Presidential Mistakes: Richard Nixon and Watergate
It is virtually impossible to write a succinct article about Richard Nixon and Watergate. It has been the subject of numerous books, most of which have been large books. (One recent one come to mind, John Dean's 2014 work The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It (reviewed here in this community). Acknowledging that difficulty at the outset, let me try to give the Reader's Digest version of this scandal.
In the 1972 election, President Richard Nixon ran for re-election. Nixon had initially expected his Democratic opponent to be Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy but the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident derailed Kennedy's chances and South Dakota Senator George McGovern was selected by the Democrats as their candidate. Nixon was ahead in most polls for the entire election cycle, and was reelected on November 7, 1972 in one of the largest landslide election victories in American history. He defeated McGovern with over 60 percent of the popular vote, losing only in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
During the campaign, Nixon's re-election team included a "dirty tricks squad". This group performed a number of illegal activities that included bugging the offices of political opponents. The activities came to light on June 17, 1972 when five men were caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The Washington Post reported the story and investigative reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward received information from an informant known as "Deep Throat" (who was later revealed to be FBI Associate Director Mark Felt). They learned that the men arrested had links to the Nixon administration.
Information came out that the Committee to Re-elect President Nixon had been involved in attempts to sabotage the Democrats. The trail of who knew about the illegal activities went all the way to the White House. Senior aides such as White House Counsel John Dean, Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and Domestic Affairs counsel John Ehrlichman faced criminal prosecution. The issue soon became whether or not Nixon knew and what he knew. Congressional investigation into the matter proceeded alongside the criminal investigation. Nixon was advised to appoint a Special Counsel to conduct an independent investigation.
In July 1973, White House aide Alexander Butterfield testified under oath before Congress and informed them that Nixon had a secret taping system that recorded his conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office. These tapes were subpoenaed by Watergate Special Counsel Archibald Cox. Nixon agreed to provide transcripts of the conversations but not the actual tapes. He claimed executive privilege. When Cox advised that this was not acceptable to him, Nixon had Cox fired in October in what became known as the "Saturday Night Massacre". Nixon's attorney-general and deputy attorney-general resigned because they would not follow Nixon's order to fire Cox. Finally Nixon instructed Solicitor-General Robert Bork to carry out the deed, and Bork did so.
Cox was replaced by Leon Jaworski as special prosecutor. In November, Nixon's lawyers revealed that an audio tape of conversations, held in the White House on June 20, 1972, contained an 18½ minute gap. Rose Mary Woods, the President's personal secretary, took responsibility for the gap, claiming that she had accidentally wiped the section while transcribing the tape, but most people doubted that this took place. The gap added doubt on Nixon's statement that he had been unaware of the cover-up.
Nixon lost a lot of popular support, even within his own party. He denied any wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. He insisted that he had no prior knowledge of the burglary, and did not break any laws. He said that he did not learn of the cover-up until early 1973.
On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned for reasons unrelated to Watergate. He was convicted on charges of bribery, tax evasion and money laundering during his tenure as Governor of Maryland. Nixon chose Gerald Ford, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, to replace Agnew. On November 17, 1973, during a televised question and answer session with the press, Nixon said: "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."
The legal battle over the tapes continued through early 1974. In April Nixon announced the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides. The House Judiciary Committee began impeachment hearings against the President on May 9, 1974. The hearings were televised on the major TV networks. These hearings resulted in votes for impeachment. Matters proceeded from bad to worse for Nixon and on July 24, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the full tapes had to be released.
The hearings uncovered additional allegations against Nixon, ranging from the improper use of government agencies, accepting gifts in office, irregularities with Nixon's personal taxes, and bugging of Nixon's enemies and critics under the bogus guise of national security. But even as his support diminished with the continuing series of revelations, Nixon vowed to fight the charges. But one of the tapes, recorded soon after the break-in, showed that Nixon had been told of the White House connection to the Watergate burglaries soon after they took place, and had approved plans to frustrate the investigation. This became known as the "Smoking Gun Tape".
On August 5, 1974, Nixon accepted blame for misleading the country about when he had been told of White House involvement, claiming that he had a lapse of memory. He met with Republican congressional leaders and was told he faced certain impeachment in the House and had, at most, only 15 votes in his favor in the Senate, far fewer than the 34 he needed to avoid removal from office.
Recognizing his loss of political support and the virtual certainty of impeachment, Nixon resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974. He addressed the nation on television the previous evening. His resignation speech was delivered from the Oval Office and was carried live on radio and television. Nixon stated that he was resigning for the good of the country and asked the nation to support the new president, Gerald Ford. Nixon went on to defend his record as president.
Nixon's resignation did not end the desire among many to see him charged criminally for his wrongdoing. President Gerald Ford White House considered a pardon of Nixon. On September 8, 1974, he granted Nixon a "full, free, and absolute pardon", which ended any possibility of an indictment.
In October 1974, Nixon fell ill with phlebitis. Nixon underwent surgery, and President Ford visited him in the hospital. Nixon was under subpoena for the trial of three of his former aides Dean, Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman at the time. The Washington Post doubted the sincerity of Nixon's illness, but Judge John Sirica excused Nixon's presence despite the defendants' objections. Nixon was in the hospital when the 1974 midterm elections were held, and Watergate and the pardon were contributing factors to the Republican loss of 43 seats in the House and three in the Senate.
Following his resignation, Nixon retired to write his memoirs. He participated in a series of interviews with British talk-show host David Frost. In retirement his reputation experienced somewhat of a rehabilitation as he came to be seen as an elder statesman. Nixon suffered a severe stroke on April 18, 1994, at his Park Ridge, New Jersey home. A blood clot resulting from his heart condition had formed in his upper heart, broken off, and traveled to his brain. He was taken to New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, unable to speak or to move his right arm or leg. Nixon slipped into a deep coma and died at 9:08 p.m. on April 22, 1994. He was 81 years old.
In the 1972 election, President Richard Nixon ran for re-election. Nixon had initially expected his Democratic opponent to be Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy but the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident derailed Kennedy's chances and South Dakota Senator George McGovern was selected by the Democrats as their candidate. Nixon was ahead in most polls for the entire election cycle, and was reelected on November 7, 1972 in one of the largest landslide election victories in American history. He defeated McGovern with over 60 percent of the popular vote, losing only in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
During the campaign, Nixon's re-election team included a "dirty tricks squad". This group performed a number of illegal activities that included bugging the offices of political opponents. The activities came to light on June 17, 1972 when five men were caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The Washington Post reported the story and investigative reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward received information from an informant known as "Deep Throat" (who was later revealed to be FBI Associate Director Mark Felt). They learned that the men arrested had links to the Nixon administration.
Information came out that the Committee to Re-elect President Nixon had been involved in attempts to sabotage the Democrats. The trail of who knew about the illegal activities went all the way to the White House. Senior aides such as White House Counsel John Dean, Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and Domestic Affairs counsel John Ehrlichman faced criminal prosecution. The issue soon became whether or not Nixon knew and what he knew. Congressional investigation into the matter proceeded alongside the criminal investigation. Nixon was advised to appoint a Special Counsel to conduct an independent investigation.
In July 1973, White House aide Alexander Butterfield testified under oath before Congress and informed them that Nixon had a secret taping system that recorded his conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office. These tapes were subpoenaed by Watergate Special Counsel Archibald Cox. Nixon agreed to provide transcripts of the conversations but not the actual tapes. He claimed executive privilege. When Cox advised that this was not acceptable to him, Nixon had Cox fired in October in what became known as the "Saturday Night Massacre". Nixon's attorney-general and deputy attorney-general resigned because they would not follow Nixon's order to fire Cox. Finally Nixon instructed Solicitor-General Robert Bork to carry out the deed, and Bork did so.
Cox was replaced by Leon Jaworski as special prosecutor. In November, Nixon's lawyers revealed that an audio tape of conversations, held in the White House on June 20, 1972, contained an 18½ minute gap. Rose Mary Woods, the President's personal secretary, took responsibility for the gap, claiming that she had accidentally wiped the section while transcribing the tape, but most people doubted that this took place. The gap added doubt on Nixon's statement that he had been unaware of the cover-up.
Nixon lost a lot of popular support, even within his own party. He denied any wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. He insisted that he had no prior knowledge of the burglary, and did not break any laws. He said that he did not learn of the cover-up until early 1973.
On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned for reasons unrelated to Watergate. He was convicted on charges of bribery, tax evasion and money laundering during his tenure as Governor of Maryland. Nixon chose Gerald Ford, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, to replace Agnew. On November 17, 1973, during a televised question and answer session with the press, Nixon said: "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."
The legal battle over the tapes continued through early 1974. In April Nixon announced the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides. The House Judiciary Committee began impeachment hearings against the President on May 9, 1974. The hearings were televised on the major TV networks. These hearings resulted in votes for impeachment. Matters proceeded from bad to worse for Nixon and on July 24, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the full tapes had to be released.
The hearings uncovered additional allegations against Nixon, ranging from the improper use of government agencies, accepting gifts in office, irregularities with Nixon's personal taxes, and bugging of Nixon's enemies and critics under the bogus guise of national security. But even as his support diminished with the continuing series of revelations, Nixon vowed to fight the charges. But one of the tapes, recorded soon after the break-in, showed that Nixon had been told of the White House connection to the Watergate burglaries soon after they took place, and had approved plans to frustrate the investigation. This became known as the "Smoking Gun Tape".
On August 5, 1974, Nixon accepted blame for misleading the country about when he had been told of White House involvement, claiming that he had a lapse of memory. He met with Republican congressional leaders and was told he faced certain impeachment in the House and had, at most, only 15 votes in his favor in the Senate, far fewer than the 34 he needed to avoid removal from office.
Recognizing his loss of political support and the virtual certainty of impeachment, Nixon resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974. He addressed the nation on television the previous evening. His resignation speech was delivered from the Oval Office and was carried live on radio and television. Nixon stated that he was resigning for the good of the country and asked the nation to support the new president, Gerald Ford. Nixon went on to defend his record as president.
Nixon's resignation did not end the desire among many to see him charged criminally for his wrongdoing. President Gerald Ford White House considered a pardon of Nixon. On September 8, 1974, he granted Nixon a "full, free, and absolute pardon", which ended any possibility of an indictment.
In October 1974, Nixon fell ill with phlebitis. Nixon underwent surgery, and President Ford visited him in the hospital. Nixon was under subpoena for the trial of three of his former aides Dean, Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman at the time. The Washington Post doubted the sincerity of Nixon's illness, but Judge John Sirica excused Nixon's presence despite the defendants' objections. Nixon was in the hospital when the 1974 midterm elections were held, and Watergate and the pardon were contributing factors to the Republican loss of 43 seats in the House and three in the Senate.
Following his resignation, Nixon retired to write his memoirs. He participated in a series of interviews with British talk-show host David Frost. In retirement his reputation experienced somewhat of a rehabilitation as he came to be seen as an elder statesman. Nixon suffered a severe stroke on April 18, 1994, at his Park Ridge, New Jersey home. A blood clot resulting from his heart condition had formed in his upper heart, broken off, and traveled to his brain. He was taken to New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, unable to speak or to move his right arm or leg. Nixon slipped into a deep coma and died at 9:08 p.m. on April 22, 1994. He was 81 years old.