Nixon - Watergate

Nixon Watergate Scandal

 

 

-A series of political scandals during Nixon's presidency involving many of his closest advisers

    -Possibly was ultimately the reason for his resigning on August 9,1974

 

- To start, five men were arrested for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters (at Watergate Office Complex in Washington, D.C.) on June 17, 1972

    -The FBI, Senate Watergate Committee, House Judiciary Committee (as well as the press) revealed that this was part of many, many illegal activities carried out by President Nixon's staff

 

-It was also revealed that the other crimes included: campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping, and a secret fund in Mexico to pay those who carried out these operations

 

-After two years of continually growing evidence against President Nixon and his staff (the process including former staff members testifying against them in a Senate investigation), there was a revealing of a tape recording system that Nixon had in his offices that he had used to record many conversations

    -The recordings from these tapes revealed that he had indeed obstructed justice and had also attempted to cover up the break-in

    -The recorded conversation became later known as the Smoking Gun

 

-Battles in court eventually came to the conclusion of the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruling in United States v. Nixon, that the President would be made to give up the tapes; which he complied to

 

-With the very real possibility of impeachment in the House of Representatives and conviction in the Senate, President Nixon resigned just ten days later

    -He became the only US President to have resigned from office

 

-Gerald Ford became Nixon's successor after the resignation