investigation of the democratic breaking thing we're back in the problem area because the fbi is not under control

you're listening to 20,000 hertz the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds

i'm dallas taylor this is the story of the Watergate tapes.

They have, their investigation is now leading in some productive areas.

This is an excerpt of a secret recording in 1972 of President Richard Nixon's chief of staff,

H.R. Haldeman, updating the president about the FBI's continuing investigation into the

Watergate scandal.

Also, there have been some things like an informant came in off the street to the FBI in Miami.

While it's hard to hear, this is the infamous smoking gun tape, the recording of Nixon discussing the illegal Watergate break-in.

This tape was like a smoking gun at a crime scene

that had Nixon's fingerprints all over it.

Just over 40 years ago,

a startling series of events in our nation's political history took place.

Almost everyone has heard about the Watergate scandal,

but many don't know what really happened,

why it's called Watergate, and how our lives are different today because of it.

Here's Nixon himself commenting on the break-in.

Well, I mean, there's no way that I'm just thinking if they don't cooperate, what do

they say that they were approached by the Cubans and it's with...

It's this piece of audio that led to the downfall of the 37th president of the United States.

Before we dive into the details of this tape, let's rewind and find out how we got here.

Before this scandal, the law was completely different.

...