No. After the broadcast. Youve taken your picture. Facing certain removal, Richard Nixon is moments away from resigning as president. Thats enough, okay . All secret service any secret service in the room . Out. There can be no greater fall from no greater height. Five men were nabbed in the Democratic National headquarters here in washington. Nixon was desperate. The white water controversy white water. I have nothing to say about it. Hes thinking what am i going to do in. Andrew johnsons impeachment was over a policy. He did not deserve to be president of the United States. Im not a crook. One thing leads to another. A grave and profound crisis. Youre in the office of the president of the United States. How can you talk about blackmail and keeping witnesses silent . William Jefferson Clinton. I did not have sexual relations with that woman. The impeachment effort against him failed by a single vote in the senate. President nixon aye. Aye. Aye. The ayes have it. Impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. I have impeached myself. Good evening. Im fareed zakaria. The constitutions impeachment clause was written by men who fought a revolution to escape the tyranny of kings, and now they wanted to keep the president from becoming a monarch. In one version, the grounds for impeachment were treason and bribery. Also proposed, maladministration, but James Madison said that was too vague. What if, he asked, a president were to cook up a scheme of peblglation. In other words, what if he were a crook . So george mason came up with the additional phrase high crimes and misdemeanors, and that is article ii, section 4 of the constitution. There was a moment in our history when it saved american democracy. But at other times its been turned into a cheap political trick hurled at opponents as a weapon. So which is it today . To answer that question, we need to understand the past so we know whether impeachment will work when we really need it. People are seriously talking about impeachment. They will immediately try to impeach the president. Well on our way to impeachment. The word impeachment has been used by our count at least 12,000 times this year, and thats just on cable news. I say impeachment, impeachment, impeachment. Impeach trump impeach trump impeach trump thousands are in the streets out here this evening. This was just one day after donald trump was elected president. But the outcry is hardly surprising. Donald trump is the most polarizing president in an already bitterly divided america. We will impeach him. We will impeach him. The people said, but he hasnt done anything wrong. Oh, that doesnt matter. We will impeach the president. We have been through periods of polarization before. The difference now, i think, is that we dont have a common baseline of facts. We disagree on reality. That dangerous state of affairs, we disagree on the facts on reality itself, is reflected in how americans feel about impeachment. In november exit polling, 77 of democrats favored removing the president from office. Just 5 of republicans supported impeachment. Is there evidence to support an impeachment case against donald trump . As a legal matter, there is enough material alleged now that, if true, would support an impeachment charge. But, says harvard law schools noah feldman the president of the United States. That doesnt mean the president could or should be impeached. Well explore that question later in the hour. But first, we need to go back to understand what happens when democracy depends on impeaching the president. We now think of watergate as a time when america came together and forced a crooked president out of office. But to Richard Nixon and the republican party, the watergate scandal was a partisan war. It was a war with a fifth column. I had a partisan Senate Committee staff, special prosecutor staff, media. We had a partisan Judiciary Committee staff, a fifth column. I gave them a sword, and they stuck it in, and they twisted it with relish. The real story of the war nixon describes is one that few americans know. Its a story of a small group of men who turned impeachment into an act of patriotism. It all begins on june 17th, 1972. Five men were arrested early saturday while trying to install eavesdropping equipment at the Democratic National committee. Why was someone breaking into the Democrats Campaign offices . I again proudly accept that nomination for president of the United States. Well, Richard Nixon won the presidency in 1968 by promising to get america out of vietnam. All we are saying, give peace a chance a but as the war dragged on, the Antiwar Movement exploded. As nixon campaigned for a second term, he feared vietnam might give his enemies the ammunition to defeat him. And so his men planned a series of dirty tricks. I suppose he went up the wall . To cripple the democrats. One of them was the watergate breakin. In 1972, nixon won reelection by a historic landslide. I, Richard Nixon, do solemnly swear but the watergate story was still growing. So just weeks after the election, inside the oval office, Richard Nixon declared war on the press. The press is the enemy. The press is the enemy. The press is the enemy. Write that on the black woboard 100 times. Sound familiar . You are the enemy of the people. I call the fake news the enemy of the people. There are other reminders of the present day. Donald trump directs particular anger at certain news organizations. Its like the failing new york times, which is like so bad, or cnn, which is so bad and so pathetic. They are the fake, fake, disgusting news. Nixon went after the Washington Post, whose reporters bob woodward and Carl Bernstein led watergate coverage. I want it clearly understood that from now on, ever, no reporter from the Washington Post is ever to be in the white house. Is that clear . Absolutely. None ever to be in. Now, that is a total order, and if necessary, ill fire you. Do you understand . I do understand. Nixon hated the press because it was digging into the very story he was desperate to hide, that the white house was deeply involved in the watergate coverup. His campaign seemed to work. Early in his second term, nixons Approval Rating soared. But then came the first crack in the white house defense. In the summer of 1973, all of america was riveted by the Senate Watergate hearings. What did the president know, and when did he know it . As the country watched, white House Counsel john dean turned on his president. I began by telling the president that there was a cancer growing on the presidency. Dean testified that the watergate burglars were blackmailing white house aides. The white house is now being directly subject to blackmail, and i didnt know how to handle it. I told him i could only make an estimate that it might be high as a Million Dollars or more. He told me that that was no problem. It was john deans word against the president of the United States. I have no comment. Nothing less than Richard Nixons presidency may ride on whether the public believes john dean or not. Most republicans continued to stand by their president. Raise your right hand. But then from a littleknown white house aide, a dramatic twist. My name is Alexander Porter butterfield. Mr. Butterfield, are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the oval office of the president . I was aware of listening devices, yes, sir. It was a bombshell. The pressure is on the president to produce those tapes. Had it not been for the tapes, im convinced Richard Nixon would have completed a second term. Instead, Richard Nixon would spend the rest of his presidency trying to keep anyone from hearing them. The white house made it clear today that president nixon has decided not to release tapes of his conversations. If i were to make public these tapes, the confidentiality of the office of the president would always be suspect from now on. He fought subpoena after subpoena. I have never heard or seen such outrageous, vicious, distorted reporting. Even as he tried to convince the American People that watergate was a press creation. What is it about Television Coverage of you in these past weeks and months that has so aroused your anger . Dont get the impression that you arouse my anger. One can only be angry with those he respects. Mr. President , mr. President. Finally, a drastic step. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Their offices have been sealed by the fbi. A mass firing of the men pursuing the tapes. The saturday night massacre. The news calls the sensation in the White House Press room and sent reporters scrambling for their telephones. A grave and profound crisis in which the president has set himself against his own attorney general and the department of justice. Does it have to do with the resignation of the attorney general . Well, it might. By the time it was over, the attorney general, the Deputy Attorney general, and the special prosecutor were all out. The bipartisan american outrage changes the politics of the situation for Richard Nixon. Tens of thousands of telegrams flooded washington. For many, Western Union was swamped. Most of them demanded Richard Nixon. Nixon was forced to appoint a new special prosecutor. And as the months went on, bit by bit he was forced to turn over the tapes. They were as damning as he had feared. White House Counsel john deans testimony turned out to be entirely accurate. I would say these people. Referee going to cost a Million Dollars over the next two years. You could get a Million Dollars, and you could get it in cash. I know where it could be gotten. It was clear nixons defenses were beginning to crumble. Would you consider the crimes to be impeachable if they did apply to you . Well, ive also quit beating my wife. The meeting will come to order. This is nondebatable. In july of 1974, in a packed hearing room, the house Judiciary Committee began to debate removing the president. Make no mistake about it. This is a turning point whatever we decide. Committee chairman peter rodino was a democratic machine liberal from newark, new jersey. He was new to the job. Some doubted whether he could handle it. A highly partisan prosecution if ever there was one. Many nixon loyalists were angry and still immovable. For republicans, impeaching their president was tantamount to political suicide. So they kept holding out for more evidence. The weight of evidence must be clear. It must be convincing, and lets keep to those two words. You cant substitute them for anything else. Clear and convincing but you cannot and you should not under any circumstance attempt to remove the highest office in the world for anything less than clear and convincing. But as emotions began to run high, the facts were calmly recited and documented. And something surprising happened. Theres an obstruction of justice going on. Someones trying to buy the silence of a witness. Nixon republican larry hogan, the father of marylands current governor, was moved by the evidence. The thing thats so appalling to me is that the president , when this whole idea was suggested to him, didnt in righteous indignation rise up and say, get out of here. Youre in the office of the president of the United States. How can you talk about blackmail and bribery and keeping witnesses silent . This is the presidency of the United States. One by one, rock ripped conservatives who had revered the president put conscience over party. I cannot condone what i have heard. I cannot excuse it, and i cannot and will not stand still for it. I wish the president could do something to absolve himself. Perhaps the most conservative southerner was Walter Flowers of alabama. He had served as the segregationist George Wallaces campaign chairman. I wake up at nights, at least on those nights ive been able to go to sleep lately, wondering if this could not be some sort of dream. Impeach the president of the United States. But he did vote to impeach even though Walter Flowers said it gave him an ulcer. Even the conservatives who stuck with the president reached across the aisle to say thank you. I must admit in all candidness that it has been very fair. This impeachment inquiry has been both historic and honorable. Republicans understood that they were not going to carry their base if they voted for impeachment. And some of them did it anyway. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Although opposed, no. Mr. Donahue . Aye. Mr. Brooks. Aye. Aye. Aye. A Committee Approved three articles of impeachment. Aye. Aye. Obstruction of justice, contempt of congress, abuse of power. Mr. Hutchinson. No. Aye. Aye. Aye. No. Mr. Rodino . Aye. Chairman peter rodino left the room and cried. Official impeachment would come later with a full house vote, but it never happened. Nixons wall of republican defenders had crumbled. Theres a countdown of sorts on tonight, a countdown toward the expected end of the nixon presidency. Tonight at 9 00 eastern daylight time, the president of the United States will address the nation. It was over. I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as president , i must put the interests of america first. Therefore, i shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. The impeachment the framers had imagined, it worked. Democracy worked. There is the president waving goodbye, and you hear the applause. But the scandal itself triggered a loss of faith in government and in politicians. It would be 25 years before impeachment would come up again. Your testimony is subject to the penalty of perjury. Do you understand that, sir . I do. This time, it was a completely different story. Holiday inn express. Book now for at least 20 off during our annual sale. All my life, ive wanted to be involved with people. In 1978, a brighteyed 32yearold bill clinton was running for governor of arkansas. Ive tried to bring out the best in people through politics, and ive really been very happy doing it. He and his wife hillary were also investing in some real estate. A nice little patch of land in the ozarks called whitewater. That plot of land on the white river, a twobit real estate deal that ended up losing money, would change the course of history. Are you subject did they read you your rights . Decades later. The whitewater controversy. Political turbulence over whitewater. Whitewater became a massive, spiraling investigation. Is there a deal, monica . That led prosecutors to a sex scandal. The ayes have it. There it is. William Jefferson Clinton is impeached. That became the second president ial impeachment in American History. How on earth did that Little Corner of arkansas i hereby deliver these articles of impeachment. Explode into a constitutional showdown. It was a twobit real estate deal, and yet somehow one thing leads to another, and we are on the house floor debating whether the president of the United States should be removed from office. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, ms. Lewinsky. When question think of the clinton impeachment, we think of a certain white house intern. But before there was monica, there were the mcdougals, jim and susan. Clinton might never have been impeached if not for them. It was jim mcdougal who had convinced the clintons to invest in whitewater, and they had other financial ties as well. So when jim and susan landed in legal trouble for fraud if im found guilty, ill go to the slammer. The Whitewater Development is not going to go away. There are too many questions. The clintons came under fire too. Questions have been raised about the clintons financial and personal involvement with mcdoug. In the end nothing came of it in terms of the clintons themselves, but it planted the seed for something much bigger, something that would lead to this ultimate constitutional confrontation. There was a growing drumbeat for an independent counsel to investigate whitewater. We did nothing improper, and i have nothing to say about it. Thank you. Old story. Clinton had a fateful choice to make. Block a special counsel and take a beating in the press. It appears to be a case of the president s past coming back to haunt him. Or give him, leaving himself open to a potentially limitless investigation. The president gave in. I dont want to be distracted by this anymore. Let them look into it. I just want to go back to work. Years later, he would call that decision one of the biggest miscalculations of his presidency. Once you have an independent counsel appointed with no budget and no limits, the prosecutors will keep looking for the crime until they can find it. The First Special prosecutor, robert fisk as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. Vowed to wrap