April 17, 1973: Nixon’s Aides, Staffers Will Testify in Watergate Investigations

President Nixon announces that his White House aides and staff members will appear if asked before the Senate Watergate Committee. He promises “major new developments” in the investigation, and says there has been real progress towards finding the truth. [Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum, 7/3/2007] No one will be given immunity from prosecution, Nixon promises. Nixon also says that he will suspend “any person in the executive branch or in government” who is indicted in the Watergate investigations. After Nixon’s brief statement, reporters hammer press secretary Ron Ziegler, who initially insists that Nixon’s statement does not contradict earlier positions. But the reporters are relentless, and Ziegler finally says: “This is the operative statement. The others are inoperative.” [Bernstein and Woodward, 1974, pp. 291-292] (Historian Richard Reeves will quote Ziegler somewhat differently, in a version that has entered the popular vernacular. According to Reeves, Ziegler says: “This is the operative statement on Watergate. Other statements are inoperative.”) [Reeves, 2001, pp. 590] The White House issues an official statement claiming Nixon had no prior knowledge of the Watergate affair. [Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum, 7/3/2007]