W
atergate became the scandal that overshadowed the early seventies and resulted in the first-ever Presidential resignation. Resulting from the investigative work of two “Washington Post” reporters and a dedicated Senate Committee, the truth surrounding a burglary on June 17, 1972, revealed a plot to spy, spurn, and destroy the Democratic Presidential Campaign. The cover-up reached the upper echelons of the national government, and was the first instance in American history when the President of the United States betrayed the American people for political gain.
Timeline
Senate Watergate Committee: Hearings Begin
May 18, 1973
Tape Controversy: Alexander Butterfield testifies
Jul 13, 1973
White House Officials Punished or Resigned: G. Gordon Liddy
White House Officials Punished or Resigned: John Ehrlichman
Tape Controversy: Supreme Court Ruling
Other: Alexander Butterfield reveals Nixon recordings
Jul 13, 1973
White House Officials Punished or Resigned: James W. McCord Jr.
Other: Richard Nixon resigns
Aug 8, 1974
Impeachment & Resignation: Pres. Nixon resigns
Aug 8, 1974
Other: Senate Watergate Committee hearings televised
May 18, 1973
Other: Supreme Court rules that Nixon must turnover tapes
Jul 24, 1974
Other: House Judiciary passes article of impeachment
Jul 27, 1974
Other: Saturday Night Massacre
Oct 20, 1973
Watergate Burglary: Place
Democratic Headquarters, Watergate building, Washington, D.C.
White House Officials Punished or Resigned: H.R. Haldeman
Senate Watergate Committee: Hearings End
Jun 27, 1974
Other: Nixon declares, "I'm not a crook."
Nov 17, 1973
White House Officials Punished or Resigned: John Dean
White House Officials Punished or Resigned: Attorney General Richard Kleindienst
Other: Nixon Reelected in landslide victory
Nov 7, 1972
Impeachment & Resignation: House passes impeachment charges
Jul 27, 1974
Watergate Burglary: Date
Jun 17, 1972
Other Facts
Men Arrested
Virgilio Gonzalez, Bernard Barker, James W. McCord, Jr., Eugenio Martinez, and Frank Sturgis
Attorney General Richardson
Resigns
William D. Ruckelshaus
Deputy Attorney General; resigns
Archibald Cox
Fired; office of the special prosecutor abolished
Reporters
Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward
Informant
"Deep Throat," Mark Felt (identity not revealed until 2005)
