Richard Nixon, who resigned as president after the Watergate scandal, famously said during a 1973 press conference: "In all of my years in public life, I have never obstructed justice. ... People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."
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Bill Clinton: 'I did not have sexual relations ... ' —
Bill Clinton, who was impeached in 1998 and then acquitted by the Senate, narrowly denied having "sexual relations with that woman," former intern Monica Lewinsky.
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John Edwards: 'The story is false' —
After being confronted with allegations of a mistress and child, John Edwards, the one-time presidential hopeful told The National Enquirer: "The story is false. It's completely untrue, ridiculous."
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Anthony Weiner: 'I had no idea what happened ... ' —
Then-Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-New York, who got caught up in a Twitter photo scandal, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "I had no idea what happened that night. ... Sometimes a prank is a prank."
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Eric Massa: 'It is not true. Period' —
Eric Massa, the former congressman from New York who resigned facing an investigation over allegations of inappropriate conduct with male staffers, first said he didn't grope staffers but had been involved in a "tickle party." Later he told CNN's Larry King, "No, it is not true. Period. I don't know how else to answer your question."
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Rod Blagojevich: 'I have done nothing wrong' —
Rod Blagojevich, the one-time Illinois governor who was convicted of political corruption charges, left, denied he tried to sell a vacant U.S. Senate seat once held by Barack Obama: "I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong."
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William Jefferson: 'The $90,000 was the FBI's money' —
Former Rep. William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, was convicted of corruption charges after the FBI found $90,000 in his freezer. "The $90,000 was the FBI's money," he said.
Edwin Edwards: 'I did not do anything wrong ... ' —
Edwin Edwards is a former Louisiana governor who served nine years after being convicted of 17 counts of fraud and corruption. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor," he once said. Edwards announced in March 2014 that he would run for the House seat in Louisiana's 6th Congressional District.
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Kwame Kilpatrick: 'Hell yeah! ... I want some more' —
Kwame Kilpatrick is the former Detroit mayor who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice after investigators showed text messages between him and his mistress involving sex that he said never happened. In response to her text about whether he missed her sexually, he replied: "Hell yeah! You couldn't tell. I want some more." In October 2013, Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in prison after his conviction on two dozen federal charges, including racketeering, extortion and the filing of false tax returns.