It has been 41 years. Since you and bernstein came out with all the president s men that chronicle the watergate scandal. And then your new book the last of the president s men it brings us back to that period. Looking at the Nixon White House with the chief of staff especially after he acknowledged today you think youre doesnt reporting on watergate . This isnt watergate but nixon and writing so many books on him. I thought i was done. It is a better one than you and i. The next time youre in washington with get together some have a few interesting stories that the Washington Post gives me on limited time. To say i will stop by the you have any documents . They said yes i have a few and there are 20 boxes. I thought there was a box but not 20. 70s that were original and we did not know about. So i went for more interviews. And then go out tla jolla for a fun weekend. To sit in this dark apartment. With the Nixon White House sitting in 50 months to keep this file on onionskin paper and we would sit there to thumb through that more methodically then began to say this is a small book. And this is the result. Is there any statute of limitations . My lawyer would say dont answer that question. But i will. I have done this for so many decades you want to be careful for those that our sensitive. But if they really tell you something new and you check with the authorities if this will do real harm to national security. If you have Something Like some of these documents to show the extent to which nixon and kissinger there is a document from january 22 and has some of the same quotations that i had but look at all the things that they left out. It pushes me to the question how good is history . The more you dig in the more that you realize it is not as good as it should be. If the historical facts are not correct then the understanding is reduced. Kissinger and nixon were up to lots of things. You say at one point in your book and particular vietnams to say there is time of a fresh examination with the substantial efforts to not explain what theyre up to. There are so many documents that there is a particular memo because these documents are in the library of congress. And we chuckled to say there are 1 million documents in the kissinger file. Can you imagine going through 1 million of Henry Kissingers papers . Now there is a biographer actually working on that. He has been given access. The first volume of kissingers life through 68 called the idealist. This is the magazine edition [laughter] when you were working on watergate you tried knocking on the door. There was a little peek from the living room. I did not try it again and i should be faulted for that. And then nixons council made the allegations and the Senate Watergate committee was trying to find out if there were something to verify and i told to people on the staff that you should talk to butterfield because those including mark fell said that butterfield who is in charge of internal security that has been used for wiretapping so they called them. There is a very long section in the book of how butterfield and didnt want to come forward as a volunteer. In then be asked a direct question. Actually he said you filtered me. [laughter] do you agree with that . Director i dont know. Perhaps not. You look at all the people they did not interview they did an extensive interview with him quite early senate there was a time he thought he would tell his own story. When the project did not go anywhere. He did not get to the Nixon White House like all those who write memoirs think their life is interesting. [laughter] so the publisher said no. We started talking and meeting but there was never a signed agreement. The i am 72. Not 89 but you realize it will not last much longer and the stories can be told. So you tell my story he didnt read the book until it was published and in print and relinquished control to say i can do this this is my research in the context of other information you spend more than 40 hours . What is it like . He looks young girl then i. He is an honest witness. He talks about some of his own feelings under nixons orders to put this in the secret Service Detail to catch him in paris to order this and yes, sir, he was in charge of the internal security job with the secret service he walked to headquarters and had a person who was in the secret service they put him in that as a spy and said i will do anything for you and now he feels remorse because he feels he could be indicted. And that showed up bomb the tape. He feels very conflicted in a number of ways. That is the best witness of somebody who has remorse and has written their memoir is a published. Wasnt by taking a risk . So we had formal interviews and countless breakfast if anyones want a restaurant recommendation i can give them to you. Particularly the do not go list. [laughter] but the image that comes through butterfield size is is someone that is quite strange or lonely or obsessed. Nixon could be petty and scheming. Much of this is the picture that we have gotten from the white house tapes. But butterfield adds more anecdotes but what most surprised you . There is a topsecret memo on page 116 in the book where kissinger says report to nixon. Just routine about vietnam a document of a topsecret code word and sensitive and nixon writes to kissinger in his own handwriting to be in control of vietnam and what is the result . Zilch total failure. And to report back on this there is no evidence of the report i think one was not made but the memo itself turns it on its head because said it is militarily necessary. To say there was a nationally televised interview of dan rather with the intensified bombing before 1971 and nixon said it was very effective. And went on at some length how important the bombing was. It was so important he would announce the removal of more combat troops. So the president and commander in chief is declared with the obama campaign. It is safe the bombing campaign. It is a failure. That 1. 1 million tons of bombs dropped in Southeast Asia killing thousands. The work continues then you connect the dots per card nixon and kissinger talked about how popular the bombing was it is two one in favor of the bombing in then with most of the intense bombing ever i wish i had a tape of this common nixon is talking with kissinger and he says you won reelection may 8. Not the war. So to thank you would get the pow back talk about peace with honor no combat troops part of the war strategy to say if you put this together i think it is the other side of watergate for him to win reelection that they nominated the weakest candidate that turned out to be George Mcgovern with the bombing and the vietnam war to have peace with honor when i put this together i feel a revulsion and sadness with the commander in chief you do your job i will do mine. I thought this is a level of cynicism. End nixon was right. Fast forward to a the present day with the election campaign. Was it taken from butterfield account . To some of these questions to a lack without having to wait 40 years . If it was 1968 there is Something Weird could find this out . No. But the answer to your question to put butterfield in each of the campaigns. To hope that will not happen so it falls to a journalism with that intense biography did you see the attorney rose interview with putin last month . I think he went to moscow. And charlie rose said to go into new territory. To say you were in the kgb if you were there your always there and putin said not a single phase or stage of our life passes without leaving a trace. He is well prepared. It is true. Witness nixon in the way he expresses these things and then of those were invited to the country club nobody asked me to the prom. He is just on fire. I think it is true. Do you . Life passes without the new trace. To say that journalism didnt least provide me with the basics. And found a the traces as best you can. The in that internet culture to tell me in 140 characters with regard to butterfield disclosure of the tapes, he still wrestles with what motivated him after all these years he will refine his answer. Do you see any lessons in his experience they may find themselves similarly challenged to come forward . You want people to do that but it is hard in a warehouse that there is of moral dimension and people that all levels should think about it to think is this right . I have often wondered if nixon had one lawyer who had a credibility and authority to move these things that were going on with watergate and to say youre president of the United States you cannot do these things. He may have been shot. [laughter] but no one did to my knowledge. [laughter]. I am sure, of ben you worked for how many years . As opposed to 30. My final years, very much a presence when i started. Is motto was, the truth emerges, essentially the direction, for his reporter could emerge faster. Get the story, get the story. Make it come on. Why did he have it 30 years ago. About time. He was somebody who always had a sense, what is hidden. We are not getting the full story. You asked the question, the anecdotes, so many in the book, and intentionally kept what the short is, there is one that is almost when i heard it from butterfield, this sounds a little extreme. And it is printed and substantiated and original, it was Christmas Eve 1969, nixon is over at the staff officer, walking around, wishing everyone Merry Christmas, imagine Merry Christmas from richard nixon, pops into your office, Merry Christmas, a number of staffers with pictures of john f. Kennedy, he calls butterfield and he was a rage, in nixons words, infestation and we have to have all these pictures of kennedy and pictures of me. This should be loyal to the current president , and he writes butterfield a memo saying there is one woman, and the rosenberg, had two kennedy pictures, the double infestation. What about this woman who has two pictures, what about her . Where did she come from, get on the case, the president asked about it once week at least, butterfield conducts an investigation, and convinces head of staff office, it is only proper to get nixon pictures and butterfield wrote directly to the president , two page memo and the subject is an education. Sanitation. Like there was a disinfectant, he describes these efforts and how he proudly got all of the kennedy pictures out, and he checked on it the rosenberg with the cia, fbi, house Americans Committee and worked their long driven anyone, 41 years, lived with her sister in Silver Spring and butterfield went out on a limb saying i think she is a loyal american. Only imagine if she had not checked out. We are ready for questions. Could you move the mic closer. To meet . To you. Hands up. Thank you for doing all this work. What is happening to the documents . Are they going into the archives . What will the where will the documents go in butterfield . I think there will be something worked out so they wont be lost to history. As i say, if you ever try to go through 20 documents, sometimes out pops the c i a reporter. And made beat more stuff. With everything at your pictures. [laughter] bob woodward, cannot. Where was this . One or the other. [inaudible] as you sit back and watch which one [inaudible] [laughter] you dont want to get me in trouble, do you . Safe in saying this trade. You have no idea how many women i have disappointed. I mean, it is sincere disappointment. What happened what actor would portray you now . I dont think that is going to happen. Okay. Which of the candidates . Lets take just one. Without value judgment. Donald trump. How many people want the next president to be somebody who is totally out of touch with reality . I say this he propose deporting 11 million people. Anyone have any sense whether that is feasible or proper, the logistics and so forth, something people should think about, how many people in your neighborhood will be deported . Just say the candidate, all candidates need to be in touch with reality. I cite that not as singling donald trump out but that is very concrete proposal, that is not realistic. Good nixon and that nixon, in fairness, butterfield has two anecdotes to portray a softer, more compassionate side to nixon the more positive good side. It is there, there is no you cant have a criminal president. We cant have somebody manipulating a war for political purposes. That is a sacred trust. [applause] you have to think about what happened. Nixon resigned in august of 1974, actually would cause the knicks and resignation was not the press and not the democrats, the republicans. Barry goldwater, very conservative republican from arizona often called the conscience of the Republican Party, gave Carl Bernstein and myself his diary, and explained what happened and what happened is Barry Goldwater told us he turned against nixon, too many lives and the Republican Leadership in the middle of the week, the first week of august of 1974, john rhodes, House Republican leader, the Senate Republican leader, goldwater, went to visit nixon and nixon asked and comfortably according to gold waters diary, substantiated by roads and hugh scott, said i am going to be impeached in the house, that is the sure thing. How many votes do i have in the senate . 20 . Of course that would mean be removed from office and goldwater said my last count is you only have four votes, one of them is not mine. Nixon resigned, these are people who believed nixon had positive trades. In the end every member of the House Judiciary Committee which was considering impeachment, vote to impeach nixon, 30 or 42 people. He crossed it political constitutional and moral line who caused his own party to reject him, are they good things . Sure. The Republican Party and the Democratic Party and citizens of the country said we cannot have this level, we cannot have this criminal. [inaudible] where is the parking garage. Across the potomac in arlington, theyre tearing it down, did they tear it down, the flak that the city put up or somebody put up saying this is where the meetings took place. [inaudible] you had an opportunity comparison to the pentagon papers. Ed snowden is the nsa whistleblower. Colleagues of mine at the post who exposed that and got ed snowdens papers and so forth, interviewed him extensively, i dont think there are questions that necessarily have not been asked frankly, there is a big debate going on about the significance of all this is, it served the purpose of warning everyone, do you have an iphone Hillary Clinton is discovering that. To answer your question [inaudible] [laughter] really . Is the Security Camera on the plaque . [inaudible] i am sorry. Being young. It is started in the book we did all the president s men, we young, unmarried, both divorced, i had come out of the navy, and i love reporting, i had been at the post nine months when the watergate burglary occurred, 1972, i would work the police beat and come in and do stories during the day. I had been in the navy under the thumb of the authorities and the liberation of go find good stories, ben bradlee, the truth is emerging too slowly. Get off your butt, the morning of the watergate burglary the editors had the burglary, and who would be dumb enough to come in and work this morning . My name came up. The top of the list. So they called me and said that was an edge of being kind of the guy around the office who would do anything. I would do anything because i dont know that you would agree with this but i think reporters have the best jobs in this country. Why . Because we get to make momentary entries in to peoples lives when they are interesting and get out when they cease to be interesting. If you are a lawyer or run a bookstore or adopted, you have to deal with the routine. Did you ever come into the newsroom of the Washington Post and have an editor say go find something boring and routine to write about . No. You sit around and say what dont we know . What is the followup . What has meaning . What is having impact in peoples lives, great job. You cant be a journalist, be an interview journalist. Fair point. Anything you found does any of it conflict with what we already know . A good question. I didnt find anything that conflicted, just more of this. Nixon was the really lonely man and until i looked at the butterfield materials, butterfield had that front row seat right next to the oval office for three years and adore right in to the oval office, to go see nixon at any time, have total access and that is the catbird seat. And see nixon and butterfield describes, nixon would work in the oval office, 6 30 or 7 00, he was in washington and you would think he would go up to the residence, and make sure there were no kennedy pictures, he had an office there, the secret service put in, put his feet up on the stool, keep his jacket on, have his manservant cook him bitter alone and maybe have some wine with a yellow legal pad going through whenever butterfield says was often petty stuff, what kind of what will we have on air force one . Concerned with instead of i think it is really important not just for journalists but for everyone, particularly president s to listen to people, what nixon did is one of the things he asked butterfield to do, he had an early stage in rand Paul Butterfield in and said here is the guest list, you see five checkmarks, those are the only people i want to talk to after the dinner. There is coffee and drink session for 30 minutes and it was Arnold Palmer and Clare Boothe Luce and no congressman, no senators, i cant use of language in the meeting room of what nixon called and he said no, those that the only five i want to talk to and this is butterfield in black tie, nixon in black tie, do it now, butterfield had been an air force colonel, called the social aid, they had Junio