In a series of events dubbed the “Saturday Night Massacre,” President Nixon ordered the firing of the special prosecutor in the Watergate case, Archibald Cox; both the US attorney general and deputy attorney general refused the order and resigned in protest.
Determined to win the 1972 presidential election, the Nixon administration sent special agents—called the “Plumbers”—to the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel. They hoped to copy documents and wiretap telephones. The Plumbers were caught by a hotel security guard. The Nixon administration managed to cover up the incident temporarily, but the scandal was revealed by reporters and Senate hearings. Nixon was eventually forced to resign.
The Senate Watergate Committee began investigating the break-in at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters. Based on the investigation, the House Judiciary Committee passed three articles of impeachment against Nixon in July 1974.
Rather than face impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon resigned as president of the United States. His resignation made Gerald Ford, whom Nixon had appointed vice president upon Spiro Agnew’s resignation, president.