LIANE HANSEN, host:
As Dan mentioned, in the summer of 1973, former White House counsel John Dean testified as part of the Senate's investigation into the Watergate break-in. This is a taped except of Dean as he recalled that meeting with President Nixon.
(Soundbite of archived recording)
Mr. JOHN DEAN (Former White House Counsel): What I had hoped to do in this conversation was to have the president tell me we had to end the matter now. Accordingly, I gave considerable thought to how I would present this situation to the president and try to make as dramatic a presentation as I could to tell him how serious I thought the situation was if the cover-up continue.
I began by telling the president that there was a cancer growing on the presidency. And if the cancer was not removed, the president himself would be killed by it. I also told him that it was important that this cancer be removed immediately because it was growing more deadly every day.
HANSEN: John Dean's testimony would prove to be prophetic - perhaps even self-fulfilling. Richard Nixon resigned as president the next year.