1. Nixon and Watergate

2. The Election of 1968 Richard Nixon only narrowly won the 1968 election
Vietnam War – Assassinations - Protests
The 1960's began as an era of optimism and ended in distrust.

3. The Election of 1968 Nixon was a man for the "silent majority“
hardworking, taxpaying Americans
did not protest
desired law and order
“Hard Hats”

4. The Pentagon Papers
Classified memos of the Vietnam War were leaked in 1971
Cast doubt on the justification for entry into the war
Revealed government officials doubted the war.
Nixon Administration sued newspapers for printing them
Supreme Court ruled against them – Papers Published

5. The White House Plumbers
Following Pentagon Papers the White House created a unit to ensure internal security.
Called the Plumbers because they stopped leaks.
In 1971 they burglarized the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s (the buy who leaked the Pentagon Papers) psychiatrist
Sought material to discredit him.
Nixon’s domestic advisor knew of and approved the plan.
James McCord
Chuck Colson
Howard Hunt
G. Gordon Liddy

6. The Watergate Break-in
Initial polls showed Nixon was behind in Election of 1972
Plumbers turned their activities to political espionage (spying)
On 17 June 1972, 5 men attempted to bug the headquarters of the Democratic Party inside the Watergate building in Washington D.C.
One man arrested, James McCord, was head of security for Republican Party.
Nixon campaign denied involvement.

7. Woodward, Bernstein and the Washington Post
Watergate came to public attention through the work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, investigative reporters from the Washington Post.
Despite enormous political pressure to drop the story, Washington Post officials kept the story alive
Aided by a source nicknamed “Deepthroat”

8. The Election of 1972
By Nov 1972, Watergate had not yet reached the President
Kissinger announces peace talks beginning in Vietnam
Nixon won by the largest margin in history to that point.

9. Senate Investigation and Oval Office Tapes
In March 1973 one defendant confirmed a conspiracy
Watergate no longer a “third-rate burglary”
Senate began televised hearings
Focused on when the President knew of the break-in.
Former White House lawyer John Dean’s testified that Nixon knew from the start

10. Senate Investigation and Oval Office Tapes
Administration was eager to discredit Dean
Officials began to release factual challenges to Dean’s account
Investigators asked about the source of the factual White House information
Discovered Nixon had installed an automatic taping machine in Oval Office
These tapes would become the focus of the investigation.

11. The Smoking Gun Tapes Supreme Court forced Nixon to surrender tapes
Nixon role in cover-up:
Authorized payment of hush money
Attempted to use CIA to block FBI investigation
One tape has an 18 ½ minute gap
Nixon’s secretary Rosemary Woods demonstrated how she could have inadvertently erased the tape
No one bought it

12. The Smoking Gun Tapes
House Judiciary Committee approved Articles of Impeachment against Nixon
“The smoking gun tapes,” were released in August 1974

13. The Saturday Night Massacre
Archibald Cox is the Special Prosecutor that was trying the case against Nixon.
Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox. When Richardson refused, he was fired.
Nixon ordered Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus to fire Cox .
When he refused, he was fired.
Archibald Cox

14. The Saturday Night Massacre
Nixon then ordered Solicitor General Robert Bork (who was later nominated for the Supreme Court by Reagan) to fire Cox and he did so.
The Washington Post reported on the “Saturday Night Massacre.”
Robert Bork

16. Nixon Resigns
On 27 July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee approved Articles of Impeachment against Nixon.
Nixon believed he would be
Impeachment in the House
NOT in Senate
After “smoking gun tape” went public, Republican Committee members told Nixon he would lose in Senate hearing
On 9 August 1974 Richard Nixon became first American president to resign.

17. Ford announcing the pardon
Aftermath
Ford announcing the pardon
More than 30 officials went to prison for their role in Watergate.
Richard Nixon was not one of them.
President Gerald Ford gave Nixon a full pardon.
Woodward and Bernstein won the Pulitzer Prize.
They collaborated on 2 books, All the President’s Men and The Final Days.
In 1976 All the President’s Men was adapted into an Oscar winning film.
The identity of Deepthroat was kept secret until W. Mark Felt unmasked himself in 2005.

19. Citations
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