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Scandal - start: botched burglary
To help Nixon, his advisers ordered five men to break into the enemy party’s headquarters at Watergate and steal campaign information.
Thanks to reckless actions by the burglars, they were caught by just a guard and arrested.
One of them was a member of the committee for Nixon’s re-election James McCord.
Which started reports about a the White House funding a CRP fund to the burglars. -
Scandal - middle: Cover up
Nixon didn’t order the heist but he did cover it up.
Destroying any and all evidence they found and giving false testimony to investigators.
Nixon went as far as ordering the CIA to keep the FBI from investigating but W. Mark Felt the deputy director of the FBI leaked it to Washington Post.
His cover up worked fairly well and he did win the election again but people were very attentive during his campaign. -
Scandal middle: Testimony
McCord’s testimony opened allot of confessions. Counsel John Dean, admitted that former attorney John Mitchell had ordered the break-in and that Nixon had taken part in the cover-up.
The Nixon administration denied the charges. The answer was found on July 16. Alexander Butterfield stated Nixon had a taping system in the White House to record his memoirs. The tapes would tell the committee what Nixon knew and when he knew it, if the he released them. -
Scandal - middle: Tape Case
Nixon refused to hand over the tapes, pleading executive privilege,Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox took Nixon to court to make him give up the tapes. Nixon ordered many government officials to have him fired but most resigned instead. Coxwas finally fired by Robert Bork, the incident badly damaged Nixon’s reputation. -
Scandal - End: His Resignation
Due to public outrage Nixon had no choice but to appoint a new prosecutor, Leon Jaworski.
In the following months Nixon had no choice but to give the tapes because he was ordered to by the Supreme Court .
After the tapes were surrendered he was charged with several crimes due to the cover up, the tapes only added on to the already big charge.
Conviction was inevitable for Nixon, he officially resigned in utter disgrace on August 9, 1974. -
Aftermath pt.1 The new Presidents Pardon
After his disgraceful defeat Vice President Gerald Ford took office as president.
He Urged the people to put the “national nightmare” behind them.
Nixon was pardoned by Gearld in September 8, 1974, but Drew public backlash and criticism, which diminished his popularity. -
Aftermath pt.2 The Impact
New laws, Amendments, Acts which aimed to restrict the power of the Executive Branch.
From Federal Campaign Act, the Ethics in Government Act to the FBI Domestic Security Investigation Guidelines Act.
Americans grew very distrustful of public officials and people in power, And this affair proved that no one was above the law, even the Leader of the so called “Free” world.