Watergate is the scandal to which all other political scandals try to live up. “Monica-gate” (or Lewinsky-gate”) was the affair between President Bill Clinton and a White House intern; Hack-gate is the scandal involving News of the World tabloid reporters hacking into private citizens’ voice mails. Dozens of more “gate” scandals exist after a guard at the Watergate hotel discovered a break-in to to the National Democratic Convention headquarters.

On this day, May 22, in 1973, after a long series of denials of involvement, president Richard Nixon issued a 4,200-word public statement on the Watergate imbroglio, giving answer to the questions of “what did the president know” and “when did he know it.”

Nixon admitted his failure in supervision and in checking the illegal acts, saying “With hindsight, it is apparent that I should have given more heed to the warning signals I received along the way about a Watergate coverup.” But he remained defiant on his own role on the coverup, stating categorically he had no role in the break-ins or their subsequent cover-up.