Resignation of Nixon

By Mihirpatel8829

  • Mounting a Reelection Fight

    The Watergate scandal directly involved the Nixon administration’s efforts to cover up its involvement in the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Richard Nixon had fought hard to become president, Along the way, he had grown defensive, secretive, and resentful of his critics.Trying to help the president, Nixon win elections, his advisers ordered five men to break into the Democratic Party’s headquarters at the Watergate complex and steal sensitive campaign information.

  • The Cover-Up Begins

    After the break-in, the media discovered that one burglar, James McCord, was not only an ex-CIA officer but also a member of the Committee for the Re-election of the President (CRP). Reports surfaced that the burglars had been paid from a secret CRP fund controlled by the White House.Nixon may not have ordered the break-in, but he did order a cover-up. White House officials destroyed incriminating documents and gave investigators false testimony.

  • The Cover-Up Unravels

    In early 1973, the Watergate burglars went on trial. Under relentless prodding from federal judge John J. Sirica, McCord agreed to cooperate with the grand jury investigation and to testify before the newly created Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. The chairman of the committee was Democratic senator Sam J. Ervin from North Carolina.

  • A Summer of Shocking Testimony

    McCord’s testimony opened a floodgate of confessions. Presidential counsel John Dean, who had testified in June 1973, confessed that former attorney general John Mitchell had ordered the Watergate break-in and that Nixon had taken part in the cover-up.The answer appeared on July 16. White House aide Alexander testified that Nixon had ordered a taping system installed in White House to record all conversations to help him write his memoirs after leaving office.

  • The Case of the Tapes

    At first, Nixon refused to hand over tapes, pleading executive privilege. Prosecutor Archibald Cox took Nixon to court in1973 to make him give up the tapes.Nixon ordered AttorneyElliot Richardson to fire Cox, but Richardson refused and resigned. Nixon ordered Richardson’s deputy to fire Cox, but he resigned. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace after investigators found that he had taken bribes while governor of Maryland and while serving in office in Washington.

  • The Impact of Watergate

    The constitutional crisis led to new laws intended to limit the power of the executive branch. The Federal Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 limited campaign contributions and set up an independent agency to enforce strict election laws. The FBI Domestic Security Investigation Guidelines Act restricted the FBI’s political intelligence-gathering activities.

  • Nixon Resigns

    In July the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to surrender them. Days later, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon, or officially charge him with misconduct. Charges included obstructing justice, misusing federal agencies to violate the rights of citizens, and defying the authority of Congress. a tape revealed that Nixon had ordered the CIA to stop the FBI probe into the Watergate burglary on June 23, 1972.On August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned in disgrace.