Watergate Scandal

• The Watergate Scandal involved President Richard Nixon and his associates plotting to spy on the Democratic headquarters, leading to arrests, convictions, and Nixon's resignation and subsequent pardon.
• The Democratic Party Headquarters was located in the Watergate office complex.

CREEP

• CREEP (Committee for the Reelection of the President) aimed to help Nixon win reelection against the Democrat, Senator George McGovern.
• In May 1972, five individuals broke into the Watergate complex to install espionage equipment, returning in June to readjust it; a security guard's discovery led to their arrest.
• Multiple members of the Watergate robbery team were either members of or affiliated with CREEP.
• James McCord was the security director of CREEP.
• Virgilio Gonzalez was a Cuban refugee who believed Watergate could aid Cuban liberation.
• E. Howard Hunt's involvement linked Watergate to Nixon and CREEP.
• G. Gordon Liddy served as general counsel for CREEP.
• Charles Colson was a special advisor to the president.

The Plumbers

• Prior to Watergate, Nixon organized a secret intelligence staff named the Plumbers to investigate his political adversaries.
• In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, detailing American involvement in Vietnam, to the press.
• The Plumbers were tasked with stopping the leak and discrediting Ellsberg, marking the beginning of Nixon's abuse of power.

The Saturday Night Massacre

• Reporters Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and Judge John J. Sirica suspected a cover-up, along with the Senate Investigative Committee.
• Conspirators began providing information, and Woodward and Bernstein received leaks from a secret informant known as ''Deep Throat.''
• Testimony revealed Nixon secretly taped White House conversations which investigators believed would prove his guilt.
• Nixon's lawyers claimed executive privilege to keep the tapes secret.
• In the Saturday Night Massacre, Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox, leading to other resignations in protest.
• Nixon originally submitted some tapes but was ultimately forced to hand them all over.

The Smoking Gun Tape

• On July 24, 1974, in U.S. v. Nixon, the Supreme Court ruled Nixon could not use executive privilege to conceal evidence in a criminal investigation.
• The "smoking gun tape" revealed Nixon's complicity in the Watergate cover-up.

Richard Nixon Impeachment

• Nixon's impeachment was based on:
  • Obstruction of justice.
  • Violation of the U.S. Constitution.
  • Unlawful withholding of evidence.
• Nixon's impeachment brought him up on charges, but a trial and vote would have been required to forcibly remove him from the presidency.

Nixon Impeachment Timeline

• 1971: Release of the Pentagon Papers.
• June 17, 1972: Five individuals broke into the Watergate office to install espionage equipment.
• June 17, 1972: D.C. Metro police arrested the men after being alerted of the break in.
• January 8, 1973: The Watergate trial began, and Congress opened a special investigation known as the Watergate Committee.
• Mid-1973: Nixon fought to keep the tapes hidden.
• October 20, 1973: The Saturday Night Massacre.
• March 1, 1974: Seven of Nixon’s aids were indicted.
• July 24, 1974: The Supreme Court ordered the tapes to be turned over.
• August 5, 1974: Nixon released the tapes.
• August 8, 1974: Nixon resigned.
• September 8, 1974: Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon.

The Crimes of Nixon

• Nixon's greater crime was using executive privilege to obstruct the investigation by keeping vital evidence private and firing those who opposed him.
• Nixon's actions, occurring amidst division over the Vietnam War, disillusioned the people and made them think more critically about the actions of their presidents.
• Nixon was never convicted, but many of his accomplices faced prison sentences.