The Watergate scandal was a major political event that took place during the presidency of Richard Nixon, leading to his downfall. It began in 1972, when a group of burglars were arrested in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington D.C.
Between 1963 and 1971, the complex consisted of residential, office buildings, a hotel, and a shopping mall. It was one of Washington’s most desirable living spaces – popular with members of Congress and political appointees of the executive branch.
Nixon – in a bid to secure his reelection campaign – ordered the burglars to raid the complex’s Democratic National Committee (DNC) office where they stole top-secret documents and wiretapped office telephones. It was this, later followed by Nixon’s illegal pursuits to impede the investigation of the break-in that led him to become the first president to resign in 1974.
Historians cite the Watergate scandal as a turning point in American politics, as people were forced to question their leaders and think more critically about the position of president. And, while the scandal damaged the reputation of the complex, it remains a significant historical landmark associated with one of the most significant political scandals in U.S. history.
Here, we’ll cover some key moments in the Watergate scandal – an event that shook American politics.
5th November 1968
Richard Nixon was elected as the 37th president of the United States on 5th November, 1968.
Nixon faced a divided nation that was grappling with unrest following the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, as well as the ongoing Vietnam War (1995-1975). Nixon declared that his goal was “to bring the American people together”.
During his presidency, Nixon successfully ended American fighting in Vietnam and oversaw significant changes to the American Cold War foreign policy – including improved relations with both China and the Soviet Union.
However, Nixon was also a man riddled with paranoia. As a result, he continually urged his staff to use all means necessary to discredit political opponents, whether big or small.
This paranoia, paired with the president’s insatiable need to prove himself and rise above his middle-class origins, is what many historians believe led to his involvement in the Watergate scandal.
17th June 1972
In the early morning hours of 17th June, 1972, a group of burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington D.C.
Having successfully broken into the office in May 1972, they’d already stolen copies of top-secret documents and attempted to hide microphones in the office’s telephones. However, after the microphones failed to work, the group returned to the Watergate building on 17th June for a second attempt, but were spotted.
The burglars were some of President Nixon’s key advisers, and the event was part of an attempt to secure the president’s reelection campaign.
It wasn’t immediately clear that the burglars were linked to the president, but suspicions began to arise when detectives uncovered copies of the reelection committee’s White House phone numbers among their belongings.
23rd June 1972
Nixon’s advisor, H.R. Haldeman, told the president to order the FBI to “stay the hell out of this [Watergate burglary investigation] business.” So, Nixon compiled a plan to order the CIA to obstruct the FBI’s investigation of the crime instead.
As an abuse of presidential power and a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice, this crime was more serious than the break-in itself.
1st August 1972
An article in The Washington Post reported that a check for $25,000 reserved for Nixon’s reelection campaign was transferred into the bank account of one of the men arrested for the Watergate break-in.
Over the next nearly two years, Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward continued to file stories about the Watergate scandal, relying on various sources.
30th August 1972
In August 1972, Nixon delivered a speech in which he swore that neither he nor his White House staff were involved in the Watergate break-in.
The majority of voters believed Nixon, and in November 1972, he was reelected as president in a landslide victory.
15th September 1972
Seven men were indicted for the Watergate break-in – including organisers of the scheme and burglars themselves.
Among the men were former CIA and FBI agent James McCord, former CIA operative and planner of the break-in Howard Hunt, former FBI agent Gordon Liddy, and Charles ‘Chuck’ Colson, who was the mastermind behind many of the political manouvers around Watergate.
10th October, 1972
Bernstein and Woodward reported that the FBI had uncovered connections between Nixon, his aides, and the Watergate break-in.
8th January 1973
The Watergate break-in trial began, and the seven men indicted three months earlier were put on trial.
30th January 1973
After being indicted back in September, former FBI agent and aide to Nixon, G. Gordon Liddy, and ex-CIA agent James McCord were convicted for their roles in the Watergate break-in.
They were found guilty of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping; and were threatened with long prison sentences if they failed to talk. The five other men previously indicted had already pleaded guilty.
21st March 1973
Despite Nixon’s initial success at covering up his involvement in the scandal, things began to unravel.
In a White Housing meeting on 21st March, 1973, White House Counsel John Dean (who would later testify against the president) warned Nixon, “We have a cancer close to the presidency that’s growing”. Together, they arranged to pay the burglars as much as $1 million in cash to keep them quiet.
23rd March 1973
A letter from Watergate burglar James McCord, in which he confessed the existence of a wider conspiracy, was read in an open court.
McCord claimed that he and four other burglars who’d pleaded guilty had been pressured to carry out the Watergate break-in by White House officials.
As written in his letter, among other things McCord stated, “In the interests of justice, and in the interests of restoring faith in the criminal justice system, which faith has been severely damaged in this case, I will state the following to you. There was political pressure applied to the defendants to plead guilty and remain silent….”
April 1973
On 6th April 1973, White House Counsel John Dean began cooperating with those leading the Watergate case; and on 9th April, the New York Times reported that cash payoffs had been made to the burglars.
Later on 30th April, Nixon announced that John Dean had been fired and various other White House aides had resigned. Later that evening, Nixon delivered his first address to the nation concerning Watergate, in which he stressed his innocence.
3rd June 1973
The Washington Post reported that White House counsel John Dean had confessed to discussing the Watergate cover-up with Nixon at least 35 times. Later, on 25th June, Dean testified before the Senate Select Committee about the president’s involvement.
13th July 1973
Former presidential appointments secretary, Alexander Butterfield, revealed the existence of a secret taping system in the White House. A few days later, he testified before the Senate Committee on a live broadcast that Nixon had recorded all conversations and telephone calls in his office since 1971.
July to October 1973
In July 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon must hand over the recordings of White House conversations to the Senate. The tapes were believed to include evidence of Nixon and his aides’ involvement in the Watergate break-in and other illegal acts.
Nixon did his best to protect the tapes during the summer and autumn of 1973. His lawyers argued that he had executive privilege to keep the tapes to himself. However, Judge Sirica, the Select Senate Committee, and an independent special prosecutor called Archibald Cox remained determined to get hold of them.
15th August 1973
On the same day that the Senate Select Committee ended its hearings, Nixon delivered a second address to the nation concerning Watergate.
He said, “It has become clear that both the hearings themselves and some of the commentaries on them have become increasingly absorbed in an effort to implicate the president personally in illegal activities that took place.”
20th October 1973
When Archibald Cox refused to stop demanding the tapes, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire him.
However, Richardson refused and resigned from his position in protest. Cox was fired by Acting Attorney General Robert Bork instead. These events became known as the Saturday Night Massacre.
17th November 1973
During a televised press conference in Florida, Nixon famously declared to the nation, “I’m not a crook”, and continued to profess his innocence.
21st November 1973
White House Watergate counsel J.Fred Buzhardt revealed that one of the tapes had an 18-minute gap during a conversation between Nixon and one of his aides on 20th June, 1972.
The White House was unable to explain the gap.
1st March 1974
A grand jury indicted seven of Nixon’s former aides on several charges related to the Watergate scandal. Unsure if they could indict a sitting president, the jury named Nixon an “unindicted co-conspirator.”
30th April 1974
Transcripts of over 1,200 pages of edited transcripts of the Nixon tapes were released by The White House.
24th July 1974
In July, the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon must hand over the tapes.
27th-30th July 1974
The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment for Nixon. These were: obstruction of justice, failure to comply with the House, and misuse of powers and violation of his oath of office.
5th August 1974
Despite his best efforts to delay, Nixon finally released the tapes on 5th August 1974. These provided indisputable evidence of his involvement in the Watergate scandal.
In a recording of a conversation on 23rd June 1972, Nixon was heard approving a proposal to press the FBI to drop its investigation of the Watergate break-in.
8th August 1974
Faced with almost certain impeachment by Congress, Nixon, disgraced, resigned on 8th August and left office the following day.
In a nationally televised speech, Nixon said, “I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as president, I must put the interest of America first”.
Six weeks later, Vice President Gerald Ford became president. He pardoned Nixon for any crimes that he’d committed while in office.
However, some of Nixon’s aides were not so lucky: many were convicted of serious offences and sent to federal prison. Among these was former FBI agent and Watergate mastermind, G. Gordon Liddy, who served a four and a half year sentence. Nixon himself never admitted to any criminal wrongdoing and only acknowledged the use of poor judgement.
Final thoughts…
Richard Nixon’s abuse of presidential power created an atmosphere of scepticism and distrust that had a long-standing impact on American politics. It’s an event that continues to fascinate people today.
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