🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 147 (from laksa038)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa147.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm","crawl_time":1775456528,"first_indexed_time":1595287836,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"gov,senate!www,\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm s443","src_root_hash":"18183784396325529347","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"U.S. Senate: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities","meta_descriptions":["Watergate Committee"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"(\nThe Watergate Committee\n)\nResolution passed\n:\nFebruary 7, 1973\nReport issued\n:\nJune 27, 1974\nChairman:\n \nSam J. Ervin, Jr.\n(D-NC)\nVice Chairman:\n \nHoward H. Baker\n(R-TN)\nCommittee members:\nEdward J. Gurney\n(R-FL)\nDaniel K. Inouye\n(D-HI)\nJoseph M. Montoya\n(D-NM)\nHerman E. Talmadge\n(D-GA)\nLowell P. Weicker\n(R-CT)\nChapter 1: Origins\nChapter 2: Process\nChapter 3: Public Relations\nChapter 4: Investigation\nChapter 5: Outcome\nOrigins\nEarly on the morning of June 17, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. A security guard discovered the team and alerted the metro police, who arrested the burglars, who carried more than $3,500 in cash and high-end surveillance and electronic equipment.\nWhile the burglars awaited their arraignment in federal district court, the FBI launched an investigation of the incident. The dogged reporting of two\nWashington Post\njournalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, raised questions and suggested connections between Nixon’s reelection campaign and the men awaiting trial in federal district court. The White House denied any connection to the break-in, and President Richard Nixon won reelection in a landslide in November 1972.\nOn January 10, 1973, the trial of the Watergate burglars and two accomplices began. After weeks of testimony, Chief Federal District Judge John Sirica expressed skepticism that all the facts in the case had been revealed. Five men pleaded guilty and two were convicted by a jury. Judge Sirica urged those awaiting sentencing to cooperate with the soon-to-be-established Senate select committee.\nProcess\nOn February 5, 1973, Senator Edward Kennedy offered\nSenate Resolution 60\nto establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate campaign activities related to the presidential election of 1972. Traditionally the sponsoring member presides over an inquiry.\nMajority Leader Mike Mansfield\nwanted to avoid the possibility that the committee would seem unduly partisan because of Kennedy's presidential aspirations and instead offered the chair to Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina.\nWell-qualified to head the investigation, Senator Ervin was a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, a self-proclaimed “country lawyer” with a degree from Harvard Law School, and widely regarded as the Senate’s constitutional expert. At 76 years old he did not aspire to the presidency. His reputation among his Senate colleagues was, according to\nSecretary of the Senate Frank Valeo\n, “unassailable.” As chairman of the Constitutional Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Ervin had investigated a number of issues important to the Watergate scandal, including surveillance and wiretapping.\nOn February 7, 1973, the Senate\nvoted unanimously\nto create the select committee. The resolution empowered four Democrats and three Republicans to subpoena witnesses and materials, provided them with a $500,000 budget, and required them to submit a final report by February 28, 1974. The resolution granted the committee the power to investigate the break-in and any subsequent cover-up of criminal activity, as well as “all other illegal, improper, or unethical conduct occurring during the Presidential campaign of 1972, including political espionage and campaign finance practices.”\nPublic Relations\nEmphasizing the educational function of congressional investigations, the committee’s chief counsel,\nSamuel Dash\n, coordinated an aggressive media strategy. The print news media focused America's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) broadcast the hearings during prime time on more than 150 national affiliates, earning higher ratings than regularly scheduled entertainment programming. Only one month after the hearings began, an overwhelming majority of Americans—97 percent—had heard of Watergate. Of those, 67 percent believed that President Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up.\nInvestigation\nThe Senate Watergate Committee has been credited with reviving public confidence in congressional investigations, which had declined during the McCarthy inquiries of the 1950s. Several factors contributed to the committee’s overall success including extensive media coverage, sustained public interest, the meticulous work of investigators, the cooperation of key witnesses, and the continuing support of the full Senate. Public support for the investigation remained strong even when a series of confrontations between the Watergate Committee and the White House provoked a constitutional crisis.\nThroughout the inquiry President Nixon rebuffed the committee’s requests for access to information. Claiming a constitutional separation of powers, he refused to allow his aides to testify. Senator Ervin insisted that executive privilege could not be extended to cover criminal behavior and he threatened to authorize the sergeant at arms to arrest White House aides who refused to testify. Conceding to public pressure, the president allowed his aides to cooperate but continued to deny the committee access to presidential papers. Nixon repeatedly declared that he knew nothing about the Watergate burglary, but former White House counsel John Dean III testified that the president had approved plans to cover up White House connections to the break-in. Another former aide, Alexander Butterfield, revealed that the president maintained a voice-activated tape recorder system in various rooms in the White House.\nChairman Ervin requested access to the tapes, believing that they would either corroborate or repudiate testimony that the president had knowledge of, and approved efforts to cover up, the Watergate break-in.\nSenate Resolution 194\nauthorized the committee to “issue subpoenas for documents, tapes and other material to any officer of the executive branch,” and the committee voted unanimously on July 16, 1973, to subpoena the\ntapes\nand\ndocuments\n. Nixon\nrefused to comply\n, citing executive privilege and separation of powers. Senator Ervin rebutted that “the select committee is exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation, and the doctrine of the separation of powers of Government requires the President to recognize this and to refrain from obstructing the committee.” Vice Chairman Howard Baker (R-TN) proposed that the committee take the president to court. On August 9, 1973, the committee took the unprecedented step of\nsuing the president\nin federal district court for access to the tapes and other documents. The court dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction and appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling.\nIn early 1974 Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski asked the committee to postpone releasing its final report so as to not unduly influence the criminal cases he was preparing against former White House staff. The House Judiciary Committee launched an impeachment inquiry. In light of these developments, members of the Senate committee voted unanimously on February 19, 1974, to conclude public hearings and complete the committee’s remaining tasks in private sessions.\nOutcome\nThe committee submitted its\nfinal report\nincluding legislative recommendations on June 27, 1974. On July 24 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a separate case,\nUnited States v. Nixon\n, that the president must surrender the tapes to the special prosecutor. President Nixon complied and the recordings revealed that he had participated in devising a plan to cover up the White House connection to the Watergate burglary. Based on this evidence, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment. Before the full House could vote,\nNixon resigned\non August 9, 1974.\nThe Watergate Committee’s final report recommended legislative action in three areas: regulation of campaign activities and contributions, the establishment of a permanent special prosecutor, and the creation of a permanent congressional legal service. Some, though not all, of these recommendations became law. In 1974 Congress amended the\nFederal Election Campaign Act\n. The revisions imposed limitations on expenses and contributions, required regular reporting by election committees, and established a means for public financing of presidential nominating conventions and primary elections. Congress passed the\nEthics in Government Act\nin 1978. The bill required financial disclosure by executive and judicial branch officials and established the Office of Government Ethics as an oversight agency. It also created mechanisms for the appointment of a special prosecutor.\nIn the years following the Watergate investigation Congress passed legislation aimed at strengthening the legislative branch’s oversight powers. In 1974, Congress overrode a presidential veto and revised the\nFreedom of Information Act\n, providing the public and the media with new tools to access information held by the executive branch. The 1976\nGovernment in Sunshine Act\nrequired federal agencies to hold their meetings in public.\nThe Senate Watergate investigation remains one of the most significant congressional inquiries in U.S. history. Over the course of this 16-month investigation committee members maintained bipartisan accord, garnered public support, and expanded congressional investigatory powers to produce lasting legislative reform.\nPrint Version with Footnotes","attrs_markdown":"[Skip Content](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#skip)\n\n![U.S. Flag](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/resources\/images\/usFlag.png)\n\n[VIEW RECENT SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/LIS\/floor_activity\/all-floor-activity-files.htm)\n\n[![United States Senate Logo](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/resources\/images\/senate_logo.png)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/index.htm)\n\nMENU\n\n- [SENATORS](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/index.htm)\n  - [Contact Your Senators](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/senators-contact.htm)\n  - [Leadership & Officers](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/leadership.htm)\n  - [Former Senators](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/former_senators.htm)\n  - [Qualifications & Terms of Service](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/qualifications_termsofservice.htm)\n  - [Facts & Milestones](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/facts_milestones.htm)\n  - [States in the Senate](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/states\/statesmap.htm)\n- [COMMITTEES](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/committees\/committees_home.htm)\n  - [Membership & Assignments](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/committees\/membership_assignments.htm)\n  - [Hearings & Meetings](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/committees\/hearings_meetings.htm)\n  - [History](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/committees\/history.htm)\n- [LEGISLATION & RECORDS](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/legislative_home.htm)\n  - [Bills, Acts, & Laws](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/bills_acts_laws.htm)\n  - [Nominations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/nominations_new.htm)\n  - [Treaties](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/treaties_new.htm)\n  - [Votes](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/votes_new.htm)\n  - [Floor Proceedings](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/floor_activity_pail.htm)\n  - [Rules & Procedure](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/rules_procedure.htm)\n  - [Landmark Legislation](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/landmark_legislation.htm)\n  - [Sessions of Congress](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/sessions_of_congress.htm)\n  - [Senate Archives](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/senate-archives\/information-about-senate-archives.htm)\n  - [Public Disclosure](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/lobbyingdisc.htm#lobbyingdisc=lda)\n- [ART & ARTIFACTS](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/index.htm)\n  - [Collection Search](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/general\/search\/search-art-artifacts-solr-js.htm)\n  - [Fine Art](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/fine-art-landing-page.htm)\n  - [Decorative Art](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/decorative-art-landing-page.htm)\n  - [Historical Images](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/historical-images-landing-page.htm)\n  - [Historical Artifacts](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/historical-artifacts-landing-page.htm)\n  - [Thematic Collections](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/thematic-collections-landing-page.htm)\n  - [Exhibitions & Publications](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/exhibitions-publications-landing-page.htm)\n- [ABOUT THE SENATE](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/index.htm)\n  - [Officers & Staff](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff.htm)\n    - [Vice President](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/vice-president.htm)\n    - [President Pro Tempore](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/president-pro-tempore.htm)\n    - [Secretary of the Senate](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/secretary-of-the-senate.htm)\n    - [Sergeant at Arms](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/sergeant-at-arms.htm)\n    - [Party Secretaries](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/party-secretaries.htm)\n    - [Chaplain](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/chaplain.htm)\n    - [Committee & Office Staff](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/committee-office-staff.htm)\n    - [Pages](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/pages.htm)\n  - [Powers & Procedures](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures.htm)\n    - [Censure](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/censure.htm)\n    - [Declarations of War](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/declarations-of-war.htm)\n    - [Expulsion](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/expulsion.htm)\n    - [Filibuster & Cloture](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/filibusters-cloture.htm)\n    - [Impeachment](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/impeachment.htm)\n    - [Investigations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations.htm)\n    - [Nominations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/nominations.htm)\n    - [Rules](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/rules.htm)\n    - [Treaties](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/treaties.htm)\n    - [Voting](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/voting.htm)\n  - [Origins & Foundations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations.htm)\n    - [The Senate & the Constitution](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/senate-and-constitution.htm)\n    - [Electing & Appointing Senators](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/electing-appointing-senators.htm)\n    - [Committee System](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/committee-system.htm)\n    - [Idea of the Senate](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/idea-of-the-senate.htm)\n    - [Parties & Leadership](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/parties-leadership.htm)\n  - [Parties & Leadership](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/parties-leadership.htm)\n  - [Historic Buildings & Spaces](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces.htm)\n    - [The Capitol](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/capitol.htm)\n    - [Senate Chamber](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/senate-chamber.htm)\n    - [Historic Rooms](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/historic-rooms.htm)\n    - [Senate Office Buildings](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/office-buildings.htm)\n    - [Congressional Meeting Places](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/meeting-places.htm)\n    - [Past Senate Chambers](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/past-chambers.htm)\n  - [Traditions & Symbols](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/traditions-symbols.htm)\n  - [Oral History Project](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/oralhistory.htm)\n  - [Historical Highlights](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/essays.htm)\n    - [1787-1800](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1787.htm)\n    - [1801-1850](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1801.htm)\n    - [1851-1877](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1851.htm)\n    - [1878-1920](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1878.htm)\n    - [1921-1940](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1921.htm)\n    - [1941-1963](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1941.htm)\n    - [1964-present](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1964.htm)\n  - [Senate Stories Blog](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/senate-stories\/menu.htm)\n  - [Research Tools](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/research-tools.htm)\n\n[VIEW RECENT SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/LIS\/floor_activity\/all-floor-activity-files.htm)\n\n# Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities\n***\n\n[![Members of the Watergate Committee](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/graphics\/small\/watergate-committee.jpg)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/images\/watergate-committee.htm)\n\n**(*The Watergate Committee*)**\n\n**[Resolution passed](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf):** February 7, 1973\n\n**[Report issued](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-final-report-1974.pdf):** June 27, 1974\n\n**Chairman:** [Sam J. Ervin, Jr.](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/FeaturedBios\/Featured_Bio_ErvinSam.htm) (D-NC)\n\n**Vice Chairman:** [Howard H. Baker](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/FeaturedBios\/Featured_Bio_BakerHoward.htm) (R-TN)\n\n**Committee members:**\n\n[Edward J. Gurney](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=G000531) (R-FL)  \n [Daniel K. Inouye](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=I000025) (D-HI)  \n [Joseph M. Montoya](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=M000876) (D-NM)  \n [Herman E. Talmadge](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=T000035) (D-GA)  \n [Lowell P. Weicker](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=W000253) (R-CT)\n\n![](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/resources\/graphic\/horiz_table_line.gif)\n\n[Chapter 1: Origins](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Origins)   \n [Chapter 2: Process](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Process)   \n [Chapter 3: Public Relations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Public_Relations)   \n [Chapter 4: Investigation](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Investigation)   \n [Chapter 5: Outcome](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Outcome)\n\n**[Origins]()**   \n Early on the morning of June 17, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. A security guard discovered the team and alerted the metro police, who arrested the burglars, who carried more than \\$3,500 in cash and high-end surveillance and electronic equipment.\n\nWhile the burglars awaited their arraignment in federal district court, the FBI launched an investigation of the incident. The dogged reporting of two *Washington Post* journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, raised questions and suggested connections between Nixon’s reelection campaign and the men awaiting trial in federal district court. The White House denied any connection to the break-in, and President Richard Nixon won reelection in a landslide in November 1972.\n\nOn January 10, 1973, the trial of the Watergate burglars and two accomplices began. After weeks of testimony, Chief Federal District Judge John Sirica expressed skepticism that all the facts in the case had been revealed. Five men pleaded guilty and two were convicted by a jury. Judge Sirica urged those awaiting sentencing to cooperate with the soon-to-be-established Senate select committee.\n\n**[Process]()**   \n On February 5, 1973, Senator Edward Kennedy offered [Senate Resolution 60](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf) to establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate campaign activities related to the presidential election of 1972. Traditionally the sponsoring member presides over an inquiry. [Majority Leader Mike Mansfield](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/parties-leadership\/mansfield-mike.htm) wanted to avoid the possibility that the committee would seem unduly partisan because of Kennedy's presidential aspirations and instead offered the chair to Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina.\n\nWell-qualified to head the investigation, Senator Ervin was a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, a self-proclaimed “country lawyer” with a degree from Harvard Law School, and widely regarded as the Senate’s constitutional expert. At 76 years old he did not aspire to the presidency. His reputation among his Senate colleagues was, according to [Secretary of the Senate Frank Valeo](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/oral-history\/valeo-frank-oral-history.htm), “unassailable.” As chairman of the Constitutional Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Ervin had investigated a number of issues important to the Watergate scandal, including surveillance and wiretapping.\n\nOn February 7, 1973, the Senate [voted unanimously](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf) to create the select committee. The resolution empowered four Democrats and three Republicans to subpoena witnesses and materials, provided them with a \\$500,000 budget, and required them to submit a final report by February 28, 1974. The resolution granted the committee the power to investigate the break-in and any subsequent cover-up of criminal activity, as well as “all other illegal, improper, or unethical conduct occurring during the Presidential campaign of 1972, including political espionage and campaign finance practices.”\n\n**[Public Relations]()**   \n Emphasizing the educational function of congressional investigations, the committee’s chief counsel, [Samuel Dash](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/dash-sam.htm), coordinated an aggressive media strategy. The print news media focused America's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) broadcast the hearings during prime time on more than 150 national affiliates, earning higher ratings than regularly scheduled entertainment programming. Only one month after the hearings began, an overwhelming majority of Americans—97 percent—had heard of Watergate. Of those, 67 percent believed that President Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up.\n\n**[Investigation]()**   \n The Senate Watergate Committee has been credited with reviving public confidence in congressional investigations, which had declined during the McCarthy inquiries of the 1950s. Several factors contributed to the committee’s overall success including extensive media coverage, sustained public interest, the meticulous work of investigators, the cooperation of key witnesses, and the continuing support of the full Senate. Public support for the investigation remained strong even when a series of confrontations between the Watergate Committee and the White House provoked a constitutional crisis.\n\nThroughout the inquiry President Nixon rebuffed the committee’s requests for access to information. Claiming a constitutional separation of powers, he refused to allow his aides to testify. Senator Ervin insisted that executive privilege could not be extended to cover criminal behavior and he threatened to authorize the sergeant at arms to arrest White House aides who refused to testify. Conceding to public pressure, the president allowed his aides to cooperate but continued to deny the committee access to presidential papers. Nixon repeatedly declared that he knew nothing about the Watergate burglary, but former White House counsel John Dean III testified that the president had approved plans to cover up White House connections to the break-in. Another former aide, Alexander Butterfield, revealed that the president maintained a voice-activated tape recorder system in various rooms in the White House.\n\nChairman Ervin requested access to the tapes, believing that they would either corroborate or repudiate testimony that the president had knowledge of, and approved efforts to cover up, the Watergate break-in. [Senate Resolution 194](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-sres194-1973.pdf) authorized the committee to “issue subpoenas for documents, tapes and other material to any officer of the executive branch,” and the committee voted unanimously on July 16, 1973, to subpoena the [tapes](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/common\/image\/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.htm) and [documents](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/common\/image\/WatergateSubpoena_docs.htm). Nixon [refused to comply](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/images\/documents\/LetterNixonRefusalWatergate1973.htm), citing executive privilege and separation of powers. Senator Ervin rebutted that “the select committee is exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation, and the doctrine of the separation of powers of Government requires the President to recognize this and to refrain from obstructing the committee.” Vice Chairman Howard Baker (R-TN) proposed that the committee take the president to court. On August 9, 1973, the committee took the unprecedented step of  [suing the president](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/images\/documents\/LawsuitWatergate1973.htm) in federal district court for access to the tapes and other documents. The court dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction and appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling.\n\nIn early 1974 Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski asked the committee to postpone releasing its final report so as to not unduly influence the criminal cases he was preparing against former White House staff. The House Judiciary Committee launched an impeachment inquiry. In light of these developments, members of the Senate committee voted unanimously on February 19, 1974, to conclude public hearings and complete the committee’s remaining tasks in private sessions.\n\n**[Outcome]()**   \n The committee submitted its [final report](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-final-report-1974.pdf) including legislative recommendations on June 27, 1974. On July 24 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a separate case, [*United States v. Nixon*](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/us-nixon-watergate-1974.pdf), that the president must surrender the tapes to the special prosecutor. President Nixon complied and the recordings revealed that he had participated in devising a plan to cover up the White House connection to the Watergate burglary. Based on this evidence, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment. Before the full House could vote, [Nixon resigned](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/images\/documents\/LetterNixonResignation1974.htm) on August 9, 1974.\n\nThe Watergate Committee’s final report recommended legislative action in three areas: regulation of campaign activities and contributions, the establishment of a permanent special prosecutor, and the creation of a permanent congressional legal service. Some, though not all, of these recommendations became law. In 1974 Congress amended the [Federal Election Campaign Act](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-federal-election-campaign-act.pdf). The revisions imposed limitations on expenses and contributions, required regular reporting by election committees, and established a means for public financing of presidential nominating conventions and primary elections. Congress passed the [Ethics in Government Act](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-ethics-gov.pdf) in 1978. The bill required financial disclosure by executive and judicial branch officials and established the Office of Government Ethics as an oversight agency. It also created mechanisms for the appointment of a special prosecutor.\n\nIn the years following the Watergate investigation Congress passed legislation aimed at strengthening the legislative branch’s oversight powers. In 1974, Congress overrode a presidential veto and revised the [Freedom of Information Act](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-foia-1974.pdf), providing the public and the media with new tools to access information held by the executive branch. The 1976 [Government in Sunshine Act](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/GovtSunshineAct.pdf) required federal agencies to hold their meetings in public.\n\nThe Senate Watergate investigation remains one of the most significant congressional inquiries in U.S. history. Over the course of this 16-month investigation committee members maintained bipartisan accord, garnered public support, and expanded congressional investigatory powers to produce lasting legislative reform.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/resources\/graphic\/horiz_table_line.gif)\n\n[Print Version with Footnotes](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-investigation-citations.pdf)\n\n- [Officers & Staff](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff.htm)\n- - [Vice President](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/vice-president.htm)\n  - [President Pro Tempore](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/president-pro-tempore.htm)\n  - [Secretary of the Senate](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/secretary-of-the-senate.htm)\n  - [Sergeant at Arms](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/sergeant-at-arms.htm)\n  - [Party Secretaries](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/party-secretaries.htm)\n  - [Chaplain](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/chaplain.htm)\n  - [Committee & Office Staff](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/committee-office-staff.htm)\n  - [Pages](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff\/pages.htm)\n- [Powers & Procedures](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures.htm)\n- - [Censure](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/censure.htm)\n  - [Declarations of War](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/declarations-of-war.htm)\n  - [Expulsion](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/expulsion.htm)\n  - [Filibuster & Cloture](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/filibusters-cloture.htm)\n  - [Impeachment](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/impeachment.htm)\n  - [Investigations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations.htm)\n  - [Nominations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/nominations.htm)\n  - [Rules](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/rules.htm)\n  - [Treaties](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/treaties.htm)\n  - [Voting](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/voting.htm)\n- [Origins & Foundations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations.htm)\n- - [The Senate & the Constitution](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/senate-and-constitution.htm)\n  - [Electing & Appointing Senators](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/electing-appointing-senators.htm)\n  - [Committee System](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/committee-system.htm)\n  - [Idea of the Senate](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations\/idea-of-the-senate.htm)\n- [Parties & Leadership](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/parties-leadership.htm)\n- [Historic Buildings & Spaces](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces.htm)\n- - [The Capitol](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/capitol.htm)\n  - [Senate Chamber](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/senate-chamber.htm)\n  - [Historic Rooms](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/historic-rooms.htm)\n  - [Senate Office Buildings](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/office-buildings.htm)\n  - [Congressional Meeting Places](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/meeting-places.htm)\n  - [Past Senate Chambers](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces\/past-chambers.htm)\n- [Traditions & Symbols](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/traditions-symbols.htm)\n- [Oral History Project](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/oralhistory.htm)\n- [Historical Highlights](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/essays.htm)\n- - [1787-1800](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1787.htm)\n  - [1801-1850](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1801.htm)\n  - [1851-1877](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1851.htm)\n  - [1878-1920](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1878.htm)\n  - [1921-1940](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1921.htm)\n  - [1941-1963](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1941.htm)\n  - [1964-present](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/1964.htm)\n- [Senate Stories Blog](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/senate-stories\/menu.htm)\n- [Research Tools](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/research-tools.htm)\n\n### Senate Historical Office\nInformation provided by the [Senate Historical Office](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/senate-historical-office.htm).\n\nQuestions about Senate History?  \n [Email a Senate historian](mailto:historian@sec.senate.gov).\n\n### Audio Clips\n[![Image: Senator Howard Baker, Rufus Edmisten, and Senator Sam Ervin ](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/graphic\/small\/watergate-BakerErvin.jpg)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/edmisten-watergate-preface.htm)\n\n[The Preface to the Watergate Committee](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/edmisten-watergate-preface.htm)\n\n[![Image: Rufus Edmisten and Terry Lenzer deliver subpoenas](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/graphic\/small\/Edmisten_Lenzner_subpoena.jpg)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/edmisten-watergate-subpoena.htm)\n\n[Senate Watergate Committee Subpoenas White House Records](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/edmisten-watergate-subpoena.htm)\n\n[![Image: Edmisten smoking a pipe](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/graphic\/small\/EdmistenRufus.jpg)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/edmisten-watergate-senator-wants-to-get-you.htm)\n\n[Edmisten to Richard Nixon: “Senator Ervin Wants to Get You”](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/edmisten-watergate-senator-wants-to-get-you.htm)\n\n### Related Interviews\n[![William F. Hidenbrand](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/graphic\/small\/hildenbrand2.jpg)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/pdf\/Hildenbrand_interview_5.pdf)[William F. Hildenbrand](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/pdf\/Hildenbrand_interview_5.pdf)\n\n[![Image of Rufus Edmisten](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/graphic\/small\/Edmisten.jpg)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/oral-history\/edmisten-rufus-oral-history.htm)[Rufus Edmisten](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/oral-history\/edmisten-rufus-oral-history.htm)\n\n[![Francis R. Valeo](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/graphic\/small\/valeo.jpg)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/valeo-watergate.htm)[Francis R. Valeo](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/valeo-watergate.htm)\n\n### Related Links\n**People:**\n\n[Sam Dash, Majority Counsel](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/dash-sam.htm)\n\n[Fred Thompson, Minority Counsel](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/thompson-fred.htm)\n\n**Exhibit:**\n\n[The Watergate Files](http:\/\/www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov\/museum\/exhibits\/watergate_files\/index.html) (Gerald Ford Library)\n\n[Watergate Investigation Photo Exhibit](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/slideshow.htm)\n\n**Featured Documents:**\n\n[![Subpoena for Watergate Documents](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/graphic\/small\/WatergateSubpoena_docs.gif)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/common\/image\/WatergateSubpoena_docs.htm)\n\n[Subpoena for Watergate Documents](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/common\/image\/WatergateSubpoena_docs.htm)\n\n[![Subpoena for Watergate Tapes](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/graphic\/small\/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.gif)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/common\/image\/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.htm)\n\n[Subpoena for Watergate Tapes](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/common\/image\/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.htm)\n\n[![Senate Logo](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/resources\/images\/senate_logo_footer.png)](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/index.htm)\n\n### [SENATORS](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/contact\/)\n- [Contact](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/senators-contact.htm)\n- [Leadership & Officers](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/leadership.htm)\n- [Former Senators](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/former_senators.htm)\n- [Qualifications & Terms of Service](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/qualifications_termsofservice.htm)\n- [Facts & Milestones](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/facts_milestones.htm)\n- [States](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/states\/statesmap.htm)\n\n### [COMMITTEES](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/committees\/committees_home.htm)\n- [Membership & Assignments](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/committees\/membership_assignments.htm)\n- [Hearings & Meetings](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/committees\/hearings_meetings.htm)\n- [History](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/committees\/history.htm)\n\n### [LEGISLATION &   RECORDS](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/legislative_home.htm)\n- [Bills, Acts, & Laws](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/bills_acts_laws.htm)\n- [Nominations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/nominations_new.htm)\n- [Treaties](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/treaties_new.htm)\n- [Votes](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/votes_new.htm)\n- [Floor Proceedings](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/floor_activity_pail.htm)\n- [Rules & Procedure](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/rules_procedure.htm)\n- [Landmark Legislation](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/landmark_legislation.htm)\n- [Sessions of Congress](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/sessions_of_congress.htm)\n- [Senate Archives](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/senate-archives\/information-about-senate-archives.htm)\n- [Public Disclosure](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/lobbyingdisc.htm#lobbyingdisc=lda)\n\n### [ART & ARTIFACTS](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/index.htm)\n- [Fine Art](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/fine-art-landing-page.htm)\n- [Decorative Art](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/decorative-art-landing-page.htm)\n- [Historical Images](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/historical-images-landing-page.htm)\n- [Historical Artifacts](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/historical-artifacts-landing-page.htm)\n- [Thematic Collections](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/art-artifacts\/thematic-collections-landing-page.htm)\n\n### [ABOUT THE SENATE](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/index.htm)\n- [Officers & Staff](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/officers-staff.htm)\n- [Powers & Procedures](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures.htm)\n- [Origins & Foundations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/origins-foundations.htm)\n- [Parties & Leadership](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/parties-leadership.htm)\n- [Historic Buildings & Spaces](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/historic-buildings-spaces.htm)\n- [Traditions & Symbols](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/traditions-symbols.htm)\n- [Oral History Project](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/oralhistory.htm)\n- [Historical Highlights](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/history\/essays.htm)\n- [Senate Stories Blog](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/senate-stories\/menu.htm)\n- [Research Tools](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/research-tools.htm)\n\n[Contact](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/general\/contacting.htm) \\| [Content Responsibility](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/general\/content_responsibility.htm) \\| [Usage Policy](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/usage\/internetpolicy.htm) \\| [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/general\/privacy.htm) \\| [Employment & Internships](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/visiting\/employment.htm) \\| [Procurement](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/visiting\/procurement.htm) \\| [www.senate.gov](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/index.htm)","attrs_readable_markdown":"**(*The Watergate Committee*)**\n\n**[Resolution passed](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf):** February 7, 1973\n\n**[Report issued](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-final-report-1974.pdf):** June 27, 1974\n\n**Chairman:** [Sam J. Ervin, Jr.](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/FeaturedBios\/Featured_Bio_ErvinSam.htm) (D-NC)\n\n**Vice Chairman:** [Howard H. Baker](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/senators\/FeaturedBios\/Featured_Bio_BakerHoward.htm) (R-TN)\n\n**Committee members:**\n\n[Edward J. Gurney](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=G000531) (R-FL)  \n [Daniel K. Inouye](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=I000025) (D-HI)  \n [Joseph M. Montoya](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=M000876) (D-NM)  \n [Herman E. Talmadge](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=T000035) (D-GA)  \n [Lowell P. Weicker](http:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/scripts\/biodisplay.pl?index=W000253) (R-CT)\n\n![](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/resources\/graphic\/horiz_table_line.gif)\n\n[Chapter 1: Origins](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Origins)   \n [Chapter 2: Process](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Process)   \n [Chapter 3: Public Relations](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Public_Relations)   \n [Chapter 4: Investigation](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Investigation)   \n [Chapter 5: Outcome](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate.htm#Outcome)\n\n**[Origins]()**   \n Early on the morning of June 17, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. A security guard discovered the team and alerted the metro police, who arrested the burglars, who carried more than \\$3,500 in cash and high-end surveillance and electronic equipment.\n\nWhile the burglars awaited their arraignment in federal district court, the FBI launched an investigation of the incident. The dogged reporting of two *Washington Post* journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, raised questions and suggested connections between Nixon’s reelection campaign and the men awaiting trial in federal district court. The White House denied any connection to the break-in, and President Richard Nixon won reelection in a landslide in November 1972.\n\nOn January 10, 1973, the trial of the Watergate burglars and two accomplices began. After weeks of testimony, Chief Federal District Judge John Sirica expressed skepticism that all the facts in the case had been revealed. Five men pleaded guilty and two were convicted by a jury. Judge Sirica urged those awaiting sentencing to cooperate with the soon-to-be-established Senate select committee.\n\n**[Process]()**   \n On February 5, 1973, Senator Edward Kennedy offered [Senate Resolution 60](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf) to establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate campaign activities related to the presidential election of 1972. Traditionally the sponsoring member presides over an inquiry. [Majority Leader Mike Mansfield](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/parties-leadership\/mansfield-mike.htm) wanted to avoid the possibility that the committee would seem unduly partisan because of Kennedy's presidential aspirations and instead offered the chair to Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina.\n\nWell-qualified to head the investigation, Senator Ervin was a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, a self-proclaimed “country lawyer” with a degree from Harvard Law School, and widely regarded as the Senate’s constitutional expert. At 76 years old he did not aspire to the presidency. His reputation among his Senate colleagues was, according to [Secretary of the Senate Frank Valeo](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/oral-history\/valeo-frank-oral-history.htm), “unassailable.” As chairman of the Constitutional Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Ervin had investigated a number of issues important to the Watergate scandal, including surveillance and wiretapping.\n\nOn February 7, 1973, the Senate [voted unanimously](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf) to create the select committee. The resolution empowered four Democrats and three Republicans to subpoena witnesses and materials, provided them with a \\$500,000 budget, and required them to submit a final report by February 28, 1974. The resolution granted the committee the power to investigate the break-in and any subsequent cover-up of criminal activity, as well as “all other illegal, improper, or unethical conduct occurring during the Presidential campaign of 1972, including political espionage and campaign finance practices.”\n\n**[Public Relations]()**   \n Emphasizing the educational function of congressional investigations, the committee’s chief counsel, [Samuel Dash](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/powers-procedures\/investigations\/watergate\/dash-sam.htm), coordinated an aggressive media strategy. The print news media focused America's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) broadcast the hearings during prime time on more than 150 national affiliates, earning higher ratings than regularly scheduled entertainment programming. Only one month after the hearings began, an overwhelming majority of Americans—97 percent—had heard of Watergate. Of those, 67 percent believed that President Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up.\n\n**[Investigation]()**   \n The Senate Watergate Committee has been credited with reviving public confidence in congressional investigations, which had declined during the McCarthy inquiries of the 1950s. Several factors contributed to the committee’s overall success including extensive media coverage, sustained public interest, the meticulous work of investigators, the cooperation of key witnesses, and the continuing support of the full Senate. Public support for the investigation remained strong even when a series of confrontations between the Watergate Committee and the White House provoked a constitutional crisis.\n\nThroughout the inquiry President Nixon rebuffed the committee’s requests for access to information. Claiming a constitutional separation of powers, he refused to allow his aides to testify. Senator Ervin insisted that executive privilege could not be extended to cover criminal behavior and he threatened to authorize the sergeant at arms to arrest White House aides who refused to testify. Conceding to public pressure, the president allowed his aides to cooperate but continued to deny the committee access to presidential papers. Nixon repeatedly declared that he knew nothing about the Watergate burglary, but former White House counsel John Dean III testified that the president had approved plans to cover up White House connections to the break-in. Another former aide, Alexander Butterfield, revealed that the president maintained a voice-activated tape recorder system in various rooms in the White House.\n\nChairman Ervin requested access to the tapes, believing that they would either corroborate or repudiate testimony that the president had knowledge of, and approved efforts to cover up, the Watergate break-in. [Senate Resolution 194](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-sres194-1973.pdf) authorized the committee to “issue subpoenas for documents, tapes and other material to any officer of the executive branch,” and the committee voted unanimously on July 16, 1973, to subpoena the [tapes](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/common\/image\/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.htm) and [documents](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/common\/image\/WatergateSubpoena_docs.htm). Nixon [refused to comply](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/images\/documents\/LetterNixonRefusalWatergate1973.htm), citing executive privilege and separation of powers. Senator Ervin rebutted that “the select committee is exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation, and the doctrine of the separation of powers of Government requires the President to recognize this and to refrain from obstructing the committee.” Vice Chairman Howard Baker (R-TN) proposed that the committee take the president to court. On August 9, 1973, the committee took the unprecedented step of  [suing the president](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/images\/documents\/LawsuitWatergate1973.htm) in federal district court for access to the tapes and other documents. The court dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction and appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling.\n\nIn early 1974 Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski asked the committee to postpone releasing its final report so as to not unduly influence the criminal cases he was preparing against former White House staff. The House Judiciary Committee launched an impeachment inquiry. In light of these developments, members of the Senate committee voted unanimously on February 19, 1974, to conclude public hearings and complete the committee’s remaining tasks in private sessions.\n\n**[Outcome]()**   \n The committee submitted its [final report](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-final-report-1974.pdf) including legislative recommendations on June 27, 1974. On July 24 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a separate case, [*United States v. Nixon*](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/us-nixon-watergate-1974.pdf), that the president must surrender the tapes to the special prosecutor. President Nixon complied and the recordings revealed that he had participated in devising a plan to cover up the White House connection to the Watergate burglary. Based on this evidence, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment. Before the full House could vote, [Nixon resigned](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/images\/documents\/LetterNixonResignation1974.htm) on August 9, 1974.\n\nThe Watergate Committee’s final report recommended legislative action in three areas: regulation of campaign activities and contributions, the establishment of a permanent special prosecutor, and the creation of a permanent congressional legal service. Some, though not all, of these recommendations became law. In 1974 Congress amended the [Federal Election Campaign Act](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-federal-election-campaign-act.pdf). The revisions imposed limitations on expenses and contributions, required regular reporting by election committees, and established a means for public financing of presidential nominating conventions and primary elections. Congress passed the [Ethics in Government Act](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-ethics-gov.pdf) in 1978. The bill required financial disclosure by executive and judicial branch officials and established the Office of Government Ethics as an oversight agency. It also created mechanisms for the appointment of a special prosecutor.\n\nIn the years following the Watergate investigation Congress passed legislation aimed at strengthening the legislative branch’s oversight powers. In 1974, Congress overrode a presidential veto and revised the [Freedom of Information Act](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-foia-1974.pdf), providing the public and the media with new tools to access information held by the executive branch. The 1976 [Government in Sunshine Act](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/GovtSunshineAct.pdf) required federal agencies to hold their meetings in public.\n\nThe Senate Watergate investigation remains one of the most significant congressional inquiries in U.S. history. Over the course of this 16-month investigation committee members maintained bipartisan accord, garnered public support, and expanded congressional investigatory powers to produce lasting legislative reform.\n\n![](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/resources\/graphic\/horiz_table_line.gif)\n\n[Print Version with Footnotes](https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/about\/resources\/pdf\/watergate-investigation-citations.pdf)","meta_canonical":null}

3. Robots.txt Check

Query:

Response:

4. Spam/Ban Check

Query:

Response:

5. Seen Status Check

ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled

📄

INDEXABLE

✅

CRAWLED

1 day ago

🤖

ROBOTS ALLOWED

Page Info Filters

Filter	Status	Condition	Details
HTTP status	PASS	`download_http_code = 200`	HTTP 200
Age cutoff	PASS	`download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH`	0 months ago
History drop	PASS	`isNull(history_drop_reason)`	No drop reason
Spam/ban	PASS	`fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0`	ml_spam_score=0
Canonical	PASS	`meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed`	Not set

Page Details

Property	Value
URL	https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm
Last Crawled	2026-04-06 06:22:08 (1 day ago)
First Indexed	2020-07-20 23:30:36 (5 years ago)
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	U.S. Senate: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities
Meta Description	Watergate Committee
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	( The Watergate Committee ) Resolution passed : February 7, 1973 Report issued : June 27, 1974 Chairman: Sam J. Ervin, Jr. (D-NC) Vice Chairman: Howard H. Baker (R-TN) Committee members: Edward J. Gurney (R-FL) Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) Joseph M. Montoya (D-NM) Herman E. Talmadge (D-GA) Lowell P. Weicker (R-CT) Chapter 1: Origins Chapter 2: Process Chapter 3: Public Relations Chapter 4: Investigation Chapter 5: Outcome Origins Early on the morning of June 17, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. A security guard discovered the team and alerted the metro police, who arrested the burglars, who carried more than $3,500 in cash and high-end surveillance and electronic equipment. While the burglars awaited their arraignment in federal district court, the FBI launched an investigation of the incident. The dogged reporting of two Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, raised questions and suggested connections between Nixon’s reelection campaign and the men awaiting trial in federal district court. The White House denied any connection to the break-in, and President Richard Nixon won reelection in a landslide in November 1972. On January 10, 1973, the trial of the Watergate burglars and two accomplices began. After weeks of testimony, Chief Federal District Judge John Sirica expressed skepticism that all the facts in the case had been revealed. Five men pleaded guilty and two were convicted by a jury. Judge Sirica urged those awaiting sentencing to cooperate with the soon-to-be-established Senate select committee. Process On February 5, 1973, Senator Edward Kennedy offered Senate Resolution 60 to establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate campaign activities related to the presidential election of 1972. Traditionally the sponsoring member presides over an inquiry. Majority Leader Mike Mansfield wanted to avoid the possibility that the committee would seem unduly partisan because of Kennedy's presidential aspirations and instead offered the chair to Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina. Well-qualified to head the investigation, Senator Ervin was a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, a self-proclaimed “country lawyer” with a degree from Harvard Law School, and widely regarded as the Senate’s constitutional expert. At 76 years old he did not aspire to the presidency. His reputation among his Senate colleagues was, according to Secretary of the Senate Frank Valeo , “unassailable.” As chairman of the Constitutional Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Ervin had investigated a number of issues important to the Watergate scandal, including surveillance and wiretapping. On February 7, 1973, the Senate voted unanimously to create the select committee. The resolution empowered four Democrats and three Republicans to subpoena witnesses and materials, provided them with a $500,000 budget, and required them to submit a final report by February 28, 1974. The resolution granted the committee the power to investigate the break-in and any subsequent cover-up of criminal activity, as well as “all other illegal, improper, or unethical conduct occurring during the Presidential campaign of 1972, including political espionage and campaign finance practices.” Public Relations Emphasizing the educational function of congressional investigations, the committee’s chief counsel, Samuel Dash , coordinated an aggressive media strategy. The print news media focused America's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) broadcast the hearings during prime time on more than 150 national affiliates, earning higher ratings than regularly scheduled entertainment programming. Only one month after the hearings began, an overwhelming majority of Americans—97 percent—had heard of Watergate. Of those, 67 percent believed that President Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up. Investigation The Senate Watergate Committee has been credited with reviving public confidence in congressional investigations, which had declined during the McCarthy inquiries of the 1950s. Several factors contributed to the committee’s overall success including extensive media coverage, sustained public interest, the meticulous work of investigators, the cooperation of key witnesses, and the continuing support of the full Senate. Public support for the investigation remained strong even when a series of confrontations between the Watergate Committee and the White House provoked a constitutional crisis. Throughout the inquiry President Nixon rebuffed the committee’s requests for access to information. Claiming a constitutional separation of powers, he refused to allow his aides to testify. Senator Ervin insisted that executive privilege could not be extended to cover criminal behavior and he threatened to authorize the sergeant at arms to arrest White House aides who refused to testify. Conceding to public pressure, the president allowed his aides to cooperate but continued to deny the committee access to presidential papers. Nixon repeatedly declared that he knew nothing about the Watergate burglary, but former White House counsel John Dean III testified that the president had approved plans to cover up White House connections to the break-in. Another former aide, Alexander Butterfield, revealed that the president maintained a voice-activated tape recorder system in various rooms in the White House. Chairman Ervin requested access to the tapes, believing that they would either corroborate or repudiate testimony that the president had knowledge of, and approved efforts to cover up, the Watergate break-in. Senate Resolution 194 authorized the committee to “issue subpoenas for documents, tapes and other material to any officer of the executive branch,” and the committee voted unanimously on July 16, 1973, to subpoena the tapes and documents . Nixon refused to comply , citing executive privilege and separation of powers. Senator Ervin rebutted that “the select committee is exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation, and the doctrine of the separation of powers of Government requires the President to recognize this and to refrain from obstructing the committee.” Vice Chairman Howard Baker (R-TN) proposed that the committee take the president to court. On August 9, 1973, the committee took the unprecedented step of suing the president in federal district court for access to the tapes and other documents. The court dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction and appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling. In early 1974 Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski asked the committee to postpone releasing its final report so as to not unduly influence the criminal cases he was preparing against former White House staff. The House Judiciary Committee launched an impeachment inquiry. In light of these developments, members of the Senate committee voted unanimously on February 19, 1974, to conclude public hearings and complete the committee’s remaining tasks in private sessions. Outcome The committee submitted its final report including legislative recommendations on June 27, 1974. On July 24 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a separate case, United States v. Nixon , that the president must surrender the tapes to the special prosecutor. President Nixon complied and the recordings revealed that he had participated in devising a plan to cover up the White House connection to the Watergate burglary. Based on this evidence, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment. Before the full House could vote, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. The Watergate Committee’s final report recommended legislative action in three areas: regulation of campaign activities and contributions, the establishment of a permanent special prosecutor, and the creation of a permanent congressional legal service. Some, though not all, of these recommendations became law. In 1974 Congress amended the Federal Election Campaign Act . The revisions imposed limitations on expenses and contributions, required regular reporting by election committees, and established a means for public financing of presidential nominating conventions and primary elections. Congress passed the Ethics in Government Act in 1978. The bill required financial disclosure by executive and judicial branch officials and established the Office of Government Ethics as an oversight agency. It also created mechanisms for the appointment of a special prosecutor. In the years following the Watergate investigation Congress passed legislation aimed at strengthening the legislative branch’s oversight powers. In 1974, Congress overrode a presidential veto and revised the Freedom of Information Act , providing the public and the media with new tools to access information held by the executive branch. The 1976 Government in Sunshine Act required federal agencies to hold their meetings in public. The Senate Watergate investigation remains one of the most significant congressional inquiries in U.S. history. Over the course of this 16-month investigation committee members maintained bipartisan accord, garnered public support, and expanded congressional investigatory powers to produce lasting legislative reform. Print Version with Footnotes
Markdown	[Skip Content](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#skip) ![U.S. Flag](https://www.senate.gov/resources/images/usFlag.png) [VIEW RECENT SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/floor_activity/all-floor-activity-files.htm) [![United States Senate Logo](https://www.senate.gov/resources/images/senate_logo.png)](https://www.senate.gov/index.htm) MENU - [SENATORS](https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm) - [Contact Your Senators](https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm) - [Leadership & Officers](https://www.senate.gov/senators/leadership.htm) - [Former Senators](https://www.senate.gov/senators/former_senators.htm) - [Qualifications & Terms of Service](https://www.senate.gov/senators/qualifications_termsofservice.htm) - [Facts & Milestones](https://www.senate.gov/senators/facts_milestones.htm) - [States in the Senate](https://www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm) - [COMMITTEES](https://www.senate.gov/committees/committees_home.htm) - [Membership & Assignments](https://www.senate.gov/committees/membership_assignments.htm) - [Hearings & Meetings](https://www.senate.gov/committees/hearings_meetings.htm) - [History](https://www.senate.gov/committees/history.htm) - [LEGISLATION & RECORDS](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/legislative_home.htm) - [Bills, Acts, & Laws](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/bills_acts_laws.htm) - [Nominations](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/nominations_new.htm) - [Treaties](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/treaties_new.htm) - [Votes](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/votes_new.htm) - [Floor Proceedings](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/floor_activity_pail.htm) - [Rules & Procedure](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/rules_procedure.htm) - [Landmark Legislation](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/landmark_legislation.htm) - [Sessions of Congress](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/sessions_of_congress.htm) - [Senate Archives](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/senate-archives/information-about-senate-archives.htm) - [Public Disclosure](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/lobbyingdisc.htm#lobbyingdisc=lda) - [ART & ARTIFACTS](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/index.htm) - [Collection Search](https://www.senate.gov/general/search/search-art-artifacts-solr-js.htm) - [Fine Art](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/fine-art-landing-page.htm) - [Decorative Art](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/decorative-art-landing-page.htm) - [Historical Images](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/historical-images-landing-page.htm) - [Historical Artifacts](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/historical-artifacts-landing-page.htm) - [Thematic Collections](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/thematic-collections-landing-page.htm) - [Exhibitions & Publications](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/exhibitions-publications-landing-page.htm) - [ABOUT THE SENATE](https://www.senate.gov/about/index.htm) - [Officers & Staff](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff.htm) - [Vice President](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president.htm) - [President Pro Tempore](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/president-pro-tempore.htm) - [Secretary of the Senate](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/secretary-of-the-senate.htm) - [Sergeant at Arms](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/sergeant-at-arms.htm) - [Party Secretaries](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/party-secretaries.htm) - [Chaplain](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/chaplain.htm) - [Committee & Office Staff](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/committee-office-staff.htm) - [Pages](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/pages.htm) - [Powers & Procedures](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures.htm) - [Censure](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/censure.htm) - [Declarations of War](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/declarations-of-war.htm) - [Expulsion](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/expulsion.htm) - [Filibuster & Cloture](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture.htm) - [Impeachment](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/impeachment.htm) - [Investigations](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations.htm) - [Nominations](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/nominations.htm) - [Rules](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/rules.htm) - [Treaties](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/treaties.htm) - [Voting](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/voting.htm) - [Origins & Foundations](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations.htm) - [The Senate & the Constitution](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution.htm) - [Electing & Appointing Senators](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators.htm) - [Committee System](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/committee-system.htm) - [Idea of the Senate](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/idea-of-the-senate.htm) - [Parties & Leadership](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/parties-leadership.htm) - [Parties & Leadership](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership.htm) - [Historic Buildings & Spaces](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces.htm) - [The Capitol](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/capitol.htm) - [Senate Chamber](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/senate-chamber.htm) - [Historic Rooms](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/historic-rooms.htm) - [Senate Office Buildings](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/office-buildings.htm) - [Congressional Meeting Places](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/meeting-places.htm) - [Past Senate Chambers](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/past-chambers.htm) - [Traditions & Symbols](https://www.senate.gov/about/traditions-symbols.htm) - [Oral History Project](https://www.senate.gov/history/oralhistory.htm) - [Historical Highlights](https://www.senate.gov/history/essays.htm) - [1787-1800](https://www.senate.gov/history/1787.htm) - [1801-1850](https://www.senate.gov/history/1801.htm) - [1851-1877](https://www.senate.gov/history/1851.htm) - [1878-1920](https://www.senate.gov/history/1878.htm) - [1921-1940](https://www.senate.gov/history/1921.htm) - [1941-1963](https://www.senate.gov/history/1941.htm) - [1964-present](https://www.senate.gov/history/1964.htm) - [Senate Stories Blog](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/menu.htm) - [Research Tools](https://www.senate.gov/about/research-tools.htm) [VIEW RECENT SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/floor_activity/all-floor-activity-files.htm) # Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities * [![Members of the Watergate Committee](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/graphics/small/watergate-committee.jpg)](https://www.senate.gov/about/images/watergate-committee.htm) (The Watergate Committee) [Resolution passed](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf): February 7, 1973 [Report issued](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-final-report-1974.pdf): June 27, 1974 Chairman: [Sam J. Ervin, Jr.](https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_ErvinSam.htm) (D-NC) Vice Chairman: [Howard H. Baker](https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_BakerHoward.htm) (R-TN) Committee members: [Edward J. Gurney](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000531) (R-FL) [Daniel K. Inouye](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=I000025) (D-HI) [Joseph M. Montoya](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000876) (D-NM) [Herman E. Talmadge](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000035) (D-GA) [Lowell P. Weicker](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000253) (R-CT) ![](https://www.senate.gov/resources/graphic/horiz_table_line.gif) [Chapter 1: Origins](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Origins) [Chapter 2: Process](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Process) [Chapter 3: Public Relations](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Public_Relations) [Chapter 4: Investigation](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Investigation) [Chapter 5: Outcome](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Outcome) [Origins]()** Early on the morning of June 17, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. A security guard discovered the team and alerted the metro police, who arrested the burglars, who carried more than \$3,500 in cash and high-end surveillance and electronic equipment. While the burglars awaited their arraignment in federal district court, the FBI launched an investigation of the incident. The dogged reporting of two Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, raised questions and suggested connections between Nixon’s reelection campaign and the men awaiting trial in federal district court. The White House denied any connection to the break-in, and President Richard Nixon won reelection in a landslide in November 1972. On January 10, 1973, the trial of the Watergate burglars and two accomplices began. After weeks of testimony, Chief Federal District Judge John Sirica expressed skepticism that all the facts in the case had been revealed. Five men pleaded guilty and two were convicted by a jury. Judge Sirica urged those awaiting sentencing to cooperate with the soon-to-be-established Senate select committee. [Process]() On February 5, 1973, Senator Edward Kennedy offered [Senate Resolution 60](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf) to establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate campaign activities related to the presidential election of 1972. Traditionally the sponsoring member presides over an inquiry. [Majority Leader Mike Mansfield](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership/mansfield-mike.htm) wanted to avoid the possibility that the committee would seem unduly partisan because of Kennedy's presidential aspirations and instead offered the chair to Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina. Well-qualified to head the investigation, Senator Ervin was a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, a self-proclaimed “country lawyer” with a degree from Harvard Law School, and widely regarded as the Senate’s constitutional expert. At 76 years old he did not aspire to the presidency. His reputation among his Senate colleagues was, according to [Secretary of the Senate Frank Valeo](https://www.senate.gov/about/oral-history/valeo-frank-oral-history.htm), “unassailable.” As chairman of the Constitutional Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Ervin had investigated a number of issues important to the Watergate scandal, including surveillance and wiretapping. On February 7, 1973, the Senate [voted unanimously](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf) to create the select committee. The resolution empowered four Democrats and three Republicans to subpoena witnesses and materials, provided them with a \$500,000 budget, and required them to submit a final report by February 28, 1974. The resolution granted the committee the power to investigate the break-in and any subsequent cover-up of criminal activity, as well as “all other illegal, improper, or unethical conduct occurring during the Presidential campaign of 1972, including political espionage and campaign finance practices.” [Public Relations]() Emphasizing the educational function of congressional investigations, the committee’s chief counsel, [Samuel Dash](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/dash-sam.htm), coordinated an aggressive media strategy. The print news media focused America's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) broadcast the hearings during prime time on more than 150 national affiliates, earning higher ratings than regularly scheduled entertainment programming. Only one month after the hearings began, an overwhelming majority of Americans—97 percent—had heard of Watergate. Of those, 67 percent believed that President Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up. [Investigation]() The Senate Watergate Committee has been credited with reviving public confidence in congressional investigations, which had declined during the McCarthy inquiries of the 1950s. Several factors contributed to the committee’s overall success including extensive media coverage, sustained public interest, the meticulous work of investigators, the cooperation of key witnesses, and the continuing support of the full Senate. Public support for the investigation remained strong even when a series of confrontations between the Watergate Committee and the White House provoked a constitutional crisis. Throughout the inquiry President Nixon rebuffed the committee’s requests for access to information. Claiming a constitutional separation of powers, he refused to allow his aides to testify. Senator Ervin insisted that executive privilege could not be extended to cover criminal behavior and he threatened to authorize the sergeant at arms to arrest White House aides who refused to testify. Conceding to public pressure, the president allowed his aides to cooperate but continued to deny the committee access to presidential papers. Nixon repeatedly declared that he knew nothing about the Watergate burglary, but former White House counsel John Dean III testified that the president had approved plans to cover up White House connections to the break-in. Another former aide, Alexander Butterfield, revealed that the president maintained a voice-activated tape recorder system in various rooms in the White House. Chairman Ervin requested access to the tapes, believing that they would either corroborate or repudiate testimony that the president had knowledge of, and approved efforts to cover up, the Watergate break-in. [Senate Resolution 194](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-sres194-1973.pdf) authorized the committee to “issue subpoenas for documents, tapes and other material to any officer of the executive branch,” and the committee voted unanimously on July 16, 1973, to subpoena the [tapes](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.htm) and [documents](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/WatergateSubpoena_docs.htm). Nixon [refused to comply](https://www.senate.gov/about/images/documents/LetterNixonRefusalWatergate1973.htm), citing executive privilege and separation of powers. Senator Ervin rebutted that “the select committee is exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation, and the doctrine of the separation of powers of Government requires the President to recognize this and to refrain from obstructing the committee.” Vice Chairman Howard Baker (R-TN) proposed that the committee take the president to court. On August 9, 1973, the committee took the unprecedented step of [suing the president](https://www.senate.gov/about/images/documents/LawsuitWatergate1973.htm) in federal district court for access to the tapes and other documents. The court dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction and appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling. In early 1974 Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski asked the committee to postpone releasing its final report so as to not unduly influence the criminal cases he was preparing against former White House staff. The House Judiciary Committee launched an impeachment inquiry. In light of these developments, members of the Senate committee voted unanimously on February 19, 1974, to conclude public hearings and complete the committee’s remaining tasks in private sessions. [Outcome]() The committee submitted its [final report](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-final-report-1974.pdf) including legislative recommendations on June 27, 1974. On July 24 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a separate case, [United States v. Nixon](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/us-nixon-watergate-1974.pdf), that the president must surrender the tapes to the special prosecutor. President Nixon complied and the recordings revealed that he had participated in devising a plan to cover up the White House connection to the Watergate burglary. Based on this evidence, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment. Before the full House could vote, [Nixon resigned](https://www.senate.gov/about/images/documents/LetterNixonResignation1974.htm) on August 9, 1974. The Watergate Committee’s final report recommended legislative action in three areas: regulation of campaign activities and contributions, the establishment of a permanent special prosecutor, and the creation of a permanent congressional legal service. Some, though not all, of these recommendations became law. In 1974 Congress amended the [Federal Election Campaign Act](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-federal-election-campaign-act.pdf). The revisions imposed limitations on expenses and contributions, required regular reporting by election committees, and established a means for public financing of presidential nominating conventions and primary elections. Congress passed the [Ethics in Government Act](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-ethics-gov.pdf) in 1978. The bill required financial disclosure by executive and judicial branch officials and established the Office of Government Ethics as an oversight agency. It also created mechanisms for the appointment of a special prosecutor. In the years following the Watergate investigation Congress passed legislation aimed at strengthening the legislative branch’s oversight powers. In 1974, Congress overrode a presidential veto and revised the [Freedom of Information Act](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-foia-1974.pdf), providing the public and the media with new tools to access information held by the executive branch. The 1976 [Government in Sunshine Act](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/GovtSunshineAct.pdf) required federal agencies to hold their meetings in public. The Senate Watergate investigation remains one of the most significant congressional inquiries in U.S. history. Over the course of this 16-month investigation committee members maintained bipartisan accord, garnered public support, and expanded congressional investigatory powers to produce lasting legislative reform. ![](https://www.senate.gov/resources/graphic/horiz_table_line.gif) [Print Version with Footnotes](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-investigation-citations.pdf) - [Officers & Staff](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff.htm) - - [Vice President](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president.htm) - [President Pro Tempore](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/president-pro-tempore.htm) - [Secretary of the Senate](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/secretary-of-the-senate.htm) - [Sergeant at Arms](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/sergeant-at-arms.htm) - [Party Secretaries](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/party-secretaries.htm) - [Chaplain](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/chaplain.htm) - [Committee & Office Staff](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/committee-office-staff.htm) - [Pages](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/pages.htm) - [Powers & Procedures](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures.htm) - - [Censure](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/censure.htm) - [Declarations of War](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/declarations-of-war.htm) - [Expulsion](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/expulsion.htm) - [Filibuster & Cloture](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture.htm) - [Impeachment](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/impeachment.htm) - [Investigations](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations.htm) - [Nominations](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/nominations.htm) - [Rules](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/rules.htm) - [Treaties](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/treaties.htm) - [Voting](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/voting.htm) - [Origins & Foundations](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations.htm) - - [The Senate & the Constitution](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution.htm) - [Electing & Appointing Senators](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators.htm) - [Committee System](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/committee-system.htm) - [Idea of the Senate](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/idea-of-the-senate.htm) - [Parties & Leadership](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership.htm) - [Historic Buildings & Spaces](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces.htm) - - [The Capitol](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/capitol.htm) - [Senate Chamber](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/senate-chamber.htm) - [Historic Rooms](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/historic-rooms.htm) - [Senate Office Buildings](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/office-buildings.htm) - [Congressional Meeting Places](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/meeting-places.htm) - [Past Senate Chambers](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces/past-chambers.htm) - [Traditions & Symbols](https://www.senate.gov/about/traditions-symbols.htm) - [Oral History Project](https://www.senate.gov/history/oralhistory.htm) - [Historical Highlights](https://www.senate.gov/history/essays.htm) - - [1787-1800](https://www.senate.gov/history/1787.htm) - [1801-1850](https://www.senate.gov/history/1801.htm) - [1851-1877](https://www.senate.gov/history/1851.htm) - [1878-1920](https://www.senate.gov/history/1878.htm) - [1921-1940](https://www.senate.gov/history/1921.htm) - [1941-1963](https://www.senate.gov/history/1941.htm) - [1964-present](https://www.senate.gov/history/1964.htm) - [Senate Stories Blog](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/menu.htm) - [Research Tools](https://www.senate.gov/about/research-tools.htm) ### Senate Historical Office Information provided by the [Senate Historical Office](https://www.senate.gov/history/senate-historical-office.htm). Questions about Senate History? [Email a Senate historian](mailto:historian@sec.senate.gov). ### Audio Clips [![Image: Senator Howard Baker, Rufus Edmisten, and Senator Sam Ervin ](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/small/watergate-BakerErvin.jpg)](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/edmisten-watergate-preface.htm) [The Preface to the Watergate Committee](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/edmisten-watergate-preface.htm) [![Image: Rufus Edmisten and Terry Lenzer deliver subpoenas](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/small/Edmisten_Lenzner_subpoena.jpg)](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/edmisten-watergate-subpoena.htm) [Senate Watergate Committee Subpoenas White House Records](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/edmisten-watergate-subpoena.htm) [![Image: Edmisten smoking a pipe](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/small/EdmistenRufus.jpg)](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/edmisten-watergate-senator-wants-to-get-you.htm) [Edmisten to Richard Nixon: “Senator Ervin Wants to Get You”](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/edmisten-watergate-senator-wants-to-get-you.htm) ### Related Interviews [![William F. Hidenbrand](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/small/hildenbrand2.jpg)](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Hildenbrand_interview_5.pdf)[William F. Hildenbrand](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Hildenbrand_interview_5.pdf) [![Image of Rufus Edmisten](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/small/Edmisten.jpg)](https://www.senate.gov/about/oral-history/edmisten-rufus-oral-history.htm)[Rufus Edmisten](https://www.senate.gov/about/oral-history/edmisten-rufus-oral-history.htm) [![Francis R. Valeo](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/small/valeo.jpg)](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/valeo-watergate.htm)[Francis R. Valeo](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/valeo-watergate.htm) ### Related Links People: [Sam Dash, Majority Counsel](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/dash-sam.htm) [Fred Thompson, Minority Counsel](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/thompson-fred.htm) Exhibit: [The Watergate Files](http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum/exhibits/watergate_files/index.html) (Gerald Ford Library) [Watergate Investigation Photo Exhibit](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/slideshow.htm) Featured Documents: [![Subpoena for Watergate Documents](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/small/WatergateSubpoena_docs.gif)](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/WatergateSubpoena_docs.htm) [Subpoena for Watergate Documents](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/WatergateSubpoena_docs.htm) [![Subpoena for Watergate Tapes](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/small/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.gif)](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.htm) [Subpoena for Watergate Tapes](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.htm) [![Senate Logo](https://www.senate.gov/resources/images/senate_logo_footer.png)](https://www.senate.gov/index.htm) ### [SENATORS](https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/) - [Contact](https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm) - [Leadership & Officers](https://www.senate.gov/senators/leadership.htm) - [Former Senators](https://www.senate.gov/senators/former_senators.htm) - [Qualifications & Terms of Service](https://www.senate.gov/senators/qualifications_termsofservice.htm) - [Facts & Milestones](https://www.senate.gov/senators/facts_milestones.htm) - [States](https://www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm) ### [COMMITTEES](https://www.senate.gov/committees/committees_home.htm) - [Membership & Assignments](https://www.senate.gov/committees/membership_assignments.htm) - [Hearings & Meetings](https://www.senate.gov/committees/hearings_meetings.htm) - [History](https://www.senate.gov/committees/history.htm) ### [LEGISLATION & RECORDS](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/legislative_home.htm) - [Bills, Acts, & Laws](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/bills_acts_laws.htm) - [Nominations](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/nominations_new.htm) - [Treaties](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/treaties_new.htm) - [Votes](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/votes_new.htm) - [Floor Proceedings](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/floor_activity_pail.htm) - [Rules & Procedure](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/rules_procedure.htm) - [Landmark Legislation](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/landmark_legislation.htm) - [Sessions of Congress](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/sessions_of_congress.htm) - [Senate Archives](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/senate-archives/information-about-senate-archives.htm) - [Public Disclosure](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/lobbyingdisc.htm#lobbyingdisc=lda) ### [ART & ARTIFACTS](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/index.htm) - [Fine Art](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/fine-art-landing-page.htm) - [Decorative Art](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/decorative-art-landing-page.htm) - [Historical Images](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/historical-images-landing-page.htm) - [Historical Artifacts](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/historical-artifacts-landing-page.htm) - [Thematic Collections](https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/thematic-collections-landing-page.htm) ### [ABOUT THE SENATE](https://www.senate.gov/about/index.htm) - [Officers & Staff](https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff.htm) - [Powers & Procedures](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures.htm) - [Origins & Foundations](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations.htm) - [Parties & Leadership](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership.htm) - [Historic Buildings & Spaces](https://www.senate.gov/about/historic-buildings-spaces.htm) - [Traditions & Symbols](https://www.senate.gov/about/traditions-symbols.htm) - [Oral History Project](https://www.senate.gov/history/oralhistory.htm) - [Historical Highlights](https://www.senate.gov/history/essays.htm) - [Senate Stories Blog](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/menu.htm) - [Research Tools](https://www.senate.gov/about/research-tools.htm) [Contact](https://www.senate.gov/general/contacting.htm) \\| [Content Responsibility](https://www.senate.gov/general/content_responsibility.htm) \\| [Usage Policy](https://www.senate.gov/usage/internetpolicy.htm) \\| [Privacy Policy](https://www.senate.gov/general/privacy.htm) \\| [Employment & Internships](https://www.senate.gov/visiting/employment.htm) \\| [Procurement](https://www.senate.gov/visiting/procurement.htm) \\| [www.senate.gov](https://www.senate.gov/index.htm)
Readable Markdown	*(The Watergate Committee)* [Resolution passed](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf): February 7, 1973 [Report issued](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-final-report-1974.pdf): June 27, 1974 Chairman: [Sam J. Ervin, Jr.](https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_ErvinSam.htm) (D-NC) Vice Chairman: [Howard H. Baker](https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_BakerHoward.htm) (R-TN) Committee members: [Edward J. Gurney](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000531) (R-FL) [Daniel K. Inouye](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=I000025) (D-HI) [Joseph M. Montoya](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000876) (D-NM) [Herman E. Talmadge](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000035) (D-GA) [Lowell P. Weicker](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000253) (R-CT) ![](https://www.senate.gov/resources/graphic/horiz_table_line.gif) [Chapter 1: Origins](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Origins) [Chapter 2: Process](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Process) [Chapter 3: Public Relations](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Public_Relations) [Chapter 4: Investigation](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Investigation) [Chapter 5: Outcome](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm#Outcome) [Origins]() Early on the morning of June 17, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. A security guard discovered the team and alerted the metro police, who arrested the burglars, who carried more than \$3,500 in cash and high-end surveillance and electronic equipment. While the burglars awaited their arraignment in federal district court, the FBI launched an investigation of the incident. The dogged reporting of two Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, raised questions and suggested connections between Nixon’s reelection campaign and the men awaiting trial in federal district court. The White House denied any connection to the break-in, and President Richard Nixon won reelection in a landslide in November 1972. On January 10, 1973, the trial of the Watergate burglars and two accomplices began. After weeks of testimony, Chief Federal District Judge John Sirica expressed skepticism that all the facts in the case had been revealed. Five men pleaded guilty and two were convicted by a jury. Judge Sirica urged those awaiting sentencing to cooperate with the soon-to-be-established Senate select committee. [Process]() On February 5, 1973, Senator Edward Kennedy offered [Senate Resolution 60](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf) to establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate campaign activities related to the presidential election of 1972. Traditionally the sponsoring member presides over an inquiry. [Majority Leader Mike Mansfield](https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership/mansfield-mike.htm) wanted to avoid the possibility that the committee would seem unduly partisan because of Kennedy's presidential aspirations and instead offered the chair to Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina. Well-qualified to head the investigation, Senator Ervin was a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, a self-proclaimed “country lawyer” with a degree from Harvard Law School, and widely regarded as the Senate’s constitutional expert. At 76 years old he did not aspire to the presidency. His reputation among his Senate colleagues was, according to [Secretary of the Senate Frank Valeo](https://www.senate.gov/about/oral-history/valeo-frank-oral-history.htm), “unassailable.” As chairman of the Constitutional Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Ervin had investigated a number of issues important to the Watergate scandal, including surveillance and wiretapping. On February 7, 1973, the Senate [voted unanimously](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/ResolutionWatergateDebate1973.pdf) to create the select committee. The resolution empowered four Democrats and three Republicans to subpoena witnesses and materials, provided them with a \$500,000 budget, and required them to submit a final report by February 28, 1974. The resolution granted the committee the power to investigate the break-in and any subsequent cover-up of criminal activity, as well as “all other illegal, improper, or unethical conduct occurring during the Presidential campaign of 1972, including political espionage and campaign finance practices.” [Public Relations]() Emphasizing the educational function of congressional investigations, the committee’s chief counsel, [Samuel Dash](https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate/dash-sam.htm), coordinated an aggressive media strategy. The print news media focused America's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) broadcast the hearings during prime time on more than 150 national affiliates, earning higher ratings than regularly scheduled entertainment programming. Only one month after the hearings began, an overwhelming majority of Americans—97 percent—had heard of Watergate. Of those, 67 percent believed that President Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up. [Investigation]() The Senate Watergate Committee has been credited with reviving public confidence in congressional investigations, which had declined during the McCarthy inquiries of the 1950s. Several factors contributed to the committee’s overall success including extensive media coverage, sustained public interest, the meticulous work of investigators, the cooperation of key witnesses, and the continuing support of the full Senate. Public support for the investigation remained strong even when a series of confrontations between the Watergate Committee and the White House provoked a constitutional crisis. Throughout the inquiry President Nixon rebuffed the committee’s requests for access to information. Claiming a constitutional separation of powers, he refused to allow his aides to testify. Senator Ervin insisted that executive privilege could not be extended to cover criminal behavior and he threatened to authorize the sergeant at arms to arrest White House aides who refused to testify. Conceding to public pressure, the president allowed his aides to cooperate but continued to deny the committee access to presidential papers. Nixon repeatedly declared that he knew nothing about the Watergate burglary, but former White House counsel John Dean III testified that the president had approved plans to cover up White House connections to the break-in. Another former aide, Alexander Butterfield, revealed that the president maintained a voice-activated tape recorder system in various rooms in the White House. Chairman Ervin requested access to the tapes, believing that they would either corroborate or repudiate testimony that the president had knowledge of, and approved efforts to cover up, the Watergate break-in. [Senate Resolution 194](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-sres194-1973.pdf) authorized the committee to “issue subpoenas for documents, tapes and other material to any officer of the executive branch,” and the committee voted unanimously on July 16, 1973, to subpoena the [tapes](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/WatergateSubpoena_tapes.htm) and [documents](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/WatergateSubpoena_docs.htm). Nixon [refused to comply](https://www.senate.gov/about/images/documents/LetterNixonRefusalWatergate1973.htm), citing executive privilege and separation of powers. Senator Ervin rebutted that “the select committee is exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation, and the doctrine of the separation of powers of Government requires the President to recognize this and to refrain from obstructing the committee.” Vice Chairman Howard Baker (R-TN) proposed that the committee take the president to court. On August 9, 1973, the committee took the unprecedented step of [suing the president](https://www.senate.gov/about/images/documents/LawsuitWatergate1973.htm) in federal district court for access to the tapes and other documents. The court dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction and appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling. In early 1974 Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski asked the committee to postpone releasing its final report so as to not unduly influence the criminal cases he was preparing against former White House staff. The House Judiciary Committee launched an impeachment inquiry. In light of these developments, members of the Senate committee voted unanimously on February 19, 1974, to conclude public hearings and complete the committee’s remaining tasks in private sessions. [Outcome]() The committee submitted its [final report](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-final-report-1974.pdf) including legislative recommendations on June 27, 1974. On July 24 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a separate case, [United States v. Nixon](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/us-nixon-watergate-1974.pdf), that the president must surrender the tapes to the special prosecutor. President Nixon complied and the recordings revealed that he had participated in devising a plan to cover up the White House connection to the Watergate burglary. Based on this evidence, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment. Before the full House could vote, [Nixon resigned](https://www.senate.gov/about/images/documents/LetterNixonResignation1974.htm) on August 9, 1974. The Watergate Committee’s final report recommended legislative action in three areas: regulation of campaign activities and contributions, the establishment of a permanent special prosecutor, and the creation of a permanent congressional legal service. Some, though not all, of these recommendations became law. In 1974 Congress amended the [Federal Election Campaign Act](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-federal-election-campaign-act.pdf). The revisions imposed limitations on expenses and contributions, required regular reporting by election committees, and established a means for public financing of presidential nominating conventions and primary elections. Congress passed the [Ethics in Government Act](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-ethics-gov.pdf) in 1978. The bill required financial disclosure by executive and judicial branch officials and established the Office of Government Ethics as an oversight agency. It also created mechanisms for the appointment of a special prosecutor. In the years following the Watergate investigation Congress passed legislation aimed at strengthening the legislative branch’s oversight powers. In 1974, Congress overrode a presidential veto and revised the [Freedom of Information Act](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-foia-1974.pdf), providing the public and the media with new tools to access information held by the executive branch. The 1976 [Government in Sunshine Act](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/GovtSunshineAct.pdf) required federal agencies to hold their meetings in public. The Senate Watergate investigation remains one of the most significant congressional inquiries in U.S. history. Over the course of this 16-month investigation committee members maintained bipartisan accord, garnered public support, and expanded congressional investigatory powers to produce lasting legislative reform. ![](https://www.senate.gov/resources/graphic/horiz_table_line.gif) [Print Version with Footnotes](https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/watergate-investigation-citations.pdf)
Shard	147 (laksa)
Root Hash	18183784396325529347
Unparsed URL	gov,senate!www,/about/powers-procedures/investigations/watergate.htm s443