On the morning of May 17, 1973, what began as a third-rate burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex had spiraled into a massive political crisis.
The Watergate Hearings’ mission was to investigate the June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and the subsequent attempts to cover up any criminal activity. Led by Chairman Sam Ervin, the committee’s work was initially focused on what seemed like a third-rate burglary. However, as the hearings progressed, they uncovered a vast web of political espionage, illegal campaign finance practices, and “dirty tricks” authorized by high-ranking officials.
The Watergate Hearings Collection covered 51 days of broadcasts of the Senate Watergate hearings from May 17, 1973, to November 15, 1973, and seven sessions of the House impeachment hearings on May 9 and July 24 – 30, 1974.
While major networks like ABC, CBS, and NBC rotated live coverage during the day, the National Public Affairs Center for Television (NPACT) recorded the hearings and aired them in full every evening on PBS. Anchors Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer provided summaries and commentary, helping the public understand the complex legal arguments and the shifting stories of the witnesses.
The committee planned the hearings to start with less important people and slowly move toward President Richard Nixon’s closest circle. This led to many shocking moments. First, James McCord, one of the burglars, started talking about the cover-up. Then, a lawyer named John Dean, the former White House Counsel, gave a long, detailed report about what the White House had done. He famously told the President that there was a “cancer” growing on his presidency.
The biggest surprise came when an aide named Alexander Butterfield revealed that the President had a secret taping system that recorded every conversation in the Oval Office. After that, everyone wanted to hear those tapes to find out the truth. Even though top advisors like H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman said they did nothing wrong, the tapes would eventually prove what really happened.
As the hearings moved through phases, the pressure on the White House grew. The legal battle for the tapes eventually reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that even a president must comply with a subpoena in a criminal case.
On August 5 the tapes were finally released, they corroborated the testimony of witnesses like John Dean. and included a segment in which the president was heard instructing Haldeman to order the FBI to halt the Watergate investigation.
Four days later, Nixon became the first president in U.S. history to resign. On September 8, President Gerald Ford, pardoned him from any criminal charges.
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