Richard Milhous Nixon

Quick Summary

Richard Nixon is the only U.S. President to resign from office. The Watergate scandal, beginning with a bungled burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and escalating into a constitutional crisis over presidential abuse of power, revealed a pattern of obstruction of justice, illegal surveillance, misuse of the IRS and FBI, campaign finance violations, and contempt for the rule of law that defined the modern understanding of political corruption. Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, facing near-certain impeachment, and was pardoned by his successor Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974.

Timeline of Events

The Details

The Watergate Break-In

On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested inside the DNC headquarters at the Watergate office complex: Bernard Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, Frank Sturgis, and James McCord, the security coordinator for the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP, derisively called "CREEP"). They were caught planting listening devices and photographing documents. Two others, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, were connected to the operation and later indicted.

The Cover-Up

The cover-up began almost immediately. Within days, Nixon and his aides were discussing using the CIA to obstruct the FBI investigation. On June 23, 1972, just six days after the break-in, Nixon told Haldeman to tell CIA Director Richard Helms to call FBI Director L. Patrick Gray and say the investigation would compromise CIA operations. This tape, released in August 1974, became known as the "smoking gun" and proved Nixon was directly involved in obstruction from the beginning.

Hush money was paid to the burglars. John Dean, White House Counsel, coordinated the payments. Over $500,000 in cash was distributed to the defendants to ensure their silence. On March 21, 1973, Dean warned Nixon of "a cancer on the presidency." Nixon discussed the need for up to $1 million in continued payments.

The Broader Pattern: Abuse of Power

Watergate was not an isolated incident. The second article of impeachment charged Nixon with a pattern of abuse of power that included:

• Using the IRS to audit and harass political opponents on the "Enemies List"
• Using the FBI, CIA, and Secret Service for political surveillance
• Creating the Plumbers unit, which conducted the Ellsberg psychiatrist burglary
• Authorizing the Huston Plan, a proposal for expanded domestic surveillance including "black bag jobs," mail opening, and wiretapping (briefly approved, then officially rescinded but partially implemented)
• Using campaign funds, "CREEP" raised and laundered millions in secret cash, for sabotage operations against Democratic candidates (the "dirty tricks" operation run by Donald Segretti)

The Saturday Night Massacre

On October 20, 1973, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had subpoenaed the White House tapes. Richardson refused and resigned. Deputy AG William Ruckelshaus also refused and was fired. Solicitor General Robert Bork, next in line, carried out the order. The public backlash was immediate and enormous, with hundreds of thousands of telegrams flooding Congress. The event accelerated the impeachment process.

The Tapes

The existence of the White House taping system, revealed by aide Alexander Butterfield on July 16, 1973, transformed the investigation. Nixon fought for over a year to keep the tapes, citing executive privilege. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974), that executive privilege does not override the needs of criminal justice. The released tapes proved that Nixon had personally directed the cover-up from the outset.

What Happened

The House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment on July 27–30, 1974: (1) obstruction of justice, (2) abuse of power, and (3) contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with committee subpoenas. A fourth article relating to the secret bombing of Cambodia was defeated. The committee vote was bipartisan, with several Republicans voting for impeachment.

After the smoking gun tape was released on August 5, 1974, the remaining Republican support collapsed. Senator Barry Goldwater told Nixon he could count on no more than 15 votes in the Senate, far short of the 34 needed to avoid conviction. Nixon announced his resignation on August 8, 1974, effective the following day.

On September 8, 1974, President Ford pardoned Nixon, granting him "a full, free, and absolute pardon" for all offenses he "committed or may have committed" while President. The pardon was deeply controversial and is widely believed to have contributed to Ford's defeat in the 1976 election.

Nixon's associates were not so fortunate. A total of 69 people were charged, and 48 were convicted or pleaded guilty, including: H.R. Haldeman (Chief of Staff, 18 months), John Ehrlichman (Domestic Adviser, 18 months), John Mitchell (Attorney General, 19 months), John Dean (White House Counsel, 4 months), Charles Colson (Special Counsel, 7 months), G. Gordon Liddy (CRP Counsel, over 4 years), and E. Howard Hunt (CIA operative, 33 months).

Financial Impact

The financial cost of Watergate extended far beyond the burglary itself. CREEP raised over $60 million for the 1972 campaign, much of it in illegal corporate contributions and cash. The Senate Watergate investigation, the special prosecutor's office, and the impeachment proceedings cost millions in taxpayer dollars. The broader cost to public trust in government is incalculable; public trust in the federal government, which had stood at 77% in 1964, dropped to 36% by 1974.

Connections

Sources