1972 : WATERGATE BURGLARS ARRESTED:
In the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men are arrested for
breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the
Watergate, an office-hotel-apartment complex in Washington, D.C. In
their possession were burglary tools, cameras and film, and three
pen-size tear gas guns. At the scene of the crime, and in rooms the
men rented at the Watergate, sophisticated electronic bugging
equipment was found. Three of the men were Cuban exiles, one was a
Cuban American, and the fifth was James W. McCord, Jr., a former CIA
agent. That day, the suspects, who said they were "anti-communists,"
were charged with felonious burglary and possession of implements of
crime.
On June 18, however, it was revealed that James McCord was the
salaried security coordinator for President Richard Nixon's reelection
committee. The next day, E. Howard Hunt, Jr., a former White House
aide, was linked to the five suspects. In July, G. Gordon Liddy,
finance counsel for the Committee for the Re-election of the
President, was also implicated as an accomplice. In August, President
Nixon announced that a White House investigation of the Watergate
break-in had concluded that administration officials were not
involved. In September, Liddy, Hunt, McCord, and the four Cubans were
indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts of breaking into and
illegally bugging the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
In September and October, reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of
The Washington Post uncovered evidence of illegal political espionage
carried out by the White House and the Committee for the Re-election
of the President, including the existence of a secret fund kept for
the purpose and the existence of political spies hired by the
committee. Despite these reports, and a growing call for a Watergate
investigation on Capitol Hill, Richard Nixon was reelected president
in November 1972 in a landslide victory.
In January 1973, five of the Watergate burglars pleaded guilty, and
two others, Liddy and McCord, were convicted. At their sentencing on
March 23, U.S. District Court Judge John J. Sirica read a letter from
McCord charging that the White House had conducted an extensive
"cover-up" to conceal its connection with the break-in. In April,
Attorney General Richard Kleindienst and two top White House advisers,
H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, resigned, and White House counsel
John Dean was fired.
On May 17, 1973, the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign
Activities, headed by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, began
televised proceedings on the rapidly escalating Watergate affair. One
week later, Harvard Law professor Archibald Cox was sworn in as
special Watergate prosecutor. During the Senate hearings, former White
House legal counsel John Dean testified that the Watergate break-in
had been approved by former Attorney General John Mitchell with the
knowledge of White House advisers Ehrlichman and Haldeman, and that
President Nixon had been aware of the cover-up. Meanwhile, Watergate
prosecutor Cox and his staff began to uncover widespread evidence of
political espionage by the Nixon re-election committee, illegal
wiretapping of thousands of citizens by the administration, and
contributions to the Republican Party in return for political favors.
In July, the existence of what were to be called the Watergate
tapes--official recordings of White House conversations between Nixon
and his staff--was revealed during the Senate hearings. Cox subpoenaed
these tapes, and after three months of delay President Nixon agreed to
send summaries of the recordings. Cox rejected the summaries, and
Nixon fired him. His successor as special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski,
leveled indictments against several high-ranking administration
officials, including Mitchell and Dean, who were duly convicted.
Public confidence in the president rapidly waned, and by the end of
July 1974 the House Judiciary Committee had adopted three articles of
impeachment against President Nixon: obstruction of justice, abuse of
presidential powers, and hindrance of the impeachment process. On July
30, under coercion from the Supreme Court, Nixon finally released the
Watergate tapes. On August 5, transcripts of the recordings were
released, including a segment in which the president was heard
instructing Haldeman to order the FBI to halt the Watergate
investigation. Four days later, Nixon became the first president in
U.S. history to resign. On September 8, his successor, President
Gerald Ford, pardoned him from any criminal charges.
history.com/tdih.do
1579 : Drake claims California for England
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5098
1775 : The Battle of Bunker Hill
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5099
1940 : France to surrender
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5100
1994 : O.J. Simpson arrested after flight from justice
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5101
########################################
In the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men are arrested for
breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the
Watergate, an office-hotel-apartment complex in Washington, D.C. In
their possession were burglary tools, cameras and film, and three
pen-size tear gas guns. At the scene of the crime, and in rooms the
men rented at the Watergate, sophisticated electronic bugging
equipment was found. Three of the men were Cuban exiles, one was a
Cuban American, and the fifth was James W. McCord, Jr., a former CIA
agent. That day, the suspects, who said they were "anti-communists,"
were charged with felonious burglary and possession of implements of
crime.
On June 18, however, it was revealed that James McCord was the
salaried security coordinator for President Richard Nixon's reelection
committee. The next day, E. Howard Hunt, Jr., a former White House
aide, was linked to the five suspects. In July, G. Gordon Liddy,
finance counsel for the Committee for the Re-election of the
President, was also implicated as an accomplice. In August, President
Nixon announced that a White House investigation of the Watergate
break-in had concluded that administration officials were not
involved. In September, Liddy, Hunt, McCord, and the four Cubans were
indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts of breaking into and
illegally bugging the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
In September and October, reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of
The Washington Post uncovered evidence of illegal political espionage
carried out by the White House and the Committee for the Re-election
of the President, including the existence of a secret fund kept for
the purpose and the existence of political spies hired by the
committee. Despite these reports, and a growing call for a Watergate
investigation on Capitol Hill, Richard Nixon was reelected president
in November 1972 in a landslide victory.
In January 1973, five of the Watergate burglars pleaded guilty, and
two others, Liddy and McCord, were convicted. At their sentencing on
March 23, U.S. District Court Judge John J. Sirica read a letter from
McCord charging that the White House had conducted an extensive
"cover-up" to conceal its connection with the break-in. In April,
Attorney General Richard Kleindienst and two top White House advisers,
H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, resigned, and White House counsel
John Dean was fired.
On May 17, 1973, the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign
Activities, headed by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, began
televised proceedings on the rapidly escalating Watergate affair. One
week later, Harvard Law professor Archibald Cox was sworn in as
special Watergate prosecutor. During the Senate hearings, former White
House legal counsel John Dean testified that the Watergate break-in
had been approved by former Attorney General John Mitchell with the
knowledge of White House advisers Ehrlichman and Haldeman, and that
President Nixon had been aware of the cover-up. Meanwhile, Watergate
prosecutor Cox and his staff began to uncover widespread evidence of
political espionage by the Nixon re-election committee, illegal
wiretapping of thousands of citizens by the administration, and
contributions to the Republican Party in return for political favors.
In July, the existence of what were to be called the Watergate
tapes--official recordings of White House conversations between Nixon
and his staff--was revealed during the Senate hearings. Cox subpoenaed
these tapes, and after three months of delay President Nixon agreed to
send summaries of the recordings. Cox rejected the summaries, and
Nixon fired him. His successor as special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski,
leveled indictments against several high-ranking administration
officials, including Mitchell and Dean, who were duly convicted.
Public confidence in the president rapidly waned, and by the end of
July 1974 the House Judiciary Committee had adopted three articles of
impeachment against President Nixon: obstruction of justice, abuse of
presidential powers, and hindrance of the impeachment process. On July
30, under coercion from the Supreme Court, Nixon finally released the
Watergate tapes. On August 5, transcripts of the recordings were
released, including a segment in which the president was heard
instructing Haldeman to order the FBI to halt the Watergate
investigation. Four days later, Nixon became the first president in
U.S. history to resign. On September 8, his successor, President
Gerald Ford, pardoned him from any criminal charges.
history.com/tdih.do
1579 : Drake claims California for England
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5098
1775 : The Battle of Bunker Hill
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5099
1940 : France to surrender
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5100
1994 : O.J. Simpson arrested after flight from justice
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5101
########################################
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