Senate Watergate Committee Begins Televised Hearings, Exposing Presidential Crimes to Public

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 committee would hold hearings for 51 days over the next several months, calling more than 30 witnesses and capturing the riveted attention of millions of Americans. The hearings were broadcast live on national television, transforming what had been a complex political scandal into a national civics lesson about presidential abuse of power, with the public watching in real time as evidence of systematic criminality emerged.

The televised format proved crucial to building public understanding and support for accountability. Prior to the hearings, many Americans viewed Watergate as a partisan dispute or “just politics.” The hearings changed that perception by allowing citizens to hear directly from witnesses describing the cover-up, the hush money, the enemies lists, the abuse of federal agencies, and the obstruction of justice. Senator Baker’s famous question—“What did the president know, and when did he know it?"—became a touchstone for the investigation. The hearings created several defining moments: John Dean’s testimony about “a cancer growing on the Presidency,” Alexander Butterfield’s revelation of the White House taping system, and the systematic exposure of how the Nixon administration had corrupted democratic institutions.

The Senate Watergate hearings demonstrated the power of congressional oversight when combined with transparency and public engagement. The committee’s work helped shift public opinion decisively against Nixon, with polls eventually showing majority support for impeachment. The hearings swayed both public sentiment and congressional action, contributing directly to the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment efforts. However, the hearings also revealed the limits of congressional oversight: the committee could expose wrongdoing and recommend action, but it could not itself prosecute crimes or remove a president. That required the House impeachment process, Senate trial, or criminal prosecution—and ultimately, Nixon’s resignation preempted the first two, while Ford’s pardon prevented the third. The Watergate hearings thus represent both the promise of oversight—that sustained public investigation can expose even presidential crimes—and its limitations, as exposure alone proved insufficient to ensure criminal accountability for the president himself.