Watergate Scandal timeline

President Nixon Approves Plan to Expand Domestic Intelligence-Gathering

July 23, 1970 Nixon approves a plan for greatly expanding domestic intelligence-gathering by the FBI, CIA and other agencies. He has second... Read more

The New York Times Publishes the Defense Department's Secret History of the Vietnam War

June 13, 1971 The New York Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers - the Defense Department's secret history of the Vietnam War. The... Read more

The "White House Plumbers" Burglarize a Psychiatrist's Office to Find Files on Daniel Ellsberg

The White House Plumbers, sometimes simply called the Plumbers, were a covert White House Special Investigations Unit established July 24, 1971... Read more

Five Men are Arrested for Trying to Bug the Watergate Complex

On June 17, 1972, Frank Wills, a security guard at the Watergate Complex, noticed tape covering the latch on locks on several doors in the complex... Read more

James McCord, Security Coordinator for President Nixon, is Named in Watergate Bugging Arrests

One of the five men arrested early Saturday in the attempt to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters is the salaried security... Read more

Richard M. Nixon Resigns the Office of the President of the United States

On March 1, 1974, former aides to the president, known as the "Watergate Seven" — Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, Charles Colson, Gordon C.... Read more

Gerald Ford Issues Unconditional Presidential Pardon to Richard Nixon

President Ford granted former President Richard M. Nixon an unconditional pardon today for all Federal crimes that he "committed or may have... Read more