Watergate

Watergate

United States --- Watergate

Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee the start of the Watergate Scandal.

More Information and Timeline For The Watergate Scandal
1. 1972
2. January G. Gordon Liddy general counsel to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President proposes burglarizing and wiretapping the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C
3. May 17th wiretaps placed on the telephones of Democratic National Chairman Lawrence O'Brien and Executive Director of Democratic States' Chairmen R. Spencer Oliver, Jr.
4. June 17th Frank Wills, a security guard at the Watergate Complex called police at 1:30 AM and five men are arrested inside the Democratic National Committee's headquarters office
5. June 18th Virgilio González, Bernard Barker, James W. McCord, Jr., Eugenio Martínez, and Frank Sturgis are charged with attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications.
6. June 19th Washington Post ( Reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward ) reveal that one of the Watergate burglars ( James McCord ) was a Republican Party security aide.
7. June and July Washington Post Reporters source "Deep Throat." reveals Examination of the burglars' accounts showed the link to the 1972 Committee to Re-Elect the President, through its subordinate finance committee.
8. August 29th President Richard Nixon speaking at a news conference stated "I can say categorically that no one in the White House staff, no one in this Administration, presently employed, was involved in this very bizarre incident ( Watergate Break In"
9. September 15th Grand jury indicted the five and E. Howard Hunt, Jr. and G. Gordon Liddy for conspiracy, burglary, and violation of federal wiretapping laws.
10. September 29th Washington Post Reporters reveals John Mitchell, while serving as Attorney General, controlled a secret Republican fund used to finance intelligence-gathering against the Democrats
11. October 10th Washington Post Reporters breaks the story that the Watergate break-in was part of a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage on behalf of the officials and heads of the Nixon re-election campaign.
12. November 7th President Richard Nixon was re-elected in one of the biggest landslides ever in American political history.
13. 1973 Over the next 12 months following the United States Senate establishing a select committee to investigate Watergate and former members of Nixons inner circle delivering testimony which was damaging to the President. That together with the eventual release of the Watergate tapes which proved that the President was involved in the cover up eventually led to his resignation.
14. 1974 The House of Representatives began formal investigations into the possible impeachment of the president. The House Judiciary Committee voted 27 to 11 on July 27, 1974 to recommend the first article of impeachment against the president: obstruction of justice.
15. August 8th In a nationally televised address from the Oval Office president Richard Nixon announces he will resign the Presidency effective at noon the next day
16. August 9th Vice President Ford sworn in as President of the United States.
17. September 8th President Gerald Ford issued a full and unconditional pardon of former President Nixon, immunizing him from prosecution for any crimes he had "committed or may have committed or taken part in" as President.
If not for the persistence of the two Washington Post Reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward and the backing of the Washington Post I believe the Watergate Scandal would never have been investigated showing that back in the 70's true investigative journalism still existed. Their source inside the FBI "Deep Throat" was much later (2005) revealed to be former Deputy Director of the FBI William Mark Felt, Sr. .