The Watergate scandal constitutes a 26-month sequence of events that progressed from a specific criminal act to a systemic constitutional crisis. This chronology documents the key actions, investigations, and revelations that led from the arrest of five burglars at the Democratic National Committee headquarters to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon. The narrative is one of escalating legal and political pressure, where initial denials were systematically dismantled by journalistic investigation, congressional hearings, judicial rulings, and ultimately, the evidence contained within the White House’s own recording system.

Phase I: The Foundation of Covert Operations (1971 – May 1972)

The June 1972 break-in was not an isolated event but the product of an established pattern of covert activity authorized within the White House.

· June 13, 1971: The New York Times begins publishing the “Pentagon PapersPentagon Papers Full Description:A secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam. Leaked by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971, its publication infuriated Nixon and led directly to the formation of the “Plumbers” unit to prevent further leaks. The Pentagon Papers revealed that four successive presidential administrations had systematically lied to the public and Congress about the scope and progress of the Vietnam War. Nixon fought a Supreme Court battle to stop their publication (New York Times v. United States), arguing national security, but lost. Critical Perspective:Although the papers mostly implicated previous administrations (Kennedy and Johnson), Nixon’s obsessive reaction to them triggered the Watergate saga. He feared they set a precedent for leaking his own secrets. This connects Watergate directly to the Vietnam War; the domestic crimes of the administration were a direct result of its desire to prosecute an unpopular foreign war in secrecy.
Read more,” a classified Defense Department history detailing U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The documents reveal a legacy of public deception by multiple administrations.
· June 15, 1971: President Nixon convenes a meeting with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and White House aides John Ehrlichman and Egil “Bud” Krogh. They agree that the leaks represent a critical threat to national security and presidential authority. Nixon is recorded stating, “We’re up against an enemy, a conspiracy. They’re using any means. We are going to use any means.”
· July 1971: The White House establishes a special investigations unit, later dubbed “the PlumbersThe Plumbers Full Description:A covert White House special investigations unit established to “stop leaks” of classified information to the media. They were the operatives who carried out the break-ins, blurring the line between national security and political gangsterism. The Plumbers were created in response to the release of the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg. Their mission was to discredit leakers and political enemies. Their first major operation was breaking into the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist to steal files they hoped would destroy his reputation. These same operatives—including G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt—later organized the Watergate break-in. Critical Perspective:The existence of the Plumbers reveals the paranoia of the Nixon White House. It shows how the administration privatized intelligence operations. Distrusting the FBI and CIA (whom Nixon felt were not loyal enough), the President created his own personal secret police force, accountable only to the Oval Office and operating completely outside the law.
Read more,” to stop security leaks. The unit is housed in the Executive Office Building and reports directly to Ehrlichman. Its key personnel are Krogh, David Young, G. Gordon Liddy, and E. Howard Hunt.
· September 3, 1971: Under the direction of Liddy and Hunt, a team including CIA veteran Eugenio Martinez breaks into the Los Angeles office of Dr. Lewis Fielding, psychiatrist to Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg. The objective is to locate damaging personal information on Ellsberg. The operation fails to find any relevant files.
· January-February 1972: G. Gordon Liddy, now working for the Finance Committee for the Re-Election of the President (later the Committee to Re-elect the President, or CRP), presents “Operation Gemstone” to Attorney General John Mitchell, the campaign manager. The $1 million plan proposes a comprehensive program of political espionage, including the wiretapping of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex, surveillance of Democratic primary campaigns, and the use of prostitutes to entrap political opponents. Mitchell deems the plan too expensive and risky.
· March 30, 1972: A scaled-down version of Gemstone, costing approximately $250,000, is approved by John Mitchell. The initial target is the Watergate office of the DNC.
· May 27-28, 1972: The first Watergate break-in is executed. A team led by James McCord, the security coordinator for CRP, and including Hunt, Liddy, and several Cuban nationals, successfully enters the DNC offices. They photograph documents and install listening devices on the telephones of DNC chairman Larry O’Brien and other staff. The bug on O’Brien’s phone subsequently fails to function properly.

Phase II: The Break-In and the Immediate Cover-Up (June – December 1972)

The arrest of the burglars triggered a coordinated effort from the White House to obstruct the ensuing investigation.

· June 17, 1972: At 2:30 a.m., five men—James McCord, Bernard Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, and Frank Sturgis—are arrested inside the DNC offices. Frank Wills, a security guard, had noticed tape covering the latches on doors in the underground garage and stairwells, allowing the doors to remain unlocked. He called the police. The burglars were in possession of lock picks, electronic listening devices, cameras, and over $2,300 in sequentially numbered $100 bills.
· June 18, 1972: The connection to the Nixon campaign is established when it is revealed that James McCord is the salaried security coordinator for CRP. White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler dismisses the incident as a “third-rate burglary attempt.”
· June 19, 1972: The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein report that one of the burglars, Bernard Barker, had a check for $25,000 from a Nixon campaign fund in his bank account. This provides the first direct financial link between the burglars and the Committee to Re-elect the President.
· June 20, 1972: President Nixon and Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman meet in the Oval Office for 18½ minutes. A portion of this conversation, later subpoenaed, was found to have been erased. White House secretary Rose Mary Woods would later claim accidental erasure.
· June 23, 1972: In a meeting with Haldeman, Nixon approves a plan to have the CIA intervene and falsely claim to the FBI that the Watergate investigation would compromise CIA assets and operations. This directive, captured on tape, constitutes the “smoking gun” evidence of the president’s direct involvement in the obstruction of justiceObstruction of Justice Full Description:A criminal act involving the interference with the due administration of justice. In this context, it referred to the administration’s systematic efforts to stop the FBI investigation into the break-in, including destroying evidence and authorizing hush money payments. Obstruction of Justice was the “smoking gun” of the scandal. While the initial crime (the burglary) was serious, the cover-up was the fatal blow to the administration. It involved the President utilizing the CIA to block the FBI, effectively turning the nation’s intelligence agencies into a personal protection racket for the incumbent party. Critical Perspective:This charge highlights the abuse of institutional power. It was not merely about lying, but about the corruption of the state’s neutral machinery. It demonstrated how the vast powers accumulated by the executive branch during the Cold War could be turned inward against domestic political opponents and the rule of law itself.
Read more.
· August 1, 1972: A $25,000 cashier’s check, donated to the Nixon campaign by Minnesota banker Dwayne Andreas, is publicly linked to the bank account of Bernard Barker. The money trail becomes a central focus of the FBI investigation.
· August 29, 1972: President Nixon holds a press conference and declares, “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.” He states that an investigation by White House Counsel John Dean supports this conclusion. Dean had, in fact, conducted no such investigation.
· September 15, 1972: A federal grand jury indicts the five burglars, plus G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt, on charges of burglary, conspiracy, and wiretapping. There is no indictment of higher-level officials.
· November 7, 1972: Richard Nixon wins re-election in a historic landslide, carrying 49 states and over 60% of the popular vote.

Phase III: The Unraveling of the Cover-Up (January – July 1973)

The legal process and political pressure began to expose the weaknesses in the White House’s narrative.

· January 8-30, 1973: The trial of the Watergate burglars takes place before Judge John J. Sirica in U.S. District Court. All seven defendants either plead guilty or are found guilty. During the trial, Judge Sirica openly expresses skepticism that the full story has been told.
· February 7, 1973: The U.S. Senate votes unanimously (77-0) to establish the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, chaired by Senator Sam Ervin (D-NC).
· March 23, 1973: Judge Sirica reads a letter from James McCord to the court. McCord states that he and the other defendants had been under “political pressure” to plead guilty and remain silent, that perjury had been committed during the trial, and that higher-ups were involved. He alleges a coordinated cover-up.
· April 17, 1973: President Nixon announces that “major developments” have come to light and that he is initiating new inquiries. He reverses his previous stance and states that he will now allow White House aides to testify before the Senate committee, but under specific conditions.
· April 30, 1973: In a televised address, Nixon announces the resignations of his top aides, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, as well as Attorney General Richard Kleindienst. He also announces the dismissal of White House Counsel John Dean, who had begun cooperating with federal prosecutors.
· May 17, 1973: The Senate Watergate Committee begins its nationally televised hearings. The hearings are chaired by Senator Ervin, with Senator Howard Baker (R-TN) as Vice Chairman. Baker’s question, “What did the President know and when did he know it?” becomes the central theme of the investigation.
· June 25-29, 1973: John Dean testifies before the Senate committee for five days. In a detailed 245-page opening statement, he outlines a systematic cover-up orchestrated from the White House. He alleges more than 30 meetings with the president specifically about Watergate and states he told Nixon there was a “cancer on the presidency.”
· July 16, 1973: In a public session of the Senate committee, former White House appointments secretary Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of a secret voice-activated taping system that recorded all conversations in the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, and the president’s private office. This revelation fundamentally alters the investigation, providing a potential objective record of events.

Phase IV: The Constitutional Crisis (July 1973 – July 1974)

The battle for the tapes created a direct confrontation between the executive and judicial branches.

· July 23, 1973: Both Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox and the Senate Watergate Committee subpoena the White House for specific tapes and documents. Nixon refuses, citing executive privilegeExecutive Privilege Full Description:The power claimed by the President to resist subpoenas and withhold information from other branches of government and the public. It is based on the argument that the executive needs confidential advice to function effectively. Executive Privilege became the central legal battlefield of the scandal. The President attempted to use this doctrine to refuse to hand over the “White House Tapes” (recordings of conversations in the Oval Office). The administration argued that the separation of powers gave the President an absolute right to secrecy that could not be breached by the courts. Critical Perspective:Critically, this doctrine was weaponized to transform the presidency into a quasi-monarchy. By claiming that the President’s conversations were immune from judicial review, the administration essentially argued that the President was not a citizen subject to the law, but a sovereign ruler. The eventual Supreme Court ruling limited this power, establishing that privilege cannot be used to hide evidence of a crime.
Read more and the separation of powers.
· August 29, 1973: Judge Sirica orders Nixon to turn over the subpoenaed tapes. The president appeals the ruling.
· October 12, 1973: The U.S. Court of Appeals upholds Sirica’s ruling, ordering the president to surrender the tapes.
· October 20, 1973: The Saturday Night MassacreSaturday Night Massacre Full Description:The events of October 20, 1973, when President Nixon ordered the firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. The refusal of the Attorney General and his deputy to carry out the order led to a wave of resignations that shocked the nation. The Saturday Night Massacre was the moment the legal battle became a constitutional crisis. Nixon believed that as the head of the executive branch, he had the absolute right to fire any employee, including the man investigating him. By wiping out the leadership of the Justice Department in a single night to protect his tapes, Nixon publicly demonstrated his contempt for the rule of law. Critical Perspective:This event turned public opinion decisively against the President. It was a tactical error that appeared like an admission of guilt. It demonstrated the danger of the “Unitary Executive” theory—if the President controls all law enforcement, who can investigate the President? It ultimately proved that there were lines even loyal public servants would not cross.
Read more. President Nixon orders Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refuses and resigns. Nixon then orders Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox; Ruckelshaus also refuses and is fired. Solicitor General Robert Bork, as the acting head of the Justice Department, carries out the order and dismisses Cox. The White House also announces the abolition of the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
· October 23, 1973: Public and congressional reaction to the Massacre is overwhelmingly negative. The House Judiciary Committee begins an inquiry into possible impeachmentImpeachment Full Description:The constitutional mechanism by which a legislative body levels charges against a government official. It serves as the ultimate political remedy for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” designed to prevent the executive branch from becoming a tyranny. Impeachment is not the removal from office, but the formal accusation (indictment) by the legislature. In the context of the crisis, it represented the reassertion of congressional power against an executive branch that had grown increasingly unaccountable. The process forces the political system to decide whether the President is above the law. Critical Perspective:While designed as a check on power, the process highlights the fragility of democratic institutions. It reveals that the remedy for presidential criminality is fundamentally political, not legal. Consequently, justice often relies on the willingness of the President’s own party to prioritize the constitution over partisan loyalty, a reliance that makes the system vulnerable to factionalism.
Read more charges. Facing this pressure, Nixon agrees to comply with the subpoena for the tapes.
· November 1, 1973: Nixon appoints Leon Jaworski, a respected Texas attorney, as the new Special Prosecutor and pledges his independence.
· November 21, 1973: The White House informs Judge Sirica that one of the key subpoenaed tapes, of the June 20, 1972, conversation between Nixon and Haldeman, contains an 18½-minute gap. The White House attributes the erasure to a “terrible and inexcusable accident” by the president’s secretary, Rose Mary Woods.
· April 30, 1974: The White House releases edited transcripts of 46 taped conversations to the House Judiciary Committee. The transcripts are heavily redacted, with frequent expletives deleted and the notation “expletive deleted” becoming a cultural catchphrase. The committee rejects the transcripts as insufficient and renews its demand for the actual tapes.
· July 24, 1974: The Supreme Court rules unanimously (8-0) in United States v. Nixon that the president’s claim of executive privilege is not absolute and must yield to the specific needs of the criminal justice process. The Court orders Nixon to surrender the 64 subpoenaed tapes to Judge Sirica.
· July 27-30, 1974: The House Judiciary Committee approves three articles of impeachment against President Nixon. The votes are bipartisan.
· Article I: Obstruction of Justice (27-11)
· Article II: Abuse of Power (28-10)
· Article III: Contempt of Congress (21-17)

Phase V: Resignation and Aftermath (August 1974)

Confronted with incontrovertible evidence and the certainty of impeachment, Nixon’s presidency ended.

· August 5, 1974: In compliance with the Supreme Court order, the White House releases the transcript of the June 23, 1972, “smoking gun” tape. The transcript reveals Nixon and Haldeman planning to use the CIA to block the FBI’s investigation. This evidence directly contradicts Nixon’s repeated claims of non-involvement in the cover-up.
· August 7, 1974: A delegation of senior Republican congressmen, including Senator Barry Goldwater and House Minority Leader John Rhodes, meets with Nixon at the White House. They inform him that he has, at most, 15 votes in the Senate against conviction, far short of the 34 needed to avoid removal from office. His support has completely collapsed.
· August 8, 1974: In a televised address from the Oval Office, Richard Nixon announces his decision to resign the presidency, effective at noon the following day.
· August 9, 1974: Nixon’s resignation becomes effective. Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President of the United States.
· September 8, 1974: President Ford grants Richard Nixon a “full, free, and absolute pardon” for all offenses he “has committed or may have committed” while in office. The pardon preempts any potential criminal prosecution.

This chronology documents a systematic process whereby legal and political institutions gradually uncovered and addressed a fundamental breach of public trust. The sequence of events demonstrates that the initial criminal act was less consequential than the subsequent, coordinated effort to subvert the investigation, an effort that ultimately implicated the president himself and led to the first resignation of a U.S. president in history.