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Richard Nixon takes office
On January 20, 1969 Richard Nixon takes office and becomes the 37th president of the United States. -
Pentagon Papers
The New York times begins published a highly classified document that was called the Pentagon Papers. -
Watergate Break-In
On June 17, 1972, a security guard noticed tape covering the latch on the locks of the Watergate complex. The security guard took the tape off only to find that the locks were re-taped. The police were alerted and 5 burgulars were arrested. In their possession they found wire tapping equipment, cameras, rolls of film, and cash. The suspects were hired by the Nixon administration and one of the men who was involved but not arrested, quickly destroyed evidence after the arrest. -
Connection to CREEP
On August 1, 1972, a $25,000 check earmarked for the Nixon re-election campaign was found in the bank account of one of the Watergate burglars bank account. Nixon told the CIA to stop the FBI's investigation. More money was found passing through the burglars accounts during an investigation and they were all made payable to the Committee to Re-Elect the President and were endorsed by treasurer Hugh Sloan. A connection had been established. -
Indictment
On this day, the five burglars were indicted by a federal grand jury. -
Political Spying was revealed by FBI
The FBI reported that the watergate break in was a massive plot to spy on and sabotage the democrats by the officials of the Nixon re-elect campaign. -
Nixon's Re-Election
On November 7th, Nixon was re-elected as president in one of the biggest landslides ever despite revelations made by the FBI. -
Watergate Trial
The burglars trial began on January 8th and all five burglars plead guilty. -
Conviction of Burglars
Liddy and McCord, two of the Watergate burglars, were convicted on charges of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping. -
The Link to the White House
FBI director Gray was questioned as to how the White House gained FBI files regarding the White House. He replied that White House counsel John Dean instructed him to give him daily updates. This accusation linked the White House to the scandal. -
Senate Watergate Committe Begings Investigation
James McCord's lawyer said that he had begun to cooperate and name names. The lawyer said McCord would testify soon. John Dean's name was named during this and the Washington Post published the story and also published that Dean's lawyer threatened to sue them if they did. -
Nixon's Statement
Nixon made a statement that his aides would appear in front of Committte if asked. He promised to reveal new information and denied any affiliation with the Watergate scandal. -
Pentagon Paper Details Emerge
Attorney General Kleindienst met with the President to tell him that Dean testified about the White House ordering the break in at the office of the Pentagon Papers. -
Resignations
White House Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman and White House counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs, John Ehrlichman resigned after Nixon asked for them to. Nixon later announces that their resignation had nothing to do with guilt. -
Senate Watergate Committee Hearings Begin
On this day the televised hearings began. President Nixon made a statement that he had no prior knowledge or made any attempt to cover up Watergate. -
John Dean Testifies
John Dean testified his knowledge of the entire "campaign of the White House espionage". He also claims that he believes Nixon tape recorded conversations about Watergate. 10 days later, Nixon announced that he would not be testifying and would not provide White House documents and justifies his decision as executive priviledge. -
The Nixon Tapes
Alexander Butterfield, a former aide to President Nixon, testified that there was an oval office recording system installed and a few days later, Nixon ordered they be turned off. -
Saturday Night Massacre
In response to the tape dispute, Nixon offered the "Stennis Compromise". U.S Senator John Stennis would review the tapes and and summarize them for the prosecutor's office. Prosecutor Cox refused the compromise and Nixon sought out to have him fired. He consulted several people who all denied and then resigned in protest until Robert Bork complied and had him fired. This is reffered to as the Saturday Night Massacre, which refers to all the resignations. -
The Tape Gap
The White House revealed that two of the tapes that were subpoenaed were missing. They also reported that one that was dated 3 days after the burglary was missing 18 1/2 minutes of recording. Secretary Rose Mary Woods explains that she might have accidentally erased the tape. People grew suspiscious that Nixon was erasing evidence. -
United States v. Nixon
The Supreme Court ordered Nixon to overturn all the tapes and he reluctantly did. Also, the committee adopted 3 articles of impeachment against the President which included: misuse of power and violating his oath of office, and failure to comply with House subpoeneas. The "Smoking Gun Tape" was later handed over which included proof of obstruction of justice. -
President Nixon resigns.
On August 8th after learning that once he was impeached, enough votes existed in the Senate to convict the president and remove him from office, President Nixon resigned. He stated that the nation needed a fuill-time president. Vice President Ford would be sworn in to office the next day.
