WASHINGTON — Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony about the Watergate scandal that destroyed his presidency finally is coming to light.
Months after a judge ordered the June 1975 records unsealed, the government's Nixon Presidential Library is making them available online at the National Archives on Thursday.
Nixon was interviewed near his California home 10 months after resigning from office, when a pardon protected him for any past crimes. It was the first time an ex-president had testified before a grand jury, and it is rare for any such testimony to be made public.
Historians sued to see the records, hoping the testimony would shed light on the scandal that prompted Nixon to quit under threat of impeachment. Despite the pardon, he could have been prosecuted for perjury had he lied to the grand jury.
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