On October 23, 1973, President Richard Nixon agreed to turn over the Watergate tapes to investigators, marking a pivotal moment in the unraveling of his presidency. Below are 13 facts that illuminate the scope and impact of the Watergate scandal.
1. The scandal began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. Five men were arrested, all connected to Nixon’s reelection campaign.
2. The burglars were caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents, suggesting political espionage.
3. Nixon and his aides attempted to obstruct justice, including paying hush money and misleading investigators.
4. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post investigated the story with help from “Deep Throat,” later revealed to be FBI Associate Director Mark Felt.
5. The Senate Watergate Committee was formed in 1973, and its hearings were broadcast live, drawing national attention.
6. The “Saturday Night Massacre” occurred on October 20, 1973, when Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox, prompting resignations of top Justice Department officials.
7. On October 23, 1973, Nixon agreed to release some tapes, which had been secretly recorded in the Oval Office without most staff knowing.
8. The tapes revealed Nixon’s involvement in the cover-up, especially the “smoking gun” tape from June 23, 1972.
9. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in United States v. Nixon (1974) that Nixon had to release the tapes.
10. Nixon resigned on August 8, 1974, becoming the only U.S. president to do so.
11. Gerald Ford became president and controversially pardoned Nixon on September 8, 1974.
12. The scandal led to over 40 government officials being indicted or jailed, including top aides like H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman.
13. The term “Watergate” became a metonym for political scandal and abuse of power.
Sources:
FBI records, court documents, early reporting from The Washington Post, History.com, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, PBS Frontline, NPR, Constitution Center, National Archives, CNN, Watergate.info. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Brookings Institution and Politico.
*I used the little magic wand on blogger for the first time to insert links. Not impressed.*
*An AI tool helped put this list together*
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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 930th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
Last year, for the first time I got to teach about Watergate. (I usually teach Early American history up to 1900.). It was fascinating to break it down so that my students could understand. They were absolutely gobsmacked!
ReplyDeleteAh, the good ol' days when such malfeasance was punished. Good times.
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