Watergate and Resignation of President Nixon |
Profiles
* Political Thought * Colonial Government * Revolution * Constitution * Birth of Party Politics * War of 1812 * James Monroe: "Era of Good Feeling" and Monroe Doctrine * Jacksonian Democracy * Regional Conflict and Compromise * 1860 Election of Abraham Lincoln * Civil War 1861-62 * Civil War 1863-65 * Reconstruction and Impeachment of President Johnson * Gilded Age and Progressive Era * 1912 Election of Woodrow Wilson * 1916 Election and World War I * Women's Suffrage * Depression and 1932 Election of Franklin D. Roosevelt * Prelude to World War II * Pearl Harbor and Mobilization * World War II: European Theater * World War II: Pacific Theater * Atomic Bomb and End of World War II * 1948 Truman-Dewey Election * 1960 Kennedy-Nixon Election * 1964 Johnson-Goldwater Election * Civil Rights Movement * Vietnam: Evolution of the American Role * Vietnam: Kennedy Administration and Intervention * Vietnam: Johnson Administration and Escalation * Vietnam: Nixon, Ford and Fall of South Vietnam * 1968 Humphrey-Nixon Election * Watergate Scandal and Resignation of President Nixon * 1976 Carter-Ford Election * 1980 & 1984 Reagan Elections * Clinton Impeachment * 2000 Bush-Gore Election * War in Iraq * 2008 Obama-McCain Election * 2012 Obama-Romney Election * 2016 Election |
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Resignation
The calls for Nixon to resign increased, and many of his Republican defenders in the Congress disclosed either publicly or privately that they would no longer oppose impeachment. On August 7, Republican Congressional leaders, including Senator Barry Goldwater, visited the President in the White House to advise him that his conviction on the impeachment charges was inevitable. On the evening of August 8, 1974, President Nixon delivered a nationally televised speech in which he announced his intention to resign. The next morning, he made his final remarks to the White House staff before submitting his formal letter of resignation to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. |
The "Smoking Gun" conversation
President Nixon and his Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman met on June 23, 1972 to discuss the progress of the FBI's Watergate investigation, especially the tracing of the source of money found on the burglars. The President suggests having the CIA ask the FBI to halt their investigation of the Watergate break-in by claiming that the break-in was a national security operation. Excerpts from transcript of meeting between President Nixon and Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman in the Oval Office on June 23, 1972 Source: National Archives HALDEMAN: okay -that's fine. Now, on the investigation, you know, the Democratic break-in thing, we're back to the-in the, the problem area because the FBI is not under control, because [FBI Director] Gray doesn't exactly know how to control them, and they have, their investigation is now leading into some productive areas, because they've been able to trace the money, not through the money itself, but through the bank, you know, sources - the banker himself. And, and it goes in some directions we don't want it to go. Ah, also there have been some things, like an informant came in off the street to the FBI in Miami, who was a photographer or has a friend who is a photographer who developed some films through this guy, [Watergate burglar] Barker, and the films had pictures of Democratic National Committee letter head documents and things. So I guess, so it's things like that that are gonna, that are filtering in. [Campaign Director John] Mitchell came up with yesterday, and [White House Counsel] John Dean analyzed very carefully last night and concludes, concurs now with Mitchell's recommendation that the only way to solve this, and we're set up beautifully to do it, ah, in that andthat...the only network that paid any attention to it last night was NBC...they did a massive story on the Cuban... PRESIDENT: That's right. HALDEMAN: thing. PRESIDENT: Right. HALDEMAN: That the way to handle this now is for us to have Walters call Pat Gray and just say, "Stay the hell out of this...this is ah, business here we don't want you to go any further on it." That's not an unusual development,... PRESIDENT: Um huh. HALDEMAN: ...and, uh, that would take care of it PRESIDENT: When you get in these people when you...get these people in, say: "Look, the problem is that this will open the whole, the whole Bay of Pigs thing, and the President just feels that" ah, without going into the details...don't, don't lie to them to the extent to say there is no involvement, but just say this is sort of a comedy of errors, bizarre, without getting into it, "the President believes that it is going to open the whole Bay of Pigs thing up again. And, ah because these people are plugging for, for keeps and that they should call the FBI in and say that we wish for the country, don't go any further into this case," period! PRESIDENT: What about Pat Gray, ah, you mean he doesn't want to? HALDEMAN: Pat does want to. He doesn't know how to, and he doesn't have, he doesn't have any basis for doing it. Given this, he will then have the basis. He'll call [associate FBI Director] Mark Felt in, and the two of them ...and Mark Felt wants to cooperate because... PRESIDENT: Yeah. HALDEMAN: he's ambitious... PRESIDENT: Yeah. HALDEMAN: Ah, he'll call him in and say, "We've got the signal from across the river to, to put the hold on this." And that will fit rather well because the FBI agents who are working the case, at this point, feel that's what it is. This is CIA.... |