8. Watergate
The Watergate scandal is perhaps the most well-known political conspiracy in U.S. history. The name comes from the Watergate office complex where the apex of the “dirty tricks” undertaken by the Nixon administration occurred. The aftermath of the Watergate conspiracy was the resignation of President Nixon and the indictment of 69 people, with 25 found guilty.
The Nixon administration was filled with underhanded dealings, including placing bugs in the office of political opponents or anyone Nixon thought might be a threat to his administration and re-election. His administration also ordered the harassment of activists or political figures through use of the FBI, the CIA and the IRS. Many of Nixon’s abuses of power were not discovered until after the Watergate scandal.
The scandal occurred on June 17th, 1972 when five men were arrested for breaking into the Watergate business complex where the DNC headquarters was. An FBI investigation revealed that the men had received payments from a slush fund tied to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President. This committee was the official organization of Nixon’s re-election. Further investigation and testimony from White House staff members revealed that Nixon had tape-recorded conversations in his office. The Supreme Court demanded Nixon release the tapes.
On December 7th, 1973 one of the tapes was found to be missing more than 8 minutes of audio. Nixon’s personal secretary claimed that she had erased the tape by pressing the wrong button when answering the phone. An investigation revealed this was unlikely. Nixon continued to deny any involvement in the scandal. Then on August 5th, 1974 the White House released a tape from June 23rd, 1972 that had Nixon and his aides discussing a plan to stop investigations into Watergate by having the CIA tell the FBI that national security was at stake.
To avoid impeachment, Nixon resigned from the presidency on August 9th, 1974. The following month he was pardoned by President Gerald Ford.