Presidents and Impeachment: Preparations for the Impeachment of Richard Nixon
As has been mentioned many times in this series, Richard Nixon resigned before be could be impeached. It is somewhat surprising that just months after winning re-election in a landslide in November of 1972, Nixon was the subject of a number of impeachment resolutions. During the opening months of the 93rd Congress there were multiple resolutions calling for a presidential impeachment inquiry introduced in the House. This post considers the lead-up to the attempt to impeach the President who had just won the most votes in 49 of 50 states.
The first resolution to directly call for President Nixon's impeachment was introduced on July 31, 1973, by Robert Drinan, a Roman Catholic priest and a Democratic Representative from Massachusetts. His resolution complained mainly about Nixon's clandestine authorization of the bombing of Cambodia. But it was also concerned about Nixon's actions concerning the Watergate scandal. The resolution was ignored by leaders of both parties. Drinan's fellow Massachusetts Democrat, House Majority Leader Tip O'Neill, stated, "Morally, Drinan had a good case. But politically, he damn near blew it. If Drinan's resolution had come up for a vote at the time he filed it, it would have been overwhelmingly defeated – by something like 400 to 20. After that, with most of the members already on record as having voted once against impeachment, it would have been extremely difficult to get them to change their minds later on."
By September 1973, it seemed as if Nixon was recovering some of the political and public support that the accusations arising out of Watergate had taken from him. Polling showed that the American public was becoming tired of the Watergate hearings, and Congress was not willing to undertake impeachment without some sort of a smoking gun, some major revelation from the White House tapes or some egregious new presidential action against the investigation. Nevertheless, the Judiciary Committee prepared a 718-page book on impeachment. This book was published in October of 1973. It studies the origin of the impeachment power in the Constitution and discusses all the instances in which that power had previously been used by Congress. The report gave a detailed description of Andrew Johnson's 1868 Senate impeachment trial. A second volume, containing additional historical and parliamentary material was published in January of 1974.
The move towards impeachment gained momentum following the October 20 "Saturday Night Massacre" in which Nixon ordered the firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his Deputy William Rickleshaus refused to follow Nixon's order and resigned from their office. Soliictor General Robert Born was next in the chain of command and he carried out the order. This soon turned into a public relations disaster for Nixon. NBC News anchor John Chancellor interrupted the network's prime time programming and told his audience, "The country tonight is in the midst of what may be the most serious constitutional crisis in its history." The next day, The New York Times declared, "The nation is in the hands of a president overcome with dictatorial misconceptions of his constitutional authority."
The White House and congressional offices received approximately 450,000 telegrams and cables, mostly critical of Nixon. Outside the White House, marchers held signs saying "Honk for Impeachment". It is said that car horns were heard non-stop, both day and night for two weeks.
Cox's firing led to considerable outrage in Congress too. Beginning on October 23, House Democrats introduced 22 separate resolutions calling for Nixon's impeachment, or at least for an impeachment investigation or the appointment of a new special prosecutor. Speaker of the House Carl Albert referred all of the various resolutions to the House Judiciary Committee.
On October 23, 1973, Nixon agreed to turn over the subpoenaed White House tapes to Judge John Sirica, the judge who had been assigned the criminal trial in the Watergate break-in. Nixon also reversed his previous order to abolish the office of the special prosecutor, which he had done when he fired Cox. One week later, Leon Jaworski was appointed to the post by the acting attorney general, Robert Bork.
At this point in time, Vice-President Spiro Agnew had resigned on October 10th following accusations of bribery from his time as Governor of Maryland. Speaker of the House Carl Albert was next in the presidential line of succession. He warned the judiciary committee against taking impulsive or rash action on impeachment. He also called on Congress to take swift action on the nomination of Gerald Ford to fill the vice presidential vacancy. He did these things despite increasing pressure from some fellow Democrats to do the opposite. If he had been so inclined, Albert could have delayed Ford's confirmation as vice president and sped up Nixon's impeachment and removal from office, allowing Albert, and the Democratic Party to take over the executive branch without having to win an election. Albert rejected that course of action, but he and Democratic Party strategist Ted Sorensen did develop a secret 19-page contingency plan for a presidential transition, just in case.
The 37-member House Judiciary Committee voted on October 30, to begin deliberation of the possible impeachment of President Nixon by a 21–17 party-line vote, with all the committee's Democrats voting yes and all Republicans voting no. The committee began its work that December, following the Ford confirmation hearings. The committee was chaired by Peter W. Rodino, a Democrat from New Jersey. He was not initially thought of as one of the brighter lights in Congress, something he himself acknowledged when he told a reporter, "If fate had been looking for one of the powerhouses of Congress, it wouldn't have picked me." Rodino was criticized by those anxious to expedite Nixon's impeachment for the slowness of the process in the Judiciary Committee and of Rodino's leadership. However Speaker Albert thought Rodino and his committee had done a fair and thorough job and praised them for their even-handed approach to the issue.
On November 4, 1973, Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts became the first congressional Republican to publicly urge President Nixon to resign. That same week, a number of prominent newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal, The Denver Post, The Detroit News and The New York Times, published editorials also urging Nixon to resign. So did Time magazine, in its first editorial in 50 years of publication. Time wrote that Nixon "has irredeemably lost his moral authority" to govern effectively, and that he "and the nation have passed a tragic point of no return." Later that month, the ACLU released a 56‐page handbook detailing "17 things citizens could do to bring about the impeachment of President Nixon."
As momentum for impeachment grew in Congress, Nixon held a live one-hour televised press conference on November 17 to defend himself. It was in this press conference that Nixon famously declared, "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."
The Watergate Scandal seemed to be taking a toll on Nixon's health and morale, and rumors persisted that he was in poor mental and physical shape. In December 1973 Senator Barry Goldwater wrote a private note that said, "I have reason to suspect that all might not be well mentally in the White House. This is the only copy that will ever be made of this; it will be locked in my safe."
The Judiciary Committee set up an impeachment inquiry staff to look into whether the charges against the president constituted impeachable offenses. Two future politicians who worked on that staff were future Massachusetts Governor William Weld and future First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. James D. St. Clair, a Boston lawyer, was named special counsel to President Nixon. He took the position that while Nixon had made a number of statements that looked bad, Nixon had committed no crimes.
As the Judiciary Committee preparing to begin a formal impeachment inquiry, the president tried once more to contain the situation. At the end of his January 30, 1974 State of the Union address, Nixon asked for an expeditious resolution to any impeachment proceedings against him, so that the government could function effectively again. He told Congress straight out that "one year of Watergate is enough" and asserted that he had no "intention whatever" of resigning.
But the House did proceed with an impeachment inquiry. On February 6, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee was authorized to launch a formal impeachment inquiry against Nixon. The House approved the resolution by an overwhelming majority of 410–4. During the debate over the motion, Chairman Rodino said:
"Whatever the result, whatever we learn or conclude, let us now proceed with such care and decency and thoroughness and honor that the vast majority of the American people, and their children after them, will say: This was the right course. There was no other way."
The first resolution to directly call for President Nixon's impeachment was introduced on July 31, 1973, by Robert Drinan, a Roman Catholic priest and a Democratic Representative from Massachusetts. His resolution complained mainly about Nixon's clandestine authorization of the bombing of Cambodia. But it was also concerned about Nixon's actions concerning the Watergate scandal. The resolution was ignored by leaders of both parties. Drinan's fellow Massachusetts Democrat, House Majority Leader Tip O'Neill, stated, "Morally, Drinan had a good case. But politically, he damn near blew it. If Drinan's resolution had come up for a vote at the time he filed it, it would have been overwhelmingly defeated – by something like 400 to 20. After that, with most of the members already on record as having voted once against impeachment, it would have been extremely difficult to get them to change their minds later on."
By September 1973, it seemed as if Nixon was recovering some of the political and public support that the accusations arising out of Watergate had taken from him. Polling showed that the American public was becoming tired of the Watergate hearings, and Congress was not willing to undertake impeachment without some sort of a smoking gun, some major revelation from the White House tapes or some egregious new presidential action against the investigation. Nevertheless, the Judiciary Committee prepared a 718-page book on impeachment. This book was published in October of 1973. It studies the origin of the impeachment power in the Constitution and discusses all the instances in which that power had previously been used by Congress. The report gave a detailed description of Andrew Johnson's 1868 Senate impeachment trial. A second volume, containing additional historical and parliamentary material was published in January of 1974.
The move towards impeachment gained momentum following the October 20 "Saturday Night Massacre" in which Nixon ordered the firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his Deputy William Rickleshaus refused to follow Nixon's order and resigned from their office. Soliictor General Robert Born was next in the chain of command and he carried out the order. This soon turned into a public relations disaster for Nixon. NBC News anchor John Chancellor interrupted the network's prime time programming and told his audience, "The country tonight is in the midst of what may be the most serious constitutional crisis in its history." The next day, The New York Times declared, "The nation is in the hands of a president overcome with dictatorial misconceptions of his constitutional authority."
The White House and congressional offices received approximately 450,000 telegrams and cables, mostly critical of Nixon. Outside the White House, marchers held signs saying "Honk for Impeachment". It is said that car horns were heard non-stop, both day and night for two weeks.
Cox's firing led to considerable outrage in Congress too. Beginning on October 23, House Democrats introduced 22 separate resolutions calling for Nixon's impeachment, or at least for an impeachment investigation or the appointment of a new special prosecutor. Speaker of the House Carl Albert referred all of the various resolutions to the House Judiciary Committee.
On October 23, 1973, Nixon agreed to turn over the subpoenaed White House tapes to Judge John Sirica, the judge who had been assigned the criminal trial in the Watergate break-in. Nixon also reversed his previous order to abolish the office of the special prosecutor, which he had done when he fired Cox. One week later, Leon Jaworski was appointed to the post by the acting attorney general, Robert Bork.
At this point in time, Vice-President Spiro Agnew had resigned on October 10th following accusations of bribery from his time as Governor of Maryland. Speaker of the House Carl Albert was next in the presidential line of succession. He warned the judiciary committee against taking impulsive or rash action on impeachment. He also called on Congress to take swift action on the nomination of Gerald Ford to fill the vice presidential vacancy. He did these things despite increasing pressure from some fellow Democrats to do the opposite. If he had been so inclined, Albert could have delayed Ford's confirmation as vice president and sped up Nixon's impeachment and removal from office, allowing Albert, and the Democratic Party to take over the executive branch without having to win an election. Albert rejected that course of action, but he and Democratic Party strategist Ted Sorensen did develop a secret 19-page contingency plan for a presidential transition, just in case.
The 37-member House Judiciary Committee voted on October 30, to begin deliberation of the possible impeachment of President Nixon by a 21–17 party-line vote, with all the committee's Democrats voting yes and all Republicans voting no. The committee began its work that December, following the Ford confirmation hearings. The committee was chaired by Peter W. Rodino, a Democrat from New Jersey. He was not initially thought of as one of the brighter lights in Congress, something he himself acknowledged when he told a reporter, "If fate had been looking for one of the powerhouses of Congress, it wouldn't have picked me." Rodino was criticized by those anxious to expedite Nixon's impeachment for the slowness of the process in the Judiciary Committee and of Rodino's leadership. However Speaker Albert thought Rodino and his committee had done a fair and thorough job and praised them for their even-handed approach to the issue.
On November 4, 1973, Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts became the first congressional Republican to publicly urge President Nixon to resign. That same week, a number of prominent newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal, The Denver Post, The Detroit News and The New York Times, published editorials also urging Nixon to resign. So did Time magazine, in its first editorial in 50 years of publication. Time wrote that Nixon "has irredeemably lost his moral authority" to govern effectively, and that he "and the nation have passed a tragic point of no return." Later that month, the ACLU released a 56‐page handbook detailing "17 things citizens could do to bring about the impeachment of President Nixon."
As momentum for impeachment grew in Congress, Nixon held a live one-hour televised press conference on November 17 to defend himself. It was in this press conference that Nixon famously declared, "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."
The Watergate Scandal seemed to be taking a toll on Nixon's health and morale, and rumors persisted that he was in poor mental and physical shape. In December 1973 Senator Barry Goldwater wrote a private note that said, "I have reason to suspect that all might not be well mentally in the White House. This is the only copy that will ever be made of this; it will be locked in my safe."
The Judiciary Committee set up an impeachment inquiry staff to look into whether the charges against the president constituted impeachable offenses. Two future politicians who worked on that staff were future Massachusetts Governor William Weld and future First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. James D. St. Clair, a Boston lawyer, was named special counsel to President Nixon. He took the position that while Nixon had made a number of statements that looked bad, Nixon had committed no crimes.
As the Judiciary Committee preparing to begin a formal impeachment inquiry, the president tried once more to contain the situation. At the end of his January 30, 1974 State of the Union address, Nixon asked for an expeditious resolution to any impeachment proceedings against him, so that the government could function effectively again. He told Congress straight out that "one year of Watergate is enough" and asserted that he had no "intention whatever" of resigning.
But the House did proceed with an impeachment inquiry. On February 6, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee was authorized to launch a formal impeachment inquiry against Nixon. The House approved the resolution by an overwhelming majority of 410–4. During the debate over the motion, Chairman Rodino said:
"Whatever the result, whatever we learn or conclude, let us now proceed with such care and decency and thoroughness and honor that the vast majority of the American people, and their children after them, will say: This was the right course. There was no other way."