On this day in history many people woke up and didn’t realize what happened the day before. It would take a bit longer for many people to hear of the Watergate break-in, but eventually, it led to the downfall of President Nixon.

The Watergate scandal was an American political scandal during the presidency of Richard Nixon that resulted in the indictment and conviction of several of Nixon’s closest advisors, and ultimately in the resignation of the President himself, on August 9, 1974.

The scandal began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office complex in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. Investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and later by the Senate Watergate Committee, House Judiciary Committee and the press revealed that this burglary was one of many illegal activities authorized and carried out by Nixon’s staff. They also revealed the immense scope of crimes and abuses, which included campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping on a massive scale, and a secret slush fund laundered in Mexico to pay those who conducted these operations. This secret fund was also used as hush money to buy the silence of the seven men who were indicted for the June 17 break-in.

Of course the Watergate Hotel was covered by business insurance and nothing inside the hotel was actually destroyed. The political damage, however, never be repaired.

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