1. Watergate
President Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal forces him to resign from office.
(Corresponds to 24.2)

2. Basic Information
This was a chain of political scandals between 1972 and 1974.
“Watergate” comes from the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Involved the Nixon administration and President Nixon himself.

3. Scandal June 17, 1972 Burglary occurs at the Watergate hotel
Burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee offices
Security guard Frank Wills caught the burglars
Burglars were anti-Castro Cuban refugees and former FBI & CIA agents

4. Frank Wills
If it wasn’t for him the burglary may have never been stopped
Wills’s security log the night of the incidents is right

5. Scandal The night of the burglary five men arrested
Two other men arrested that evening
All seven men tried & convicted in Jan 1973
All were directly or indirectly employees of Nixon’s re-election committee

6. The Seven Bernard Baker Virgilio Gonzales James McCord Eugenio Matinez
Former CIA operative, was involved with Bay of Pigs
Virgilio Gonzales
Miami locksmith, Cuban refugee
James McCord
Security co-worker for the Committee to Re-Elect the Presdient (CREP) & former FBI & CIA agent
Eugenio Matinez
CIA connections and was anti-Castro Cuban Exile
Frank Sturgis
CIA connections and involved in anti-Castro activities

7. The Seven Gordon Liddy Howard Hunt
Former FBI agent & White House staffer
Refused to answer questions about the burglary – was fired
Howard Hunt
Former White House staffer & former CIA employee
Worked to declassify the Pentagon Papers

9. The Investigation Begins
Judge John Sirica presides over burglars' trial
Burglar leader James McCord says lied under oath - says advisers involved
White House Counsel John says Nixon involved in cover-up
Nixon dismisses Dean
Senator Samuel J. Ervin heads investigative committee
Alexander Butterfield says Nixon tapes presidential conversations

10. The Investigation Investigation highly influenced by media
Two Washington Post reporters at the forefront:
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
Woodword & Bernstein received all info from an anonymous informant - “deep throat”
Committee discovered secret tape recordings leading to a legal battle b/w Congress & the President

11. The Investigation
Bernstein & Woodward learned
That the burglars came from Miami
Wore surgical gloves
Carried thousands of dollars in cash
Bernstein & Woodward relied upon “deep throat”
Bernstein learned that a $25,000 check for Nixon’s re-election had been deposited in a banking account of one of the burglars

12. “Deep Throat” 31-year FBI agent
Some stories were half fictional and half truth.
Felt’s identity was one of the best kept secrets
Identity was revealed in years after the burglary
Felt is now 91 years old

13. Saturday Night Massacre
October 20, 1973
Prosecutor Archibald Cox subpoenaed tapes
Nixon refuses
Nixon orders the firing of Cox
Attorney General Elliot Richardson refuses; resigns
Deputy A.G. William Ruckelshaus refuses; resigns
Solicitor General Robert Bork ordered; complies

14. Nixon Reacts to Watergate
Nixon re-elected in November of 1973
Nixon releases partial transcripts of the tapes on April 29, 1974

15. Nixon’s Last Days
Judiciary Committee accepts 3 Articles of Impeachment
Nixon ordered to release tapes by the Supreme Court
One tape the day after the break-in had an 18 minute gap…erased
August 9, 1974, Nixon resigns

17. A Brief Timeline of Events
November 1968
Nixon wins presidency
July 23, 1970
Nixon approves a plan for expanding domestic intelligence-program for FBI, CIA
June 13, 1971
New York Times publishes Pentagon Papers

18. A Brief Timeline of Events
June 17, 1972
5 men arrested at 2:30 a.m. trying to bug the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate hotel
August 1, 1972
$25,000 cashier's check is discovered in the account of a Watergate burglar

19. A Brief Timeline of Events
November 11, 1972
Nixon re-elected with 60% of the vote
January 30, 1973
Nixon aides G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord are convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping

20. A Brief Timeline of Events
April 30, 1973
White House staffers H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman & Attorney General Richard Kleindienst resign
White House counsel John Dean fired
July 18, 1973
Nixon orders White House taping system disconnected
July 23, 1973
Nixon refuses to turn over tape recordings to the Senate
October 1973
Saturday Night Massacre

21. A Brief Timeline of Events
April 30, 1974
White House releases 1,200 pages of edited tape transcripts to the Judiciary Committee
Committee insists that they must have the tapes themselves
July 24, 1974
Supreme Court rules unanimously that Nixon must turn over the tapes of White House conversations
Rejects the president’s claim of executive privilege

22. A Brief Timeline of Events
July 27, 1974
Judiciary Committee passes one of three impeachment articles
August 8, 1974
Nixon is the only U.S. president to resign
V.P. Gerald Ford assumes presidency
Ford later pardons Nixon of all charges