Scandal

The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the presidency of Richard Nixon that resulted in the indictment and conviction of several of Nixon's closest advisors, and ultimately his resignation on August 9, 1974.

The scandal began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office complex in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. Investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and later by the Senate Watergate Committee, House Judiciary Committee and the press revealed that this burglary was one of many illegal activities authorized and carried out by Nixon's staff. They also revealed the immense scope of crimes and abuses, which included campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping on a massive scale, and a secret slush fund laundered in Mexico to pay those who conducted these operations.[1] This secret fund was also used as hush money to buy the silence of the seven men who were indicted for the June 17 break-in.[2][3]

Nixon and his staff conspired to cover up the break-in as early as six days after it occurred.[4] After two years of mounting evidence against the President and his staff, which included former staff members testifying against them in a Senate investigation, it was revealed that Nixon had a tape recording system in his offices and that he had recorded many conversations.[5][6] Recordings from these tapes revealed that he had obstructed justice and attempted to cover up the break-in.[4][7] This recorded conversation later became known as the Smoking Gun. After a series of court battles, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in United States v. Nixon that the President had to hand over the tapes; he ultimately complied.

With certainty of an impeachment in the House of Representatives and the strong possibility of a conviction in the Senate, Nixon resigned ten days later, becoming the only US President to have resigned from office.[8][9] His successor, Gerald Ford, would issue a controversial pardon for any federal crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.
Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon
Thumbs up from the 37th President "Watergate" is a general term used to describe a complex web of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. The word specifically refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.

The Burglary
Watergate has entered the political lexicon as a term synonymous with corruption and scandal, yet the Watergate Hotel is one of Washington's plushest hotels. Even today, it is home to former Senator Bob Dole and was once the place where Monica Lewinsky laid low. It was here that the Watergate Burglars broke into the Democratic Party's National Committee offices on June 17, 1972. If it had not been for the alert actions of Frank Wills, a security guard, the scandal may never have erupted. MORE

Chronology of Events
The story of Watergate has an intriguing historical and political background, arising out of political events of the 1960s such as Vietnam, and the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1970. But the chronology of the scandal really begins during 1972, when the burglars were arrested. By 1973, Nixon had been re-elected, but the storm clouds were building. By early 1974, the nation was consumed by Watergate. MORE

Richard Milhous Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon is one of the most fascinating political figures of the 20th Century. His long political career began in 1947 when he was elected to the House of Representatives. By 1952, Nixon had been chosen as Dwight Eisenhower's vice-presidential running mate, but not before he was embroiled in a scandal that led to the infamous Checkers Speech.

Nixon served as Vice-President for eight years, then lost the 1960 election to John F. Kennedy. He recovered from political defeat to be chosen again as the Republican Party's candidate at the 1968 election. Following a year of turmoil, including two political assassinations, Nixon became the nation's 37th President on January 20, 1969. Later that year, he delivered his 'Silent Majority' speech on the Vietnam War, articulating his belief that the bulk of the American people supported his policies and programs. He was vindicated by winning a landslide re-election. He was sworn in for a second term in Janury 1973. MORE

Nixon Reacts To Watergate
Nixon made three major speeches on the Watergate scandal during 1973 and 1974. The first was on April 30, 1973, in which he announced the departure of Dean, Haldeman and Ehrlichman. A more defiant speech was delivered on August 15, 1973. Perhaps the politically most difficult speech was the one on April 29, 1974, in which Nixon released partial transcripts of the White House tapes. MORE

The Investigations
Initial investigations of Watergate were heavily influenced by the media, particularly the work of two reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, along with their mysterious informant, Deep Throat.

Political investigations began in February 1973 when the Senate established a Committee to investigate the Watergate scandal. The public hearings of the Committee were sensational, including the evidence of John Dean, Nixon's former White House Counsel. The Committee also uncovered the existence of the secret White House tape recordings, sparking a major political and legal battle between the Congress and the President.

In 1974, the House of Representatives authorised the Judiciary Committee to consider impeachment proceedings against Nixon. The work of this Committee was again the spotlight a quarter of a century later when Bill Clinton was impeached. MORE

The Final Days
Nixon's last days in office came in late July and early August, 1974. The House Judiciary Committee voted to accept three of four proposed Articles of Impeachment, with some Republicans voting with Democrats to recommend impeachment of the President.

The final blow came with the decision by the Supreme Court to order Nixon to release more White House tapes. One of these became known as the 'smoking gun' tape when it revealed that Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up as far back as June 23, 1972. Around the country, there were calls for Nixon to resign.

At 9pm on the evening of August 8, 1974, Nixon delivered a nationally televised resignation speech. The next morning, he made his final remarks to the White House staff before sending his resignation letter to the Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger. MORE

Gerald Ford - The Man Who Pardoned Nixon
Gerald Ford became the 38th President of the United States when Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was the first Vice-President and the first President to ascend to both positions without being elected. Regarded on all sides of politics as a decent man, Ford will be remembered for his controversial pardon of Richard Nixon. MORE

The Aftermath Of Watergate
Watergate had profound consequences in the United States. There was a long list of convictions and other casualties. For example, the aftermath of Watergate ushered in changes in campaign finance reform and a more aggressive attitude by the media. By the time the 25th anniversary of Watergate occurred in 1997, a vast library of books and films existed. Watergate's influence was felt in the Clinton Impeachment of 1998-99.

Nixon died in 1994 and was eulogised by the political establishment, although he was still a figure of controversy.

The investigations into Watergate that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon are a case study in the operation of the American Constitution and political values. MORE
In June of 1972 in Washington, D.C. an event occurred, a burglary, which ended up holding worldwide importance. It was on this date that five people broke into the Democratic National Headquarters to bug their telephones. These men were members of the ‘Plumbers’, a group of anti-Castro Cuban refugees, former FBI agents and former CIA agents among others. The group was strongly Republican. The place they broke into was The Watergate Hotel.

Many people remember the name Watergate as a blanket term used to describe the fall of President Richard Nixon. But do you remember the specifics of those events? It has taken years filled with books and interviews to begin to understand what the scandal and its complications truly were. This article will attempt to be a ‘primer’, a starting point from which you may go and research further this event.

In the early 1970’s America was still reeling from its turbulent time in the 1960’s. One of the issues that was greatly contested in the 60’s, Vietnam, had carried it’s self over into the new decade. By this time though, the opinions and thoughts of many concerning the war had started to change. Daniel Ellsberg was one of these individuals. A former defense department analyst, his thoughts on the war had turned and in 1971 he turned over a secret Pentagon report concerning the history of the war to the New York Times. The Times immediately began publishing these ‘Pentagon Papers’ which greatly infuriated many of those in charge of the country, including President Nixon. When Nixon became unable to stop the publication of the papers through legal channels, he turned in another direction for help.

The Plumbers were a ‘secret’ unit created and maintained by the White House with the expressed purpose of ‘fixing leaks’ in the administration. The Plumbers were immediately charged with going after Ellsberg. The thought was that if the papers publication could not be stopped, the next step would be to discredit the man who provided those papers. This included breaking into Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office to dig up what they could.

They worked tirelessly at their goal and were soon rewarded with another job in the following election year: derailing the Democratic ticket. On June 17, 1972 a group of men broke into the DNC Headquarters to find what they could and to bug the offices. A sharp-eyed security officer saw the break in, called the police and the burglars were quickly taken into custody. Over the next few days and months, amazing insights into these men came out. One of the burglars used to be a GOP security aide, another was found to have a 25,000$ check that was supposed to have gone to Nixon’s re-election campaign. In fact, it turned out that all of the burglars were on the payroll of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (C.R.E.E.P.).

As this unfolded, Nixon went on to win the presidential election in one of the biggest landslides in history. It would be Nixon’s last big win. Following his re-election the repercussions from the Watergate break-in grew larger. Several of the burglars went to jail. As the connection between these burglars and the Republican White House grew stronger, several White House staffers were forced to resign and White House Chief Counsel John Dean resigned.

Rumors swirled about the break-in, the similar events that many believed had also occurred and Nixon’s involvement in it all. In May of 1973 the Senate opened up hearings on the Watergate break-in and under intense pressure, Nixon had Archibald Cox appointed as Special Prosecutor to the case.

The Senate investigation went forward and immediately became damaging to the President in June as John Dean became the first (former) White House staff member to admit that he had discussions with the President concerning Watergate and how to cover it up. In July things got worse as it was revealed in the Senate hearings that Nixon had a sophisticated taping system set up in the Oval Office with which he had taped all of his conversations. The Senate Committee and Special Prosecutor Cox immediately requested that Nixon hand those tapes over. Citing everything from National Security to Executive Privilege, Nixon refuses to hand over the tapes.

The pressure on Nixon continued to grow strong, so much so that on October 20, 1973 he was moved to commit the ‘Saturday Night Massacre’. Unable to shake Cox’s pressure, Nixon contacted Attorney General Elliott Richardson and ordered him to fire Cox. Richardson refused and was himself immediately fired. Nixon then turned to the Assistant Attorney General to fire Cox. He too refused and was fired. Nixon finally found someone who would fire Cox but the resulting backlash forced Nixon to have a new Special Prosecutor appointed. Leon Jaworski was given that task and immediately began pressing Nixon to hand over the tapes.

Throughout the rest of 1973 the country stood by breathlessly as Nixon, the Senate and the prosecutors went round and round. First Nixon said that one of the key tapes which the prosecutors wanted had an 18 1⁄2 minute gap on it, then Nixon tried to send written (and heavily edited) transcripts of many of the taped conversations in lieu of the actual tapes. The pressure continued to be placed on Nixon though to hand over the tapes.

In July of 1974 Jaworski had no other choice but to name Nixon as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the obstruction of justice over the Watergate matter. Nixon continued to claim Executive Privilege in his refusals to hand the materials over. The matter was taken up by the Supreme Court who unanimously rejected Nixon’s argument and ordered that he turn the tapes over. When he refused, the House of Representatives, three days later, voted to impeach the President.

Nixon now realized that he was into a corner from which there was only one way out and so it was that on August 8, 1974 Richard M. Nixon became the first United States President to resign. Gerald Ford, who had become Vice President upon the resignation of Nixon’s Original VP Spiro T. Agnew, assumed the highest office of the land. Days after becoming President, Ford pardoned Nixon completely. Nixon was the only ‘Watergate conspirator’ who spent no time in jail.

The lessons learned by these events are enormous. The story of Watergate is a complex and deep one full of intrigue and back room deals, public politics and personal motivations. It is a deeply American event that touched the world.
Richard Milhous Nixon is one of the most fascinating political figures of the 20th Century. Click here to read a biography from the Internet Public Library.

Nixon's political career began in 1947 when he was elected to the House of Representatives, after campaigning strongly as an anti-communist.

By 1952, he had moved to the Senate and was chosen by Dwight Eisenhower to be his running mate in the presidential election. Nixon was embroiled in a scandal and delivered a famous television address that came to be known as the Checkers Speech.

Nixon served as Vice-President for eight years under Eisenhower. At one stage, after Eisenhower had a stroke, Nixon assumed a more active role. Nixon was never close to Eisenhower. Once, Eisenhower was once asked if he could name a major idea of Nixon's that what he had adopted as President. Click here for Eisenhower's response.

Nixon secured the Republican Party nomination and was narrowly defeated by John F. Kennedy in 1960.

In 1962, he ran unsuccessfully for Governor of California and stated famously that "you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."

By 1968 he was on his way back, winning the Republican Party nomination, defeating Democrat Hubert Humphrey and becoming the 37th President on January 20, 1969. He was seen as having recovered from defeat, a quality that became association with Nixon. Click here to Hubert Humphrey on the 'new Nixon'.

Later in 1969, he was to deliver his famous Silent Majority speech in which he set out his attitude to America's future.

Nixon was re-elected in a landslide in 1972, defeating Senator George McGovern, and was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 1973. A few days later, he announced an agreement to end the Vietnam War.

However, by the beginning of 1973, the Watergate scandal was unfolding and the next eighteen months were dominated by damaging revelations and a legal fight between the Executive arm of government versus the Congress and the Supreme Court.

Nixon was facing impeachment by the House of Representatives when he resigned in August 1974, the first President ever to do so.

Following his resignation, Nixon devoted himself to rehabilitating his public reputation. He wrote a number of books and travelled widely.

Nixon died in 1994. His funeral was held on April 27 at The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace, Yorba Linda, California. Eulogies were delivered by Dr. Billy Graham, the evangelist, Dr. Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State, and Pete Wilson, the then Governor of California. President Bill Clinton also spoke. He was flanked by all the living former Presidents, except Reagan. Perhaps the most moving tribute was paid by the man who was Chairman of the Republican Party during Nixon's term, Senator Bob Dole.
He served as vice president under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953-61. Nixon ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1960, losing by a very close margin to John F. Kennedy.

In 1962, Nixon ran unsuccessfully for Governor of California. This second loss led Nixon to bitterly announce he was leaving politics, telling reporters "...you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore." However, he re-emerged as a presidential candidate in 1968 and ran a successful campaign against Democrat Hubert Humphrey, squeaking out a victory in one of the closest elections in U.S. history.

In 1972, Nixon ran for re-election against Democrat George McGovern and swept to victory in a landslide with 60 percent of the popular vote, winning in every state except Massachusetts.

Events Leading to Impeachment:

A break-in occurred on the night of June 17, 1972, as five burglars entered the Democratic National Committee offices inside the Watergate office complex in Washington. Discovered by 24-year-old night watchman Frank Wills, they were arrested at the scene by police at 2:30 a.m.

Investigations soon revealed the Watergate burglars were employed by the Committee to Re-elect President Nixon. However, a White House spokesman dismissed the incident as a "third-rate burglary attempt."

In August of 1972, President Nixon told reporters, "no one in the White House staff, no one in this administration, presently employed, was involved in this very bizarre incident."

The arrest of the Watergate burglars marked the beginning of a long chain of events in which President Nixon and his top aides became deeply involved in an extensive coverup of the break-in and other White House sanctioned illegal activities.

Those activities had started in 1970 after The New York Times revealed a secret bombing campaign against neutral Cambodia in Southeast Asia was being conducted as part of the American war effort in Vietnam. Following the revelations, Nixon ordered wiretaps of reporters and government employees to discover the source of the news leaks.

In 1971, the Pentagon Papers were published in The New York Times, detailing the U.S. Defense Department's secret history of the Vietnam War. A "Plumbers" unit was then established by Nixon aides in the White House with the sole purpose of gathering political intelligence on perceived enemies and preventing further news leaks. A team of burglars from the "Plumbers" then broke into a psychiatrist's office looking for damaging information on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who had leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press.

In 1972, as part of Nixon's re-election effort, a massive campaign of political spying and 'dirty tricks' was initiated against Democrats, leading to the Watergate break-in to plant bugs (tiny audio transmitters) inside the offices of the Democratic National Committee.

Two young reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, then began a dogged pursuit of the facts surrounding the break-in. Among the many items revealed by them -- one of the Watergate burglars, retired CIA employee James W. McCord, was actually the security coordinator for Nixon's re-election committee - a $25,000 cashier's check for Nixon's re-election campaign had been diverted to the bank account of one of the burglars - Attorney General John Mitchell had controlled a secret fund which financed political spying and dirty tricks targeting Democratic presidential candidates.

Perhaps the most notorious dirty trick was a letter planted in a New Hampshire newspaper alleging that leading Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine, had referred to Americans of French-Canadian descent as "Canucks."

On a snowy New Hampshire day, standing outside the offices of the newspaper, Musky gave a rambling, tearful denial. His emotional conduct, replayed on television, caused him to drop in the New Hampshire polls shortly before the presidential primary. George McGovern, considered a weaker candidate by Nixon political strategists, eventually won the 1972 Democratic nomination and lost the general election to Nixon in a landslide.

In February of 1973, the U.S. Senate established a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, chaired by Sen. Sam Ervin, to investigate all of the events surrounding Watergate and other allegations of political spying and sabotage conducted on behalf of Nixon's re-election.

March and April of 1973 saw the start of the unraveling of the coverup. On March 23, one of the five burglars convicted after the Watergate break-in, James W. McCord, informed U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica that he was being pressured to remain silent. On April 20, acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned after admitting he had destroyed Watergate evidence under pressure from Nixon aides. Ten days later, four of Nixon's top officials resigned: Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman; Domestic Affairs Assistant John Ehrlichman; Attorney General Richard Kleindienst; and Presidential Counsel John Dean.

The Senate Select Committee began televised hearings on May 17. A month later, former Presidential Counsel John Dean testified there was an ongoing White House coverup and that Nixon had been personally involved in the payment of hush money to the five burglars and two other operatives involved in planning the Watergate break-in. Three weeks later, another Nixon aide revealed the President had ordered hidden microphones installed in the Oval Office in the spring of 1971 and had recorded most conversations since then on audio tape.

The tapes then became the focus of an intensive year-long legal battle between all three branches of the U.S. government. In October of 1973, Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had been appointed by the Nixon administration, publicly vowed to obtain the tapes despite Nixon's strong objections.

This resulted in the "Saturday Night Massacre" on October 20 in which Nixon attempted to fire Cox, but was temporarily thwarted as Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus refused Nixon's order and instead resigned. Solicitor General Robert Bork agreed to carry out the order and fired Cox.

The minute-by-minute events of the "Saturday Night Massacre" were covered live by stunned reporters on network television starting about 8:30 p.m. and sent a political shockwave throughout America that led to immediate calls for impeachment.

"Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and ultimately the American people," Archibald Cox stated after his firing. Ten days later, impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives began as the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Peter Rodino, started its preliminary investigation.

Nixon responded to public outrage by initially agreeing to turn over some of the tapes. However, the White House then revealed that two of the tapes no longer existed and later revealed there was an 18 minute blank gap on a crucial recording of the President and H.R. Haldeman taped three days after the Watergate break-in.

Nixon's new Chief of Staff Alexander M. Haig Jr. suggested the possibility that "some sinister force" had erased portions of the subpoenaed tape. President Nixon's personal secretary Rose Mary Woods was eventually blamed as having caused the erasure supposedly after she had been asked to prepare a summary of taped conversations for the President.

In November of 1973, amid all of the controversy, Nixon made a scheduled appearance before 400 Associated Press managing editors in Florida. During a feisty question and answer period he maintained his innocence, stating, "... in all of my years in public life I have never obstructed justice...People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook." (Real Audio :24)

To avoid handing over all of the 42 subpoenaed tapes to the House Judiciary Committee, Nixon instead released 1,254 pages of edited transcripts of 20 tapes in the spring of 1974. But the transcripts caused a national sensation as Americans glimpsed behind closed doors for the first time at a cynical Nixon who frequently used obscene language in the Oval Office, in contrast to his carefully tailored public image. The transcripts also revealed Nixon frequently discussing Watergate including the raising of "hush money" to keep the burglars quiet.

"We could get that. On the money, if you need the money you could get that. You could get a million dollars. You could get it in cash. I know where it could be gotten. It is not easy, but it could be done. But the question is, Who would handle it? Any ideas on that?" -- Nixon to John Dean, March 21, 1973.

The new Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who had been appointed by the Justice Department, pursued Nixon's tapes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. On July 24, 1974, the Court unanimously ruled that Nixon had to surrender the tapes.

On Saturday, July 27, the House Judiciary Committee approved its first article of impeachment charging President Nixon with obstruction of justice. Six of the Committee's 17 Republicans joined all 21 Democrats in voting for the article. The following Monday the Committee approved its second article charging Nixon with abuse of power. The next day, the third and final article, contempt of Congress, was approved.

Articles of Impeachment:

RESOLVED, That Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment to be exhibited to the Senate:

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE NAME OF ITSELF AND OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AGAINST RICHARD M. NIXON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT OF ITS IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANOURS.

Article 1: Obstruction of Justice.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice, in that: On June 17, 1972, and prior thereto, agents of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President committed unlawful entry of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, District of Columbia, for the purpose of securing political intelligence. Subsequent thereto, Richard M. Nixon, using the powers of his high office, engaged personally and through his subordinates and agents in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay, impede and obstruct investigations of such unlawful entry; to cover up, conceal and protect those responsible and to conceal the existence and scope of other unlawful covert activities. The means used to implement this course of conduct or plan have included one or more of the following:

(1) Making or causing to be made false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employes of the United States.

(2) Withholding relevant and material evidence or information from lawfully authorized investigative officers and employes of the United States.

(3) Approving, condoning, acquiescing in, and counseling witnesses with respect to the giving of false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employes of the United States and false or misleading testimony in duly instituted judicial and congressional proceedings.

(4) Interfering or endeavoring to interfere with the conduct of investigations by the Department of Justice of the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the office of Watergate Special Prosecution Force and congressional committees.

(5) Approving, condoning, and acquiescing in, the surreptitious payments of substantial sums of money for the purpose of obtaining the silence or influencing the testimony of witnesses, potential witnesses or individuals who participated in such unlawful entry and other illegal activities.

(6) Endeavoring to misuse the Central Intelligence Agency, an agency of the United States.

(7) Disseminating information received from officers of the Department of Justice of the United States to subjects of investigations conducted by lawfully authorized investigative officers and employes of the United States for the purpose of aiding and assisting such subjects in their attempts to avoid criminal liability.

(8) Making false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States into believing that a thorough and complete investigation has been conducted with respect to allegation of misconduct on the part of personnel of the Executive Branch of the United States and personnel of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, and that there was no involvement of such personnel in such misconduct; or

(9) Endeavoring to cause prospective defendants, and individuals duly tried and convicted, to expect favored treatment and consideration in return for their silence or false testimony, or rewarding individuals for their silence or false testimony.

In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

(Approved by a vote of 27-11 by the House Judiciary Committee on Saturday, July 27, 1974.)

Article 2: Abuse of Power.

Using the powers of the office of President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in disregard of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has repeatedly engaged in conduct violating the constitutional rights of citizens, imparting the due and proper administration of justice and the conduct of lawful inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies of the executive branch and the purposes of these agencies.
This conduct has included one or more of the following:

(1) He has, acting personally and through his subordinated and agents, endeavored to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, confidential information contained in income tax returns for purposes not authorized by law, and to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigation to be initiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.

(2) He misused the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secret Service, and other executive personnel, in violation or disregard of the constitutional rights of citizens, by directing or authorizing such agencies or personnel to conduct or continue electronic surveillance or other investigations for purposes unrelated to national security, the enforcement of laws, or any other lawful function of his office; he did direct, authorize, or permit the use of information obtained thereby for purposes unrelated to national security, the enforcement of laws, or any other lawful function of his office; and he did direct the concealment of certain records made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of electronic surveillance.

(3) He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, in violation or disregard of the constitutional rights of citizens, authorized and permitted to be maintained a secret investigative unit within the office of the President, financed in part with money derived from campaign contributions to him, which unlawfully utilized the resources of the Central Intelligence Agency, engaged in covert and unlawful activities, and attempted to prejudice the constitutional right of an accused to a fair trial.

(4) He has failed to take care that the laws were faithfully executed by failing to act when he knew or had reason to know that his close subordinates endeavored to impede and frustrate lawful inquiries by duly constituted executive; judicial and legislative entities concerning the unlawful entry into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, and the cover-up thereof, and concerning other unlawful activities including those relating to the confirmation of Richard Kleindienst as attorney general of the United States, the electronic surveillance of private citizens, the break-in into the office of Dr. Lewis Fielding, and the campaign financing practices of the Committee to Re-elect the President.

(5) In disregard of the rule of law: he knowingly misused the executive power by interfering with agencies of the executive branch: including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Division and the Office of Watergate Special Prosecution Force of the Department of Justice, in violation of his duty to take care that the laws by faithfully executed.

In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

(Approved 28-10 by the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, July 29, 1974.)

Article 3: Contempt of Congress.

In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, contrary to his oath faithfully to execute the office of the President of the United States, and to the best of his ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, had failed without lawful cause or excuse, to produce papers and things as directed by duly authorized subpoenas issued by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, on April 11, 1974, May 15, 1974, May 30, 1974, and June 24, 1974, and willfully disobeyed such subpoenas. The subpoenaed papers and things were deemed necessary by the Committee in order to resolve by direct evidence fundamental, factual questions relating to Presidential direction, knowledge or approval of actions demonstrated by other evidence to be substantial grounds for impeachment of the President. In refusing to produce these papers and things, Richard M. Nixon, substituting his judgement as to what materials were necessary for the inquiry, interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, thereby assuming to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of impeachment vested by Constitution in the House of Representatives.

In all this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial and removal from office.

(Approved 21-17 by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, July 30, 1974.)

Consequences:

On August 5, 1974, the long sought after audio tapes provided the "smoking gun" which revealed President Nixon had been deeply involved in the coverup and had ordered Haldeman to halt the FBI investigation just six days after the Watergate break-in. (Real Audio :06 "...call the FBI and say that we wish, for the country, don't go any further into this case, period..." -- Nixon to Haldeman, June 23, 1972.)

That revelation resulted in a complete collapse of support for Nixon in Congress. On Friday, August 9, Nixon resigned the presidency and avoided the likely prospect of losing the impeachment vote in the full House and a subsequent trial in the Senate. He thus became the only U.S. President ever to resign. Vice President Gerald R. Ford succeeded him and a month later granted Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he might have committed while President.

Richard Nixon had served a total of 2,026 days as the 37th President of the United States. He left office with 2 1/2 years of his second term remaining. A total of 25 officials from his administration, including four cabinet members, were eventually convicted and imprisoned for various crimes.

"...I think that the Watergate tragedy is the greatest tragedy this country has ever suffered. I used to think that the Civil War was our country's greatest tragedy, but I do remember that there were some redeeming features in the Civil War in that there was some spirit of sacrifice and heroism displayed on both sides. I see no redeeming features in Watergate." -- Senator Sam Ervin.