Why did Nixon set up the system for the Watergate tapes?

Question

I cannot recall, nor who first made their existence public knowledge. Dean?

Answer 1

I don't remember, but you can probably search the net or read the books, "All the President's Men" and "The Final Days."  Also, the prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, wrote a book about Watergate.  I'm pretty sure it's called, "The Right and The Power.  John Dean also has a book, "Blind Ambition."  After all these years of hauling all these books around, I donated them to Goodwill two weeks ago.  I kept them in case I had children, so they could learn about Watergate.  They both graduated from college without ever reading any of them.  It was a sad but riveting time in our history..

Answer 2

The fellow who made them public was Alexander Butterworth, an aide in the Executive Office of the President. Nixon intended for the tapes to record historical events that could be digested and put in the books he planned to write. His predecessor, Lyndon Baines Johnson, also had a taping system. However it was not as extensive and the recording devices were not as widespread in location as they were in Nixon's administration.

Answer 3

Was it President Johnson who instigated the White House Tapes??

Answer 4

I think it was Dean.  Most likely, he thought having tapes of his conversations could help protect him somehow, or he wanted a record of his presidency in his later years.  After he left office, if any argument came up over his legacy, he could cull the tapes for parts that made him look good and produce them as evidence that he was really a great guy. Either way it was a pretty dumb thing to do.