political scandal that occurred in the United States (1972–1974)

The Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. – a group of brutalist, curving buildings by the Potomac river.
The brutalist Watergate complex with intricate, modern cement designs
Nixon seated in the Oval Office, explaining the release of edited transcripts
Watergate scandal
Although not used in the book, ... famous Watergate quote after "I am not a crook". The book also popularized the term "ratfucking" to describe covert political espionage. Other depictions include Oliver … Wikipedia
Factsheet
Country United States
Named after Watergate complex
Factsheet
Country United States
Named after Watergate complex
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Watergate_scandal
Watergate scandal - Wikipedia
September 25, 2001 - On June 17, 1972, operatives associated with Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign were caught burglarizing and planting listening devices in the Democratic National Committee headquarters at Washington, D.C.'s Watergate complex.
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Teach Democracy
teachdemocracy.org › home › the watergate scandal
The Watergate Scandal - Teach Democracy
March 1, 2025 - Two years later, he resigned—the ... of “Watergate”—a scandal that began with a bungled burglary and ended with criminal charges against his closest aides and demands for his impeachment....
Discussions

Would Watergate as big of a deal today?
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🌐 r/PoliticalDiscussion
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July 14, 2025
Why did Watergate become THE scandal? The one which all others are compared to? The scandal from which others literally get their name "-gate"?
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🌐 r/AskHistorians
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People also ask

What was the Watergate scandal?
The Watergate scandal was a series of interlocking political scandals of the U.S. President Richard M. Nixon’s administration. The scandal included a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972, and subsequent cover-up by people who worked for or with the White House, and by Nixon himself.
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britannica.com
britannica.com › politics, law & government › law, crime & punishment
Watergate scandal | Summary, History, Timeline, Deep Throat, & ...
Who was Deep Throat in the Watergate scandal?
Deep Throat was the anonymous source who provided leaks to reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Only after some 30 years later, it was revealed that the informant was FBI deputy director W. Mark Felt, Sr.
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britannica.com
britannica.com › politics, law & government › law, crime & punishment
Watergate scandal | Summary, History, Timeline, Deep Throat, & ...
What was the outcome of the Watergate scandal on the presidency of Richard Nixon?
On August 9, 1974, facing likely impeachment for his role in covering up the scandal, Nixon became the only U.S. president to resign.
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britannica.com
britannica.com › politics, law & government › law, crime & punishment
Watergate scandal | Summary, History, Timeline, Deep Throat, & ...
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Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › politics, law & government › law, crime & punishment
Watergate scandal | Summary, History, Timeline, Deep Throat, & Facts | Britannica
3 weeks ago - Richard M. Nixon that were revealed following the arrest of five burglars at Democratic National committee headquarters in the Watergate office-apartment-hotel complex in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972.
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FBI
fbi.gov › history › famous-cases › watergate
Watergate | Federal Bureau of Investigation
May 6, 2022 - A burglary at a D.C. hotel in 1972 leads to a massive public corruption investigation and the President’s resignation.
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Gerald R. Ford
fordlibrarymuseum.gov › exhibits › watergate-files
The Watergate Files | Gerald R. Ford
In the early hours of the morning ... office complex. They were surprised to find that five burglars, dressed in suits and wearing surgical gloves, had broken into the national headquarters of the Democratic National Committee....
Find elsewhere
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EBSCO
ebsco.com › research-starters › history › watergate-affair
Watergate Affair | History | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
The Watergate Affair was a major political scandal in the United States that unfolded in the early 1970s, beginning with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters located in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., on June ...
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National Archives
archives.gov › exhibits › american_originals › nixon.html
Exhibit: Nixon and Watergate
During the night of June 17, 1972, five burglars broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC. Investigation into the break-in exposed a trail of abuses that led to the highest levels of the Nixon administration and ultimately ...
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Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
gilderlehrman.org › history-resources › essays › understand-scandal-watergate-beyond-nixon
To Understand a Scandal: Watergate beyond Nixon | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
To Understand a Scandal: Watergate beyond Nixon | | In the early hours of June 17, 1972, police officers arrested five men suspected of breaking into the offices of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington DC’s Watergate office building.
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Watergate.info
watergate.info
Watergate.info – The Scandal That Brought Down President Richard M. Nixon
The Scandal That Brought Down President Richard M. Nixon · “Watergate” is a general term used to describe a complex web of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. The word specifically refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C
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PBS
pbs.org › johngardner › chapters › 6c.html
PBS - Thematic Window: The Watergate Scandal
PBS no longer has the rights to distribute the content that had been provided on this page · We educate America on topics that matter
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Richard Nixon Foundation
nixonfoundation.org › home › watergate explained
Watergate Explained - Richard Nixon Foundation | Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum
July 16, 2025 - On May 28, 1972, under Liddy’s direction, a small team of Cuban nationals with connections to the CIA, broke-in to the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the Watergate office building.
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NYTimes
nytimes.com › u.s. › politics
After Watergate, the Presidency Was Tamed. Trump Is Unleashing It. - The New York Times
January 3, 2026 - The aim was not just to excise what one aide to President Richard M. Nixon described as “a cancer,” but to prevent a recurrence. “Watergate reform is not for the past or for the present,” Senator Lowell P. Weicker Jr., a Connecticut Republican, wrote in a 1976 addendum to a Senate report.
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Miller Center
millercenter.org › the-presidency › educational-resources › watergate › watergate-aftermath
Watergate: The aftermath | Miller Center
July 28, 2025 - Nixon's downfall, however, came not so much from lack of congressional support—though that was the proximate cause—as it did from what is undoubtedly history's most transparent look into of the presidency of the United States. Nixon's secret White House tapes, uncovered in the course of the Senate Watergate hearings, revealed the truth about the Nixon presidency—and about Nixon himself.
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Amazon
amazon.com › Real-Watergate-Scandal-Collusion-Conspiracy › dp › 1621573281
The Real Watergate Scandal: Collusion, Conspiracy, and the Plot That Brought Nixon Down: Shepard, Geoff: 9781621573289: Amazon.com: Books
But Geoff Shepard’s patient and persistent research has uncovered shocking violations of ethical and legal standards by the "good guys”—including Judge John Sirica, Archibald Cox, and Leon Jaworski. The Watergate prosecutors’ own files reveal their collusion with the federal judges who tried their cases and heard their appeals—professional misconduct so extensive that the pretense of a fair trial is now impossible to maintain.
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HistoryExtra
historyextra.com › home › period › 20th century › your guide to the watergate scandal that brought down president richard nixon
Watergate: A History Guide To The Scandal That Brought Down Nixon | HistoryExtra
June 14, 2022 - Although Nixon won the election in November 1972, the scandal escalated. By the following January, seven men (‘the Watergate Seven’) went on trial for their involvement: five pleaded guilty, with the other two – former Nixon aides G Gordon Liddy and James W McCord – convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping.
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HISTORY
history.com › home › articles › the watergate scandal - timeline, deep throat & nixon's resignation | history
The Watergate Scandal - Timeline, Deep Throat & Nixon's Resignation | HISTORY
September 29, 2025 - The Watergate scandal began early in the morning of June 17, 1972, when several burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington, D.C. This was no ordinary ...
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LOC
guides.loc.gov › watergate-manuscripts
Introduction - Richard Nixon’s Political Scandal: Researching Watergate in the Manuscript Collections at the Library of Congress - Research Guides at Library of Congress
“The Watergate Affair has been called the greatest political scandal of the twentieth century, the standard against which all subsequent scandals have been judged,” writes historian Geraldo Cadava.
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Bill of Rights Institute
billofrightsinstitute.org › essays › richard-nixon-and-watergate
Richard Nixon Watergate Scandal
The road to Watergate begins with a covert White House unit called “the Plumbers,” which was convened by Nixon’s chief domestic advisor John Ehrlichman for the purpose of plugging information leaks from the White House. Charles Colson was one of the conspiracy’s earliest and most enthusiastic volunteers.
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Digital History
digitalhistory.uh.edu › disp_textbook.cfm
Watergate
Shortly after 1 a.m. on June 17, 1972, a security guard at the Washington, D.C., Watergate office complex spotted a strip of masking tape covering the lock of a basement door. He removed it. A short while later, he found the door taped open again. He called the police, who found two more taped ...