On Sunday, September 8, 1974—exactly one month after Nixon’s resignation—President Gerald Ford addressed the nation from the Oval Office to announce his decision to “grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard …
On the evening of August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon addressed the nation and announced his intention to resign, effective at noon the following day. At noon on August 9, 1974, Nixon officially ended his term, departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn. Minutes later, …
Richard NixonGerald FordSpiro Agnewwatergatepresidential-accountabilityconstitutional-crisisinstitutional-corruption
Under order from the Supreme Court’s unanimous July 24 decision in United States v. Nixon, President Nixon released the tape recording of his June 23, 1972 conversation with Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman on August 5, 1974. The tape provided irrefutable proof that Nixon had ordered the CIA to …
Richard NixonH.R. HaldemanHouse Judiciary CommitteeRepublican Partywatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruptionaccountability-failure
On July 27, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommended that President Richard M. Nixon be impeached and removed from office, adopting Article I (Obstruction of Justice) by a vote of 27-11 at 7:07pm in Room 2141 of the Rayburn Office Building. The first article charged Nixon with engaging in a …
House Judiciary CommitteePeter RodinoRobert McCloryRichard Nixonwatergatecongressional-oversightobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerimpeachment
On July 24, 1974, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous 8-0 decision in United States v. Nixon, ordering President Richard Nixon to deliver sixty-four tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials related to the Watergate scandal to the federal district court. Chief Justice Warren Burger—a Nixon …
US Treasury Secretary William Simon negotiated a pivotal agreement with Saudi Arabia that established the petrodollar recycling system, fundamentally reshaping global monetary dynamics. Simon convinced Saudi Arabia to sell oil exclusively in US dollars and invest oil revenues in US Treasury bonds, …
William SimonAhmed Zaki YamaniRichard NixonKing FaisalHenry Kissinger+2 morepetrodollar-systemmonetary-policyoil-politicsfinancial-systeminternational-finance
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Saudi Crown Prince Fahd signed a framework agreement in Washington DC establishing the US-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation. This historic agreement created both economic and military commissions aimed at promoting Saudi investments in the …
Henry KissingerPrince Fahd bin AbdulazizRichard NixonSaudi ArabiaUnited States+1 morepetrodollar-systeminternational-agreementseconomic-policyoil-politicscold-war-geopolitics
President Richard Nixon signed the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 into law on December 29, 1973, following Senate sponsorship by Edward Kennedy. The Act provided grants and loans to start or expand Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), removed certain state restrictions for federally …
Richard NixonJohn EhrlichmanEdward KennedyEdgar Kaiserhealthcare-profiteeringinstitutional-capturecorporate-profitprivatization
On December 28, 1973, President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) into law after it passed the Senate 92-0 and the House 355-4. The near-unanimous votes masked deep industry opposition that would fuel decades of efforts to weaken the law through administrative action, litigation, and …
Richard NixonAmerican Mining CongressNational Forest Products AssociationAmerican Farm Bureau FederationWestern States Petroleum Association+1 moreenvironmentalendangered-species-actregulatory-capturecorporate-lobbyingwildlife
On November 1, 1973, just twelve days after the Saturday Night Massacre, Solicitor General Robert Bork announced he had selected, and President Nixon approved, Leonidas “Leon” Jaworski to serve as the second special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. Jaworski, a prominent Texas …
Leon JaworskiRobert BorkRichard NixonArchibald Coxwatergatecongressional-oversightinstitutional-corruptionrule-of-law
On Saturday evening, October 20, 1973, President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had been appointed on May 18, 1973, to investigate Watergate and had refused Nixon’s “Stennis Compromise” proposal the previous …
Richard NixonArchibald CoxElliot RichardsonWilliam RuckelshausRobert Bork+1 morewatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruptionconstitutional-crisis
On July 13, 1973, Alexander Butterfield—who had served as deputy assistant to President Nixon from 1969 to 1973—was questioned in a background interview by Senate Watergate Committee staff members prior to his public testimony. Butterfield was brought before the committee because he was H.R. …
Alexander ButterfieldRichard NixonH.R. HaldemanDonald SandersFred Thompson+1 morewatergatesurveillancecongressional-oversightabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruption
On June 25, 1973, recently fired White House Counsel John Dean began week-long testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, starting with a 245-page opening statement that took six hours to read. Dean testified that he had told President Nixon: “I began by …
John DeanRichard NixonH.R. HaldemanJohn EhrlichmanHoward Baker+1 morewatergatecongressional-oversightobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruption
On May 17, 1973, the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities—commonly known as the Senate Watergate Committee—opened televised public hearings into the Watergate scandal. Chaired by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, with Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee as vice chairman, the …
Sam ErvinHoward BakerSenate Watergate CommitteeRichard Nixonwatergatecongressional-oversightinstitutional-corruptionabuse-of-powertransparency
On October 18, 1972, Congress overrode President Nixon’s veto of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments, known as the Clean Water Act. The overwhelming bipartisan override (52-12 in the Senate, 247-23 in the House) represented a rare defeat for industrial polluters who had lobbied …
Richard NixonEdmund MuskieAmerican Petroleum InstituteChemical Manufacturers AssociationNational Association of Manufacturers+1 moreenvironmentalclean-water-actregulatory-capturecorporate-lobbyingpollution+1 more
Just six days after the Watergate break-in, President Richard Nixon met with his Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman in the Oval Office from 10:04am to 11:39am to discuss damage control. During this conversation—secretly recorded by Nixon’s own voice-activated taping system—the President ordered …
Richard NixonH.R. HaldemanVernon WaltersL. Patrick GrayCIA+1 morewatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerintelligence-agenciesinstitutional-corruption
Lewis F. Powell Jr. was sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on January 7, 1972, after being nominated by President Nixon and confirmed by the Senate with an overwhelming 89-1 vote. A corporate lawyer with board memberships in 11 major corporations, Powell’s appointment …
Lewis F. Powell Jr.Richard NixonSupreme CourtU.S. Senatepowell-supreme-courtjudicial-capturecorporate-interestsconstitutional-interpretationnixon-administration
President Richard Nixon nominates Lewis F. Powell Jr. to the Supreme Court just two months after Powell authored his secret corporate blueprint memo to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on August 23, 1971. Amidst a rare opportunity to reshape the Supreme Court, Nixon nominates Powell alongside William …
Richard NixonLewis F. Powell Jr.John MitchellU.S. Chamber of CommerceSupreme Courtpowell-memosupreme-court-nominationjudicial-capturecorporate-blueprintnixon-administration+1 more
President Nixon nominates corporate lawyer Lewis Powell to Supreme Court as Associate Justice, just 59 days after Powell wrote confidential memo to Chamber of Commerce calling for business to acquire “political power” and use courts as “most important instrument for social, …
Richard NixonLewis F. Powell Jr.U.S. SenateWilliam H. Rehnquistsupreme-court-nominationjudicial-capturepowell-memo-implementationcorporate-judicial-strategy
On August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon announced his “New Economic Policy” in a televised address, unilaterally closing the gold window and ending the convertibility of U.S. dollars to gold at the fixed rate of $35 per ounce established under the Bretton Woods system. The …
Richard NixonJohn ConnallyPaul VolckerArthur Burnseconomic-policyfinancial-deregulationinstitutional-captureneoliberalism
At a press conference on June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse “public enemy number one,” launching what became known as the War on Drugs. This announcement marked the beginning of a dramatic expansion of federal drug control policy and law enforcement that would …
Richard NixonJohn Ehrlichmanmass-incarcerationinstitutional-racismwar-on-drugspolicing
President Nixon signed the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, extending the VRA’s special provisions for another five years, banning literacy tests nationwide, and lowering the voting age to 18 for all elections. The legislation represented significant expansion of federal voting rights …
Richard NixonCongressEmanuel CellerAttorney General John Mitchellvoting-rightsfederal-legislationliteracy-testsyouth-votingvra-extension
Richard Nixon won the presidency with a strategy devised by political consultant Kevin Phillips that explicitly targeted white racial resentment to break up the New Deal coalition. Phillips, who worked on Nixon’s campaign, told journalists during the election that ’the whole secret of …
Richard NixonKevin PhillipsH.R. HaldemanGeorge WallaceRepublican Partyracial-politicsdog-whistle-politicspolitical-strategyrepublican-partysouthern-strategy+1 more
Richard Nixon’s campaign secretly communicates with the South Vietnamese government to sabotage President Johnson’s Paris peace talks, with H.R. Haldeman’s notes documenting Nixon’s direct instruction to “keep Anna Chennault working on SVN [South Vietnam].” Nixon …
Richard NixonAnna ChennaultH.R. HaldemanJohn MitchellSouth Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu+2 moreelection-interferencegovernment-deceptioncorruptionwar-profiteeringinstitutional-corruption
The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission), chaired by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner Jr., releases its report on the causes of the 1967 urban riots that killed 43 in Detroit, 26 in Newark, and caused casualties in 23 other cities. The Commission’s central finding …
Kerner CommissionGovernor Otto Kerner Jr.President Lyndon B. JohnsonRichard Nixonracial-injusticeinstitutional-racismgovernment-inactionurban-policylaw-and-order-politics
The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Miranda v. Arizona that law enforcement must warn suspects of their constitutional rights before custodial interrogation, or else statements cannot be used as evidence at trial. The decision requires police to inform suspects of: (1) the right to remain silent; …
U.S. Supreme CourtChief Justice Earl WarrenRichard NixonLaw enforcement organizationslaw-enforcementcivil-libertiesinstitutional-resistanceconservative-backlashpolice-state
On August 13, 1953, President Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10479, establishing the President’s Committee on Government Contracts under Vice President Richard Nixon’s chairmanship. The committee was charged with ensuring that federal contractors did not discriminate in employment, …
Dwight D. EisenhowerRichard NixonGovernment Contract CommitteeNAACPcivil-rightsexecutive-orderemployment-discriminationfederal-contracting
On August 3, 1948, Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist Party USA member, testified under subpoena before the House Un-American Activities Committee that Alger Hiss—a former State Department official who had accompanied FDR to Yalta—had secretly been a communist while in federal service. Hiss …