1. Nixon & Watergate
During his first term in the White House, President Nixon increasingly behaved as though there should be no limits on his power…he hid vital information from Congress and the public.

2. Henry Kissinger
“Nixon had three goals: to win by the biggest electoral landslide in history; to be remembered as a peacemaker; and to be accepted by the ‘Establishment’ as an equal. He achieved all these objectives by the end of 1972 and the beginning of And he lost them all two months later-partly because he turned a dream into an obsession.”

3. Dark Secrets
1971 Nixon ordered his staff to compile an “enemies list” – critics who opposed his policies
After the leak of the Pentagon papers, Nixon told his aids “Do whatever has to be done to stop these leaks…I want it done, whatever the cost.”
White House organized a secret unit called “the plumbers” made up of former CIA and FBI agents
The group was ordered to stop leaks and to carry out a variety of illegal actions in the name of “national security”

4. Ensuring Re-election
June 1972 – five men were caught breaking into the office of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the Watergate office and apartment complex in Washington D.C.
Carrying wiretap equipment and other spying devices
These men were being paid by Nixon’s campaign organization, the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP)

5. White House
Denies any link to the break in, calling it a “third-rate burglary”
Washington Post reporters kept digging for the truth
Bob Woodworth & Carl Bernstein
High level source known as “Deep Throat” informed the reporters that White House officials and the CRP had hired 50 agents to sabotage the Democrats’ chance in the 1972 election

6. The Investigation
Despite the Watergate break in, Nixon won re-election in 1972 by a landslide
Spring of 1973, both the executive and legislative branches are investigating the break in
A witness (former CIA agent) linked the cover up to “the very highest levels of the White House”…breaks the case wide open
James McCord

7. Biggest Bombshells
May 1973 – live television coverage of the Senate hearing begins
Millions of Americans watch senators grill witnesses and compile evidence of official misconduct
Several top White House officials convicted and sent to jail
But still a question of “what did the president know and when did he know it?”
John Dean, former White House attorney…the president had been directly involved in the cover up.

8. The Nixon Resignation
Nixon denies the charges…another witness testifies that Nixon had secretly tape recorded his conversations in the White House.

9. The White House Tapes
Investigators believed that the tapes would reveal the truth about Watergate
Justice Department’s special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, demanded the president turn over the tapes…Nixon refuses
Cites “executive privilege,” he claimed that releasing the tapes would endanger national security

10. The White House Tapes
In the middle of the controversy over the tapes, Vice President, Spiro Agnew, is charged with tax evasion and is forced to resign
Nixon nominates Gerald Ford for Vice President

11. Saturday Night Massacre
Federal Judge orders Nixon to turn over the tapes
Again…Nixon refuses!
Tells Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox…both Richardson and the Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resign
Task fell to Solicitor General Robert Bork…complies
Outrages the public and led for calls to impeach
“People have the right to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook”

12. Final Days
With the release of the Nixon tapes, Americans discovered the truth…
Nixon had directed the Watergate cover-up and had authorized illegal activities
House Judiciary Committee recommended impeachment charges be brought against him
August 8, 1974 – Nixon tells the nation “I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.”

13. August 9, 1974 Vice President Gerald Ford sworn in as 38th president
Nominated Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York as Vice President
The first time in history, both president and vice president held office by appointment, not election.

14. Pardon & Clemency Ford’s popularity begins to decline
Grants Nixon a full pardon
Many people suspected that the pardon had been agreed on in advance in exchange for Nixon’s resignation – Ford denied it.
Offered clemency or official forgiveness to Vietnam draft evaders
Reaffirm their allegiance to the U.S. and perform two years of public service
Offends both veterans and draft dodgers