Why did Richard Nixon lie?

Answer 1

Well, a great many things, but he stood up in front of the cameras and famously denied everything about the Watergate scandal and said "I am not a crook!" And then the tapes proved he ordered the break-in and in fact WAS a crook.

Nixon was a little before my time, but my understanding is that he wasn't a terrible president aside from the big scandal. He wasn't great or anything, but if not for Watergate he most likely would have been remembered as an average to above average president. Closing the gold window was idiotic, but he founded the EPA, made the gestures to China that opened them to trade with the west, and did a great many other things. Like I said - mixed bag.

But he's only remembered for Watergate.

Answer 2

It's complicated. At first, Nixon did not know the truth behind the Watergate scandal, and when he was told this, it was likely he was afraid that if he had revealed it to the press, they would have accused him of being involved.