been before. the great disadvantage will be he'll be the first president not elected either as vice president or president by the people. and the man he picks as vice president the next few days presumably also will not have been elected. we've never had a situation like this. and he of course will have the congress against him politically in party terms. mr. nixon was thehóqjq;ut man t

take over the presidency in his first term with both houses against him, first man for over 100 years. same will be true with mr. ford and he'll have maybe even a bigger democratic majority after the election in november. there will be a different kind of balance, at least for some time. congress is already restricted the presidential war making powers. it is also arranged for much greater authority of its own over the budget making process as it goes along. that will make a big difference. it wants now to limit the size of white house staff, presidential personal staff and immunity from testifying before congress and all of that kind of thing. the courts have asserted once again their supremacy in the matters of law as to what the constitution means and what the law is. they say they shall determine it, whether it's the president, whoever it is that tries to act or think otherwise.

the congress will have to, exert more thorlt and lead has to find new ways to conduct its day to day business and be much more efficient. >> we'll be talking about this much later on when we really know what happens tonight at the white house. we should emphasize, with all of this conversation we're going on the assumption that the president is going to resign. that assumption is based on considerable fact from the day, the fact that house minority leader john rhodes said early in the afternoon shortly afternoon that president nixon would announce his resignation today. high white house sources confirm that to newsmen at the white house. president nixon has been closeted this afternoon with his speechwriter ray price, vice president ford after an 1:10 meeting with the president this morning and this afternoon met for two hours with secretary of state kissinger talking about

foreign affairs and continuation of them as we understand it we have heard tonight that president nixon is planning to fly to san clem menty, and not in air force one but one of the vip planes made available to the white house staff. it all points to resignation tonight when the president goes on air about 15 minutes from now. tonight's events are being closely watched, not only here, of course, but around the world as well. let's call in some of our foreign correspondents, bruce duning, for instance, in tokyo, japan. >> most statesmen expert if nixon resigns, kissinger would remain as secretary of state for a few months and that continuity is the most important issue for

asian governments. the most worried about mr. nixon's possible departure will be the chinese government in peking, a resignation could undermine the man who invited mr. nixon to peking. no western observers agree on which direction this will take, they do no the man who led the turn towards the united states has been seriously ill. some think the power is being eroded. the chinese government is questioning western diplomats very closely about the impeachment process and what effect mr. nixon's departure might have on u.s./china relations. as long as kissinger stays on, most aids yan governments should feel reassured that a resignation by the president would not be disastrous for the world situation. walter? >> after a new administration comes in, secretary of state kissinger will be on the wing

again around the world reassuring our allies as well as those with whom we've been attempting to establish detant over the next few years over the continuation of the nixon foreign policy under his successor, president ford. maybe that the president ford himself will wish to engage in some sim met tri of nature. we'll learn that later as well. besides those watching from a distance halfway around the world in tokyo, there are those with a close-up view right outside the white house grounds and bob schieffer is there in lafayette park. >> we were talking just a moment ago about what some of the effects might be of a transition, many officials at thing with are wondering about these days, what would be the effect of transition from a nixon administration to a ford administration. this afternoon question talked to several people about that and this kind of transition would be an easy one for the pentagon.

they say that mr. ford's views on national defense are like those of mr. nixon. they also point out that mr. ford is well grounded in defense matters for many years he was a member of the defense appropriations subcommittee, when he was in the house of representatives, it was while he served on that committee among other places that he became a very good friend with the former secretary of defense melvin laird, also a member of that committee. mr. ford is well versed on defense matters and gets regular briefings from members of the national security council staff. at one point, you'll recall, vrpt ford seemed to feel that the current secretary of defense james schlessinger did not have the political kpexpertise to se

capitol hill and mr. ford when he made those remarks thought they were being made off the record. he was genuinely embarrassed when they showed up in print. since that time made a real effort to get to know mr. schlessinger and talks to him off and on the phone and has breakfast with him. the result, as that mr. ford has come to have a real appreciation of mr. schlessinger and his abilities. the bottom line of it all is, if mr. ford does become president, he's now expected to ask mr. schlessinger to stay on as the chief at the pentagon and mr. schlessinger is expected to stay. >> if it becomes president ford, perfect ford's attitude all along has been on the economy, he goes along with the chairman of the federal reserve board, mr. arthur burns and believing that one way to bring the economy under control is to cut back very severely in government

expenditures except for the president. he believes in maintaining a strong defense regardless of cost presumably. >> that's right, walter. time and time again on capitol hill. one thing that people at the pentagon were talking about today was they expect the pentagon to have a bigger voice at the white house. they expect more direct contact between the secretary of defense on a face to face basis and a president ford. this has never been confirmed officially and mr. schlessinger would never comment on it officially. but we've determined that mr. schlessinger, until the cabinet meeting this week had not even talked with president nixon since well before the crisis in cypress. now they expect a much more open relationship. weech heard about the president's relations with most of the cabinet members and it is expected general ford will have a closer relationship with all of the cab met members and be much more open, the access will be to him by all of the staff.

and speaking of his briefings by the military, in an interview in the new york times this morning, he said he felt entirely prepared to take over the presidency, that in the six months or eight months or so he's been vice president, that he has had regular briefings at the state department and from the cia as well as military briefings in which you spoke bob, that he's had weekly meetings with the white house congressional liaison man, william timmons and conferred with every cabinet member and most of the aides and feels he's coming into the presidency fully prepared to take over. americans are waiting for that speech due less than ten minutes from now all across america as we've shown you over the last hour and a half or so. and that includes of course san francisco.

san francisco has never been friendly to president nixon. most of the people here are tourists pretty much a cross section, to get away from it all. not all of them appreciate affairs of state like resignation of a president intruding upon a vacation. some people we've talked to who have been watching the news on television just now, were not even aware of developments the past few days, as time approaches the clouds are growing almost like reading tomorrow's newspaper today, they know it's going to happen and want to see it. you don't sense either much joy or sorrow, just a kind of stunned suspense, as if it hasn't taken hold and all happening in some other country to some other people. sfl a little later on this evening for reaction after the president speaks, a speech due

in eight or nine minutes. we understand that the speech of the president in which he's expected to announce his resignation from office will begin 45 seconds after 9:00, that's time to permit all of the twegs networks and radio networks to join in after the beginning of the hour. it will begin about that time. one of the important elements of this whole dramatic story today, the reaction on capitol hill. the congress and executive branch of our try part tide system has played a major role in the downfall really of president nixon in the sense that it was the senate watergate committee that exposed for the first time to the public or confirmed to the public for the first time that exposure that has been taking place in the news media on the extent of white house involvement and watergate associated matters, it

was the house judiciary committee that ten days ago voted to recommend to the house the impeachment of the president. roger mud has been at the beat here at capitol hill and probably close to the mood of congress as any man i know, roger. >> walter, it's very hard to forget that gerald ford said an impeachment offense is what a majority of the congress at any one time says it is. and that definition can be filled out now by just reporting that it turns out that the impeachable offense that was committed by richard nixon on monday was in effect making fools of many members of congress. by releasing the transcripts of june 23rd, 1972, he in effect destroyed or helped destroy for

a day or two the credibility of ten members of the house judiciary committee. and therefore members of the congress now are weary about going on a limb in defense of the president or in declaring themselves as being in favor of a grant of immunity. congressmen are really not aware of what public opinion is on a possible jail term against the president. they are decidedly ambivalent about it and afraid to say that the president should be granted immunity and yet senator books so poignantly said tonight on the evening news, i don't want an american president behind bars. it's a very difficult position for a congressman to be in and trying to thread their way between the two shows, giving a blanket immunity or letting him stand his own chance.

the heaviest difficulty the president faces is what he already knows is coming is that the watergate grand jury named him as an unindicted could con spir tore. if the president is not given a grant of immunity that would stay the hand of federal prosecutors, it is very likely that a federal grand jury could be reassembled and the president of the united states, ex-president, could be indicted as a co-con spir tore in the watergate cover-up. politically the whole situation on the hill is very fluid because the democrats lose by this change of power. mr. ford is now a viable candid honest open president of the united states who immediately picks up an enormous reservoir of respect and good will from the public. democrats have openly admitted

that they would prefer to have richard nixon stay because politically it would be much easier for them in 76. i don't know what this does to the republican for the presidential nomination in '76. charles percy, who obviously wanted to be president, i think he still does, said this afternoon that his candidacy would have to be put on the back burner. i asked him, you're not turning off the stove, no, he wont turn off the stove. >> vice president ford said after he became vice president for some months there after, that he would definitely not be a candidate for the presidency in '76 but i don't think there's anybody that would really bet on that tonight. let's recount in the next two minutes before the president is due to speak, the events of the last few days. as you all know on monday

released transcripts of a june 23rd, 1972 conversation, three of them, his aide in the white house which revealed he did indeed know the details of the watergate break-in long before he said he knew of it and had instructed haldman to see if he could enlist cia to try the cull the fbi off from the investigation. it seemed to be an admission of what was included in the charges in article one of the house judiciary committee's vote on impeachment and that is a charge of obstructing justice in trying to cover-up the watergate affair. well, as soon as that happened, the leaders on capitol hill, his friends on capitol hill, his defenders in the house judiciary committee among others and those in the senate as roger mud reported to you a moment ago, began hour by hour announcements of their dropping away from his

support. that was the beginning of the head long retreat from president nixon and the last chapter then seemed to be inevitable. that began developing this morning as vice president ford was called into the white house oval office and the president sat down with him for an 1:10, a private conversation. the reports began flooding washington that the president would resign tonight and it was announced he had asked for this television time at 9:00 to make an announcement. it is never been officially said but either vice president ford or president nixon that the president would resign tonight but all indications have been that. we've even been told that the president has intention of leaving with his family for san clemente tomorrow. vice president ford it is reported would take the oath of office at noon tomorrow and go on the air tomorrow night with his first address to the american people as the 38th president of the uniteat