Richard Nixon Quotes
You remember Huston's plan. I want it implemented on a thievery basis. God damn it. Blow the safe and get it.
Nixon's suspected that Brookings had evidence about the secret Cambodian bombings and his pre-election felony regarding Vietnam. White House Staff Member Tom Huston had put together a plan to obtain embarrassing and potentially ruinous documents and other documents that would allow them to blackmail Nixon's critics who were regarded as "enemies".
Richard M. Nixon, 1913-1994, 37th President of the United States (Republican, CA), Discussion with his key staff about obtaining possibly damaging evidence against Nixon from the Brookings Institution, June 17, 1972, The Nixon Secret Recordings of the Oval Office
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Hunt was in operational charge of the “Plumbers” and the illegal Watergate conspiracy, burglary and cover-up operations. He had denied participating in illegal activities, but admitted to “clandestine” activities which were against the law such as breaking into offices and stealing the contents. His “logic” was that if the President authorized something, it could not be against the law. The courts of course disagreed, and Hunt with most of the other Watergate Conspirators was convicted. Hunt’s argument was resurrected during the George W. Bush administration, when the Vice President and a few Bush appointed lawyers in the government took the position that torture of criminal suspects or wartime adversaries which was against the law, could be legally used if the President authorized it. They pointed out that Abraham Lincoln acted without authority of law on several occasions in the crises of the Civil War. However, Lincoln in all cases, went to Congress to obtain the authorization. The Bush people were surreptitious about their law breaking and publicly insisted that the did NOT brak the law, If it were not for leaks to the press, it would not have been known that the administration was breaking the law.
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, Nixon previously served as the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961, having risen to national prominence as a representative and senator from California. After five years in the White House that saw the conclusion to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union and China, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, he became the only president to resign from the office, following the Watergate scandal.
