On June 21, 1974, Charles Wendell “Chuck” Colson—Nixon’s Special Counsel and the official known as the President’s “hatchet man”—pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with attempts to discredit Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. Colson …
Chuck ColsonDaniel EllsbergE. Howard HuntJohn Ehrlichmanwatergateobstruction-of-justicewhistleblower-retaliationplea-bargainaccountability-failure
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 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
U.S. District Judge John Joseph Sirica, known as “Maximum John” for giving defendants the stiffest sentences guidelines allowed, presided over the trial of the Watergate burglars with deep skepticism about their claims of acting alone. Sirica employed an innovative strategy of …
John SiricaJames W. McCord Jr.G. Gordon LiddyJohn DeanJohn N. Mitchellwatergateobstruction-of-justicejudicial-oversightinstitutional-corruptionabuse-of-power
On January 30, 1973, after a trial before Judge John Sirica, G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord Jr. were convicted on charges of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping in connection with the June 17, 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters. Five other defendants—E. Howard Hunt, …
G. Gordon LiddyJames W. McCord Jr.Bernard BarkerVirgilio GonzalezEugenio Martinez+3 morewatergateobstruction-of-justiceinstitutional-corruptionintelligence-agencies
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
In the early morning hours of June 17, 1972, Washington D.C. police arrested five men inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex. Security guard Frank Wills had discovered tape over door locks and called police, who caught the burglars preparing to install …
James W. McCord Jr.E. Howard HuntG. Gordon LiddyBernard BarkerEugenio Martinez+2 morewatergateabuse-of-powerobstruction-of-justiceinstitutional-corruptionintelligence-agencies