On this day in 1974: Watergate cover-up trial opens in Washington D.C.

Start:	Oct 1, '09
Location:	Washington, DC

Also called The Great Cover Up.

The Watergate scandal refers to a political scandal in the United States in the 1970s. Named for the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., effects of the scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, President of the United States, on August 9, 1974. It also resulted in the indictment and conviction of several Nixon administration officials.

The scandal began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The men were connected to the 1972 Committee to Re-elect the President by a slush fund and investigations conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee, House Judiciary Committee and the news media.

President Nixon's staff conspired to cover up the break-in. As evidence mounted against the president's staff, which included former staff members testifying against them in a Senate investigation, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape recording system in his offices and that he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing that he had attempted to cover up the break-in. After a series of court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes; he ultimately complied.

Facing near-certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and a strong possibility of a conviction in the Senate, Nixon resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974. His successor, Gerald Ford, would issue a pardon unto President Nixon.

On this day in 1974: President Gerald Ford pardons Richard Nixon

Start:	Sep 8, '09
Location:	Washington, DC

On September 8, 1974, one month after President Richard Nixon resigned the presidency amid the Watergate scandal, his successor, President Gerald R. Ford, announced his decision to grant Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he may have committed while in office.

The Watergate scandal stemmed from a break-in that occurred on the night of June 17, 1972, when five burglars entered the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate office complex in Washington.

Subsequent investigations revealed the burglars were actually agents hired by Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President. A long chain of events then followed in which the President and top aides became involved in an extensive coverup of White House sanctioned illegal political activities. The coverup snowballed as Nixon and White House aides attempted to use the prestige and power of the presidency to obstruct justice.

After a two year battle against the news media, government agencies, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and the U.S. Supreme Court, Nixon wound up resigning amid the likelihood that he would not survive a full impeachment vote in the Congress.

Ford's decision to pardon Nixon ended the possible spectacle of private citizen Nixon going on trial and also likely ended Ford's chances for re-election to the presidency in 1976.

Both the decision and its timing came under severe criticism. The pardon was announced by Ford on a Sunday morning, taking advantage of an off-beat time for Washington newsmakers in an attempt to minimize the initial political fallout.

It was a vain attempt, however, as the decision caused a firestorm of anger in the press and indignation among those who wanted to see Nixon go on trial and possibly to jail.

But among others, the decision evoked sympathy for Nixon, the only President ever to resign. Many saw Nixon as a victim of political infighting in Washington and considered much of Nixon's behavior to be no worse than several of his predecessors in the Oval Office.

The result was a further polarization of a nation already traumatized by the events surrounding Watergate.

Years later, Richard Nixon would make a bit of a political comeback, writing books and granting TV interviews commenting on Watergate and international politics.

By contrast, former President Gerald Ford was destined to political obscurity after losing the 1976 election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.