Water Gate Scandal

Question

Describe Richard Nixon’s fall from power due to the Watergate scandal. What were the sequence of event that led to the first ever resignation of an American president?

Answer 1

It could be said that the motive for the actions at Watergate began with Nixon's inauguration in 1969 when protesters hit the streets in Washington DC to mar his greatest achievement. His fear and previous close loss to Kennedy in 1960 influenced a mindset of paranoia that led to the infamous "enemies list" that divided the country in strict terms of "us and them."

The catalyst to move from thoughts to action is stimulated by the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 and the inability of the Nixon White House to control the narrative of his presidency. This directly led to the financing and the creation of The Plumbers, a clandestine group of former FBI and CIA operatives, some going as far back to the Bay of Pigs Failed invasion. Their purpose was to plug leaks and find political information on the Democratic Party running in to the election of 1972. The result was a campaign of Dirty Tricks and the first of multiple break-ins to the Democratic National Campaign headquarters in the Watergate Hotel Complex in DC.

Their capture led to an investigation that the Nixon Administration actively tried to obstruct within the FBI leading one of its directors, one Mark Felt to disclose to Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein information leading to the revelations known as the Watergate Scandal.

A Democratic congress led to investigations, revelations, and federal court cases which eventually were to result in the impeachment of Richard Nixon. Nixon chose to resign to avoid the political process and he was succeeded by Gerald Ford who later pardoned Nixon for any crimes he might or might not have committed while president of the United States.