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Nixon Library Ends Watergate Whitewash

Tears down Watergate room

By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser User

Posted Jul 8, 2007 5:55 PM CDT

(Newser) – Richard Nixon's library may be backing off its insistence that its honoree was not a crook. The private museum is poised to become a federal institution, and its new director is working to add some nuance to the fiercely pro-Nixon exhibits—starting with the Watergate room. "I can't run a shrine," he told the LA Times.

The current display represents the resignation of the disgraced president as a "coup" and the investigation into his administration's regal secrecy as conspiratorial defamation. The California library is about to inherit Nixon's White House papers, which the government snatched to avoid their destruction; management says they'll play a central role in the new exhibit.

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Fred Thompson, left, listens as Sen. Sam Ervin, D-N.C., chairman of the Watergate Investigating Committee, center, listens to other members of the committee during the first day of public hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington in this May 18, 1973 file photo.   From left; Thompson, chief minority counsel; Sen....
Fred Thompson, left, listens as Sen. Sam Ervin, D-N.C., chairman of the Watergate Investigating Committee, center, listens to other members of the committee during the first day of public hearings on...   (Associated Press)
his top aides viewed the fellow Republican as a willing, if not too bright, ally, according to White House tapes. (AP Photo/File)
his top aides viewed the fellow Republican as a willing, if not too bright, ally, according to White House tapes. (AP Photo/File)   (Associated Press)
Then ranking minority of the House Judiciary Committee J. Edward Hutchinson, R- Mich., left, confers with the minority counsel Samuel Alexander Garrison III before the opening of the debate of impeachment charges against President Nixon, in this July 24, 1974 file photo in Washington. Garrison, who defended President Richard Nixon...
Then ranking minority of the House Judiciary Committee J. Edward Hutchinson, R- Mich., left, confers with the minority counsel Samuel Alexander Garrison III before the opening of the debate of impeachment...   (Associated Press)
Fred Thompson, third from left, listens during a hearing of the Senate Watergate Committee in this Aug. 3, 1973, file photo. From left are
Fred Thompson, third from left, listens during a hearing of the Senate Watergate Committee in this Aug. 3, 1973, file photo. From left are   (Associated Press)
Comedian Rich Little, known for his impersonations, including this one of former President Richard Nixon, goes through his routine as he receives the 1,765th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in this  July 27, 1983 file photo.  Twenty-three years ago, Little stepped to the podium at the White...
Comedian Rich Little, known for his impersonations, including this one of former President Richard Nixon, goes through his routine as he receives the 1,765th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in this...   (Associated Press)
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