Timeline Description: The Watergate Scandal was a blot on America's history. It was an effort of President Richard Nixon and his aides to secure re-election, but it backfired on them all and led to the fall of Nixon's presidency.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Expanding intelligence gathering With the advancement of technology heating up, President Richard Nixon approved the use of new methods to gather intelligence. However, he changed his mind a few days later and took back his approval. |
| June 1971 | The Pentagon Papers The Pentagon Papers were files that were leaked to the press. The New York Times and the Washington Post began publishing these secret files. |
| September 1971 | The Plumbers Unit The White House was outraged at this leak to the press, and they developed a special unit called the Plumbers Unit. They hoped to find the identity of the person responsible for the leak, and they eventually broke into a doctor's office in order to steal patient files on a suspect. |
| June 17, 1972 | Caught red handed During the Democratic National Committee, a group of five men was caught breaking into the convention center at the Watergate Hotel. The men were found attempting to "bug" the convention. |
| June 19, 1972 | Suspects named Two of the burglars were identified as a CIA agent and a Republican security aid. President Nixon's reelection campaign denied any involvement in the bugging. |
| August, 1972 | Money matters(August-September 1972) During an investigation into the Watergate Scandal, authorities found that one of the burglars had been paid $25,000 from a Nixon campaign account. They also found a secret Republican fund used to gather information against the Democrats. |
| November 1972 | President Nixon is reelected During the investigation, the reelection campaign continued. President Nixon was reelected in a landslide win against the Democrats. |
| January 1973 | Conviction in the Watergate Scandal Two of President Nixon's former aides ended up facing charges for burglary, wiretapping, and conspiracy in connection with the Watergate Scandal. Still, too many mysteries were left open, and authorities were not satisfied. |
| June 1973 | Mysteries begin unravelling During further investigations, authorities uncovered that aid John Dean discussed the Watergate cover-up with the president dozens of times. They also found a memo describing the plans to burglarize the doctor's office regarding the Pentagon Papers incident. |
| July 13, 1973 | Recorded conversations The trial of the Watergate Scandal continued, and a former presidential aide revealed that President Nixon recorded each phone conversation that took place in the presidential offices. |
| July 23, 1973 | Nixon refuses to cooperate The courts went to Nixon and asked him to turn over the recorded tapes. Nixon ordered the taping system disconnected, and he refused to turn over the tapes during the Watergate Scandal. |
| October, 1973 | Tensions rise in Congress(October-November 1973) President Nixon fired several of his top aides, and he continued promising that he was not involved in the Watergate Scandal. His testimony was becoming less believable with each passing day, and Congress began questioning whether they should impeach the president. |
| July 24, 1974 | Nixon's recoded phone conversations The court at last forced President Nixon into turning over his recorded phone conversations. There were gaps in the tapes, which led investigators to believe someone had damaged them purposely. |
| July 27, 1973 | Obstruction of justice Frustrated with Nixon's obvious efforts to obstruct justice, the courts began the impeachment process of President Nixon. Nixon continued maintaining his innocence. |
| August 8, 1974 | President Nixon resigns President Nixon resigned the office of president, and Vice President Gerald Ford stepped in as Commander in Chief. It wasn't for thirty more years that America would learn the identity of Deep Throat, the person who leaked most of the story to the press—W. Mark Felt of the FBI was confirmed as Deep Throat in May 2005. |