Dirck in RealAudio

Nixon in RealAudio

As his family stands by, a tearful Richard Nixon says a final farewell to his staff in the East Room of the White House following his resignation. Faced with impeachment, Nixon resigned August 9, 1974, almost five months after he had been named by a federal grand jury as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Watergate case.  

In a televised address from the Oval Office, Nixon said he hoped his departure would start the "process of healing that is so desperately needed in America" and said that some of his judgements had been wrong.  "I've never been a quitter," he said. "To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct in my body."  

The day Nixon left the White House, Gerald Ford was sworn in as president and a month later Ford granted a controversial pardon to Nixon for any crimes he "committed or may have committed" while president.