2 of 3

Write now Article Tools

On June 17, 1972, five people were arrested as they attempted to burgle the Democratic National Committee's office that was located in the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. The five men were : Virgilio Gonzlez, Bernard Barker, James W. McCord, Jr., Eugenio Martnez and Frank Sturgis. They were charged with burglary and illegal wire tapping.

In September of 1972, these men were indicted. Additionally, E. Howard Hunt, Jr. and Gordon Liddy were also indicted as they were accused of masterminding the break in.

In November of 1972, Richard Nixon handily won reelection. In March of 1973, James Mccord, one of the burglars, wrote a letter to Judge John Sirica alleging that high level people in the Nixon White House were involved in the break in and subsequent cover up.

As more details of the Nixon White House emerged, the public was not pleased and wanted more information. The public found out about : Nixon's enemies list, political tricks, and the plumbers unit. After much public outrage, the senate held hearings to determine to how high a level the corruption and dirty tricks extended. White house counsel John Dean resigned.

The senate Watergate hearings began in May of 1973. The most memorable quote of the proceedings was when Senator Howard Baker proclaimed : " What did the president know and when did he know it ? ".

It was revealed that there was a secret taping system in the White House. The senate wanted the tapes for evidence and Nixon cited executive privilege and refused to turn them over. Nixon tried to give them transcripts of the tapes. But, they demanded the original tapes.

Nixon tried to have the special prosecutor Archibald Cox removed. He called his boss Attorney General Elliot Richardson who refused to fire him. Nixon fired them both. He was replaced by Leon Jaworski.

Nixon still refused to hand over the tapes. So, Jaworski named Nixon as an unidicted co conspirator. The Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to turn the tapes over. He still refused. So, the House of representatives started the process of impeachment.

Nixon knew this was a battle that he could not win. So, he resigned his office in August of 1974 and Gerald Ford became president. In September of 1974, about a month after Nixon's resignation, Ford pardoned him.

In the upcoming mid term elections, the Republicans had major losses in the house and senate. Ford was vilified for pardoning Nixon. Ford's own chances for winning a term of his own in 1976 were affected by his decision to pardon Nixon.

Sources:

WWW. Wikipedia.org
WWW. ar.essortment.com

Learn more about this author, Yosef Shapiro.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about American history: The Watergate scandal?
We want to hear your view. Write now!