Richard Nixon news stories on Newser

'Hatchet Man' Chuck Colson Dead at 80

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:04:03 CDT

Notorious political "hatchet man" and prison reform advocate Chuck Colson has died at age 80 outside of Washington, DC. Renowned as a "dirty tricks artist" for President Nixon, Colson underwent a religious conversion in 1973 when facing charges for his role in discrediting Pentagon whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. After 7 months...

Nixon: Young Politician in Love

Mark Russell — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:35:25 CDT

Richard Nixon—disgraced former president, political scoundrel ... and tender romantic? Six love letters from Nixon to his wife will go on display this week at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library to celebrate what would have been Pat Nixon's 100th birthday, reports AP . The letters were written by the former president...

Hey, GOP: Bring Back Our 2nd Party

Mark Russell — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:17:52 CST

Just like you get to throw in your tiles when Scrabble gives you seven useless vowels, so too do Republican voters keep picking again—and coming up with the same useless tiles, says Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . That's because the GOP is an out-of-date "captive of conflicting...

Book Alleges Richard Nixon Had Gay Affair

John Johnson — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:00:05 CST

Your salacious political rumor of the day: A soon-to-be-released biography of Richard Nixon alleges that he had a longtime gay affair with Miami businessman Charles "Bebe" Rebozo, reports the Huffington Post . The allegation in Nixon's Darkest Secrets is getting some traction because the book is written by veteran political reporter...

Nixon Testimony: Watergate Tape Gap an Accident

Kevin Spak — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:58:05 CST

The public finally got to hear Richard Nixon’s long-sealed grand jury testimony regarding Watergate today—and what they heard didn’t amount to much. Asked to explain the infamous 18½ missing minutes of tape, Nixon said it was probably just erased by accident. “I practically blew my stack” when I found...

'Deep Throat' Garage New DC Tourist Attraction

Rob Quinn — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:20:05 CDT

The most important parking garage in American history has joined the list of Washington DC-area tourist attractions. A historical marker has been placed in front of the suburban parking garage where Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward met the anonymous "Deep Throat," receiving information that brought the Watergate scandal to light...

Nixon Memo Reveals Ailes' Plan for Fox Prototype

Kevin Spak — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:35:33 CDT

Where did Roger Ailes get the idea for Fox News? Maybe from a Nixon-era memo aptly titled “A Plan For Putting the GOP on TV,” that envisioned a kind of proto-Fox News delivering “pro-administration” news to stations around the country. The 1970 memo, which Gawker found buried in the Richard...

Nixon Tapes: Kissinger Is a 'Vile Creature'

Matt Cantor — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:41:05 CST

Ever since Watergate, Henry Kissinger has deserved to be “shamed, ostracized, and excluded”—yet, for some reason, people still pay him to speak and have “dinners in his honor,” complains Christopher Hitchens on Slate . Well, the new Nixon tapes should finally change that: quotes reveal that Kissinger would “be indifferent...

Nixon Tapes: Prez Disses Blacks, Jews, Italians, Irish

Polly Davis Doig — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 07:03:37 CST

Turns out Jews weren't the only ethnic group Richard Nixon liked to talk trash about: The latest tapes released from his presidency show Nixon offering up his less-than-complimentary views on blacks, Italians, and Irish, in addition to the aforementioned Jews. As the New York Times reports, Nixon told an aide...