Watergate: Nixon's Downfall |
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In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend the impeachment of – bringing formal charges against – Richard Nixon. The cause was the Watergate scandal which was an attempt to cover up a burglary of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters.
By the time Richard Nixon became president, the executive branch had become powerful. Nixon expanded the power of the presidency. He confided in a small group of very loyal advisers. These advisers included H.R. Haldeman, chief of staff; John Ehrlichman, chief domestic advisor; and John Mitchell, the attorney general. These men help Nixon get reelected. They also shared Nixon’s desire for power. This would lead Nixon and his advisers to cover up their role in the Watergate burglary. |
Nixon campaign aides were determined to win the 1972 election. They hired five men to raid Democratic Party offices in the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. The men were caught photographing files and placing wiretaps on phones. The press soon discovered that the group’s leader, James McCord, was a former CIA agent. He was also an official of a group known as the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP). John Mitchell, who had been attorney general, was the CRP’s director. Nixon and his staff tried to hide the link to the White House. Workers shredded evidence. Nixon and his staff asked the CIA to urge the FBI to stop its investigations into the burglary.
The Watergate burglary was not a big issue in the 1972 election. Only two reporters kept on the story. In a series of articles, the reporters found information that lent members of the administration to the burglary. The White House denied any connections.
The Watergate burglary was not a big issue in the 1972 election. Only two reporters kept on the story. In a series of articles, the reporters found information that lent members of the administration to the burglary. The White House denied any connections.
After Nixon’s reelection, the cover-up began to unravel. In January of 1973, the Watergate burglars went to trial. All of the burglars except James McCord change their pleas from innocent to guilty. McCord was found guilty by a jury. The trials presiding judge, Judge John Sirica, believed that the burglars did not act alone. Then in March 1973, McCord send a letter to Sirica, stating that he had lied under oath. He also stated that the White House was involved in the cover-up. Nixon then dismissed White House counsel John Dean and announced the resignations of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who had recently replaced John Mitchell following Mitchell's resignation.
Soon the public interest in the Watergate burglary increased. In April 1973, three top Nixon aides resigned. The President then went on television and denied any cover-up. He announced that he was appointing Elliot Richardson as the new attorney general. He authorized Richardson to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Watergate. |
In May 1973, the Senate began its own investigation of Watergate. The Senate hearings are televised live. In the hearings, one of Nixon’s aides, John Dean, said that Nixon knew about the cover-up. Then it was revealed by Alexander Butterfield that White House meetings have been tape-recorded. The Senate committee demanded the tapes. Nixon refused to release them. Court battles over the tapes lasted a year. Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor, took the president to court in October 1973 to get the tapes. Nixon refused and ordered Richardson to fire Cox. In what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre, Richardson refused the order in resigned. Solicitor General Robert Bork finally fired Cox. But his replacement, Leon Jaworski, what is determined to get the tapes.
In March 1974, a grand jury charge seven Nixon aides with obstruction of justice and perjury. Nixon release more than 1,275 pages of taped conversations. But he did not release the conversations on some key dates which did not satisfy investigators. In July 1974, the Supreme Court ordered the White House to release the tapes. Three days later, House committee voted to impeach President Nixon. If the full House of Representatives approved, Nixon would go to trial in the Senate.
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