What is watergate affair in 1972

If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Watergate Affair: About. For More about Watergate and Nixon. Check out a Book or Video. A tug of war ensued, with Nixon refusing to relinquish the recordings to Watergate prosecutors. But, in August , following moves to impeach him, he did release the tapes. At the time, however,Nixon was able to convince the public of his innocence and he won the election with The media was instrumental in keeping the scandal in the public eye, none more so than the Washington Post.

Its reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke the most significant stories of the affair, and their investigation is credited with bringing down the President. He was eventually pardoned by President Ford, therefore escaping impeachment and prosecution.

In August, Nixon gave a speech in which he swore that his White House staff was not involved in the break-in. Most voters believed him, and in November the president was reelected in a landslide victory. It later came to light that Nixon was not being truthful.

This was a more serious crime than the break-in: It was an abuse of presidential power and a deliberate obstruction of justice.

Meanwhile, seven conspirators were indicted on charges related to the Watergate affair. Sirica and members of a Senate investigating committee—had begun to suspect that there was a larger scheme afoot. At the same time, some of the conspirators began to crack under the pressure of the cover-up.

Nixon struggled to protect the tapes during the summer and fall of When Cox refused to stop demanding the tapes, Nixon ordered that he be fired, leading several Justice Department officials to resign in protest. These events, which took place on October 20, , are known as the Saturday Night Massacre.

Eventually, Nixon agreed to surrender some—but not all—of the tapes. Early in , the cover-up and efforts to impede the Watergate investigation began to unravel. In July, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes. While the president dragged his feet, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, criminal cover-up and several violations of the Constitution.

Finally, on August 5, Nixon released the tapes, which provided undeniable evidence of his complicity in the Watergate crimes. In the face of almost certain impeachment by Congress, Nixon resigned in disgrace on August 8, and left office the following day. Six weeks later, after Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as president, he pardoned Nixon for any crimes he had committed while in office. Gordon Liddy, a former FBI agent, served four and a half years.

Haldeman spent 19 months in prison while John Ehrlichman spent 18 for attempting to cover up the break-in. Nixon himself never admitted to any criminal wrongdoing, though he did acknowledge using poor judgment. His abuse of presidential power had a long-lasting effect on American political life, creating an atmosphere of cynicism and distrust.