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Nixon Becomes President
Nixon defeats Hubert Humphrey in one of the closest presidential elections of all time. -
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Nixon's Involvement in the Watergate Scandal
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Plan for Expanding Intelligence-Gathering
Nixon approves a plan for greatly expanding domestic intelligence-gathering by the FBI, CIA and other agencies. He has second thoughts a few days later and rescinds his approval. -
The New York Times Publishes Pentagon Papers
The New York Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers -- the Defense Department's secret history of the Vietnam War. -
"Plumbers" Unit
The White House "plumbers" unit - named for their orders to "plug leaks" in the administration - burglarizes a psychiatrist's office to find files on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers. Seen to the left is G. Gordon Liddy, one of the members of the Plumbers unit. -
Watergate Arrest
Five men, one of whom says he used to work for the CIA, are arrested at 2:30 a.m. trying to bug the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate hotel and office complex. The man who worked for the CIA was E. Howard Hunt, seen here. -
Watergate is Only a Part of the Big Picture
FBI agents establish that the Watergate break-in stems from a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage conducted on behalf of the Nixon reelection effort. -
Nixon Reelected
Nixon is reelected in one of the largest landslides in American political history, taking more than 60 percent of the vote and crushing the Democratic nominee, Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota. -
Trials and Convictions
Former Nixon aides G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord Jr. are convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping in the Watergate incident. Five other men plead guilty, but mysteries remain. Seen here is McCord's mugshot. -
Resignations and Firings
Nixon's top White House staffers, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst resign over the scandal. White House counsel John Dean (seen here) is fired. -
Archibald Cox
Attorney General-designate Elliot Richardson taps former solicitor general Archibald Cox (seen here) as the Justice Department's special prosecutor for Watergate. -
Dean Comes Clean
John Dean has told Watergate investigators that he discussed the Watergate cover-up with President Nixon at least 35 times. -
Was it from Nixon?
Watergate prosecutors find a memo addressed to John Ehrlichman (seen here) describing in detail the plans to burglarize the office of Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist. -
Nixon's Recordings
Alexander Butterfield, former presidential appointments secretary, reveals in congressional testimony that since 1971 Nixon had recorded all conversations and telephone calls in his offices. -
Nixon's Refusal to Cooperate
Nixon refuses to turn over the presidential tape recordings to the Senate Watergate committee or the special prosecutor. -
Saturday Night Massacre
Saturday Night Massacre: Nixon fires Archibald Cox and abolishes the office of the special prosecutor. Attorney General Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus resign. Pressure for impeachment mounts in Congress. -
He is not a Crook!
Nixon declares, "I'm not a crook," maintaining his innocence in the Watergate case. -
The Gap.
The White House can't explain an 18 1/2 -minute gap in one of the subpoenaed tapes. Chief of staff Alexander Haig says one theory is that "some sinister force" erased the segment. -
The Tapes, not These!
The White House releases more than 1,200 pages of edited transcripts of the Nixon tapes to the House Judiciary Committee, but the committee insists that the tapes themselves must be turned over. -
Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court rules unanimously that Nixon must turn over the tape recordings of 64 White House conversations, rejecting the president's claims of executive privilege. -
Strike One
House Judiciary Committee passes the first of three articles of impeachment, charging obstruction of justice. -
Nixon's Resignation
Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. president to resign. Vice President Gerald R. Ford assumes the country's highest office. He will later pardon Nixon of all charges related to the Watergate case.
