“We are doing everything we can to take this incident and to investigate it and not to cover it up,” Nixon continued. “What really hurts in matters of this sort is not the fact that they occur—because overzealous people in campaigns do things that are wrong—what really hurts is if you try to cover it up.” Nixon’s words surely ranked as among the most brazen—or least self-aware—statements ever by someone actively involved in the very behavior he condemned.
