It was the invasion of the offices of the American Democratic Party in Washington, in the Watergate complex. The incident happened in 1972 and, after two years of investigation, culminated in the resignation of President Richard Nixon. The invasion took place during the election campaign and, even with evidence linking the episode to the Nixon committee, the president was re-elected with a wide margin of votes.
From complaint to complaint…
…A seemingly ordinary robbery led to the resignation of the President of the United States
1. Five men break into Democrat offices in the Watergate complex and are arrested. The objective was to tap phones to use confidential information as political blackmail – which is only discovered after much investigation. From a neighboring building, two former CIA and FBI officials coordinate the break-in with walkie-talkies.
2. The next day, the newspaper The Washington Post publishes a short note about the invasion. Intrigued by the news, two reporters from the newspaper – Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein – begin to investigate what happened and discover that one of the intruders had his name on the payroll of Nixon’s reelection committee.
3. On the tip of an anonymous informant, Bernstein travels to Miami and discovers that a check for $25,000, belonging to the re-election committee, had been deposited into the account of one of the intruders. First hard evidence emerges linking Nixon campaign fund to Watergate break-in
4. The informant is a high-ranking official in the FBI – the American federal police. Because he has access to classified reports about the break-in, he demands anonymity and earns the nickname Deep Throat. In secret meetings with Woodward, Garganta confirms or denies the authenticity of sources and data collected by reporters.
5. The perseverance of post, even with the competition leaving the case a little aside, leads to the discovery that Nixon advisors were conducting a political espionage scheme to favor the boss in the elections. With pressure from the press and the population, a commission is created in the Senate to officially investigate the case.
6. In testimony to the Senate, the White House lawyer assumes that there is an espionage scheme. Recordings of phone calls passing through the Oval Office – the president’s official office – prove that Nixon was in charge of the scheme
7. Two advisors and four members of the presidential team are convicted. Impeachment is a matter of time. On August 8, Nixon resigns in a dramatic televised address. In a rare admission of error, the president says: «I deeply regret any kind of harm…»
8. Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in and a month later grants Nixon an absolute pardon for any crime committed as president. The scandal ends with the public suspicious, the press more attentive and American politics creating more practical processes to investigate and combat government wrongdoing.
crime faces
They wrote the history of America’s biggest political scandal
BOB WOODWARD
A Republican, he started at the Post in 1971 and is considered one of the best investigative reporters in history.
CARL BERNSTEIN
A Democrat, Bernstein completed Woodward. While his partner was cautious and systematic, Carl was the duo’s energy.
BEN BRADLEE
Editor-in-Chief of the Post during the Watergate affair. He supported his reporters even under strong political pressure against the investigation.
MARK FELT
The identity of the informant Garganta Profunda, revealed in 2005, in an interview with the American magazine vanity fair
HR HALDEMAN
Nixon’s direct aide, convicted in 1974. He was one of the architects of the attack on the Democratic offices in Watergate
JOHN DEAN
Key witness for the prosecution, the White House attorney revealed that Nixon knew about the political espionage scheme
RICHARD NIXON
Only American president to resign. Shares with George W. Bush the status of most unpopular ruler in the history of the country