Taylor was appointed director of the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace while still working for the former president. His tenure consisted of the growth and expansion of the library, as well as the fostering and preservation of Nixon's presidential legacy. In 1999, Taylor sought to enhance the former's president's image when he authorized the release of 124 Nixon-era White House tapes regarding the
Watergate scandal and Nixon's involvement in it. Taylor acknowledged, "The entire record of Watergate needs to be viewed through the prism of [the] Vietnam [War] ... Richard Nixon was a war-time president. He will still be criticized for his actions but the criticism will be fairer when viewed in that light." During that period, a plan to reunite the president's scattered records was undertaken, but largely fell apart due to a court case regarding a $14 million donation from
Bebe Rebozo, a close friend of Nixon and his wife. Taylor labeled it as "a first step in abolishing the anomaly" of Nixon being the only president between
Herbert Hoover and
Bill Clinton without a government-operated library. this included replacing Taylor as director with
Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian. As executive director of the foundation, Taylor's position remained similar to that of which he previously held, although the foundation is only responsible for Nixon's pre- and post-presidential papers, library grounds, and event space; the National Archives controls the exhibits themselves. Taylor announced his resignation in February 2009. ==Ordained ministry==