Police check out the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in Washington on June 17, 1972. Five men were arrested early that morning after a break-in at the headquarters, which was inside the Watergate office building.
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The five burglary suspects were accused of trying to bug the DNC's headquarters and steal documents. From left are Virgilio Gonzalez, Frank Sturgis, Eugenio Martinez, Bernard Barker and James McCord. McCord was the security chief of the Committee to Re-elect the President.
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The Watergate office building is seen in November 1972. The White House distanced itself from the break-in at first. White House press secretary Ron Ziegler described the incident as a "third-rate burglary."
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Former White House aide G. Gordon Liddy is filmed by journalists as he leaves a US District Court on September 19, 1972. Liddy, a former FBI agent, and E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA officer, were the organizers of the break-in, and that month they were indicted by a grand jury along with the five burglary suspects.
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Washington Post staff writers Bob Woodward, left, and Carl Bernstein were covering the Watergate case. With the help of a source known as "Deep Throat," later identified as FBI official Mark Felt, they wrote a series of groundbreaking articles on the scandal.
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US Rep. Wright Patman, a Texas Democrat who was chairman of the House Banking Committee, faces four empty chairs after some Nixon aides refused to testify about the Watergate incident in October 1972. Patman said the administration had "pulled down an iron curtain of secrecy."
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Nixon celebrates with Vice President Spiro Agnew after defeating Democratic challenger George McGovern to win reelection in November 1972.
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Some of the Watergate burglary suspects stand with their attorney in January 1973. From left are Gonzalez, Sturgis, attorney Henry Rothblatt, Barker and Martinez. Later that month, these suspects pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges. Hunt would also plead guilty, while McCord and Liddy were convicted.
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Evidence from the Liddy case shows microphones that were concealed in containers of lip balm. They were used by Liddy and Hunt to communicate with each other and the burglars during the Watergate break-in.
National Archives
White House reporters watch Nixon on TV on April 30, 1973, as the President told the nation of White House involvement in the Watergate scandal. Four of Nixon's top officials resigned: White House counsel John Dean, Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, assistant for domestic affairs John D. Ehrlichman and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst.
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On May 17, 1973, the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities opened hearings into the Watergate incident. The committee was chaired by US Sen. Sam Ervin, a Democrat from North Carolina. The hearings were nationally televised.
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People watch the start of the hearings from a department store in New York.
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McCord, seen in the foreground, testifies before the Senate committee on May 18, 1973.
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Archibald Cox, center, is sworn in as special prosecutor in the Watergate investigation on May 25, 1973. Cox, a lawyer and law professor, was solicitor general of the United States during John F. Kennedy's administration.
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A witness indicates H.R. Haldeman, Nixon's chief of staff, on a diagram while testifying during the committee hearings.
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In June 1973, former White House counsel John Dean testified before the Senate committee about the White House's involvement in the Watergate break-in and cover-up. Dean said he was sure that Nixon not only knew about the cover-up but also helped try to keep the scandal quiet.
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On July 16, 1973, former White House aide Alexander Butterfield revealed that Nixon has been secretly recording all of his Oval Office conversations since 1971. Nixon would not turn over the tapes, claiming executive privilege.
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Chief District Judge John J. Sirica ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes to him to be privately examined. Nixon would not comply, appealing all subpoenas and orders. On October 19, 1973, Nixon's appeal was denied and he was ordered to turn over the tapes to special prosecutor Cox.
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Cox speaks with reporters at the National Press Club in Washington on October 21, 1973. The previous day, Nixon had ordered Cox's firing in what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre.
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Leon Jaworski, center, was named as Cox's replacement on November 1, 1973.
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The White House agreed to release some of the subpoenaed tapes, but one — dated June 20, 1972 — included a mysterious 18-minute gap. Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods, said she was responsible for accidentally erasing the tape. Here, she demonstrates the "Rose Mary Stretch" that she said could have resulted in the erasure.
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On April 30, 1974, the White House released edited transcripts of the presidential tapes. Nixon is seen here with the transcripts, which were more than 1,200 pages long. The White House, however, did not release all of the actual tapes until July 24, 1974, when the Supreme Court ordered it to do so.
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As the scandal unfolded, calls grew louder for Nixon to be impeached. On July 27, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment against him. The recommendation was then sent to the full House for a vote.
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US Reps. Edward Boland, right, and Jack Edwards, second from right, are seen here listening to some of the presidential tapes on August 6, 1974. The tapes revealed a conversation from June 23, 1972, that proved Nixon had knowledge of the cover-up from the beginning.
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Tourists outside the White House read news of Nixon's impending resignation on August 8, 1974.
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Nixon meets with Vice President Gerald Ford to discuss the transfer of the presidency. Ford had become cice president in 1973 after Spiro Agnew resigned over charges of tax evasion.
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Nixon speaks to the nation on August 8, 1974, announcing his resignation "effective at noon tomorrow." In his speech, Nixon said: "I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first."
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Nixon's resignation letter was initialed by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at 11:35 a.m. on August 9, 1974.
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Nixon and his wife, Pat, walk out of the White House with Ford and his wife, Betty, before boarding Marine One. Nixon was pardoned by Ford a month later.
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