Watergate scandal
On the 15th of May 1969, The New York Times exposed a secret expansion of bombing into Cambodia that President Richard Nixon had ordered. This revelation triggered a furious response from the White House. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger pushed Nixon to stop all leaks by any means necessary. Attorney General John Mitchell filed a restraining order against the newspaper, halting its publication of the Pentagon Papers. The Supreme Court eventually ruled against Nixon, but the damage was done. Journalist Garrett Graff later called this episode a self-inflicted disaster. Nixon's paranoia grew as he suspected his own staff were leaking information. He hired private investigators Jack Caulfield and Anthony Ulasewicz from the New York Police Department to find the source. These men would become part of a new unit dedicated to stopping leaks.
In December 1971, G. Gordon Liddy became general counsel for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President. He proposed Operation Gemstone, a series of covert schemes including kidnapping protesters and bugging Democratic offices. Attorney General John Mitchell initially rejected these plans as unrealistic and expensive. However, after Mitchell resigned to lead the campaign directly, he approved a simpler version of the plan. On the 17th of June 1972, five burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. They planted listening devices disguised as smoke detectors and removed doors from their hinges to enter the office. Security guard Frank Wills discovered the operation around 1:50 a.m. and called the police. Three Metropolitan officers arrived within three minutes and arrested the intruders under false names. Hunt and Liddy escaped their hotel room in a Jeep, leaving behind traceable items in the team's suites.
On the 18th of June 1972, G. Gordon Liddy visited the CRP and destroyed files related to Operation Gemstone. He reported the arrests to Jeb Stuart Magruder shortly thereafter. Nixon was informed later that day. Federal prosecutors searched the burglars' hotel rooms and found $100 bills and papers mentioning E. Howard Hunt. The White House began a massive housecleaning effort. John Dean ordered Hunt's White House safe drilled open while Ehrlichman told him to deep six incriminating files in the Potomac River. Dean personally destroyed two Hunt notebooks and an address book. Acting FBI director L. Patrick Gray burned surrendered files around Christmas 1972. On June 23, Nixon approved a plan to have the CIA pressure the FBI to drop its probe under the pretense of national security. This conversation became known as the Smoking Gun tape. Haldeman and Ehrlichman relayed this message to CIA officials who agreed to pressure the FBI to end their investigation.
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were assigned to cover the Watergate story by editor Barry Sussman at The Washington Post. They discovered that four of the burglars were Cuban exiles. Woodward attended the preliminary hearing where James McCord admitted to being former CIA. The reporters contacted the White House switchboard and reached Hunt's office at the Mullen Company PR Firm. They published a headline implicating the White House: White House Consultant Linked to Bugging Suspects. An anonymous source named Mark Felt provided critical leads to Woodward. He created a covert protocol for 2 a.m. rendezvous in an underground garage in Rosslyn, Virginia. Woodward placed a flag on his balcony while Felt intercepted and noted the daily New York Times. Felt also leaked information to other outlets like The Washington Daily News. Their reporting exposed the connection between the break-in and the White House despite initial skepticism from editors.
On the 19th of October 1973, President Nixon announced that Senator John Stennis would review the Oval Office tapes. This deal was not approved by anyone involved including Cox or Richardson. On October 20, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and resigned in protest. Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus declined the order and was fired after offering his resignation. Solicitor General Robert Bork agreed to fire Cox. FBI agents sealed the Force's office and blocked entry of Cox's staff. The event triggered a constitutional crisis and drew wide condemnation. Congress received nearly 500,000 mailgrams and telegrams calling for another special prosecutor. Nixon's approval rating fell to 24 percent. Protests were held outside the White House as public trust eroded rapidly following this sequence of events.
In January 1974, an expert panel concluded that an 18-minute gap on a tape had been erased using hand keys rather than a pedal. Rose Mary Woods claimed she accidentally hit record while reaching for the telephone but could not explain the discrepancy. On the 27th of July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-to-11 to recommend obstruction of justice as grounds for impeachment. They also recommended abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On August 5, the White House released the smoking gun tape showing Nixon lying about his involvement from the inception of the cover-up. Haldeman-Nixon conversation revealed direct presidential participation in obstructing justice. Republican support collapsed immediately after its release. Senator Barry Goldwater told Haig that Nixon only had twelve votes in the Senate. Fearing a berserk Nixon might trigger nuclear armageddon, Defense Secretary James Schlesinger alerted military leaders to confirm any launch orders with himself or Kissinger.
On the 7th of August 1974, three Republican leaders visited Nixon in the Oval Office to inform him he lacked enough support for acquittal. Facing inevitable impeachment, Nixon resolved to resign. In an address on August 8, he announced his resignation effective at noon the following day. Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded him declaring our long national nightmare is over. On the 8th of September 1974, Ford issued Nixon a full pardon for all acts committed as president. Ford may have feared damage from a long trial or technical acquittal delegitimizing his own presidency. The president's approval rating fell by twenty-two percentage points shortly after. Jerald terHorst resigned as press secretary in protest calling it incompatible with good government. No tapes or documentation suggest an explicit agreement between Ford and Nixon regarding the pardon despite suspicions of a secret deal.
Watergate led to legislation limiting powers of the imperial presidency including designation of presidential records as publicly owned. Congress organized the Church Committee to investigate illegal activities by the CIA following revelations about family jewels. Concerns emerging from burglaries resulted in the Privacy Act of 1974 and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. These laws limited ability of federal agencies to collect information on Americans. Congress strengthened Freedom of Information Act creating intelligence oversight committees with access to classified material. As nearly all involved were lawyers American Bar Association mandated ethics courses at law schools. Watergate revived investigative reporting popularizing use of anonymous sources. It remains regarded as greatest scandal in presidential history frequently invoked during later scandals like those involving President Trump. The Watergate Hotel converted Hunt and Liddy room into scandal suite embracing the controversy.
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Common questions
When did the Watergate scandal begin and what specific event triggered it?
The Watergate scandal began on the 17th of June 1972 when five burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. These intruders planted listening devices disguised as smoke detectors and removed doors from their hinges to enter the office before security guard Frank Wills discovered the operation around 1:50 a.m.
Who were the key figures involved in the Watergate break-in and cover-up according to the script text?
G. Gordon Liddy became general counsel for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President and proposed Operation Gemstone while E. Howard Hunt was identified by federal prosecutors during the investigation. President Richard Nixon approved a plan to have the CIA pressure the FBI to drop its probe under the pretense of national security which later became known as the Smoking Gun tape.
What happened during the Saturday Night Massacre involving Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox?
On October 20, President Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox but Richardson refused and resigned in protest. Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus declined the order and was fired after offering his resignation before Solicitor General Robert Bork agreed to fire Cox.
How did the House Judiciary Committee vote on impeachment recommendations against President Nixon?
On the 27th of July 1974 the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-to-11 to recommend obstruction of justice as grounds for impeachment. They also recommended abuse of power and obstruction of Congress following an expert panel conclusion that an 18-minute gap on a tape had been erased using hand keys rather than a pedal.
When did President Richard Nixon resign and who succeeded him as president?
President Richard Nixon announced his resignation effective at noon on the 9th of August 1974 after three Republican leaders informed him he lacked enough support for acquittal on August 7. Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded him declaring our long national nightmare is over and issued Nixon a full pardon for all acts committed as president on the 8th of September 1974.