(4 of 6)
But on April 13, Magruder tells U.S. attorneys that he perjured himself during the burglars' trial. He implicates Dean and Mitchell in Watergate crimes. On April 15, according to his testimony, Dean tells Nixon that he has been cooperating with the U.S. attorneys.
On April 15, prosecutors tell Nixon that Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Dean and other White House officials are implicated in the coverup. Faced with the evidence against his top aides, knowing that Dean and Magruder are talking and concerned that the upcoming Senate hearings will cast even more suspicion on the White House, Nixon makes the first of a series of strategic retreats.
April 30: He announces the resignations of Haldeman and Ehrlichman, calling them "two of the finest public servants it has been my privilege to know," and of Dean and Kleindienst. Nixon grants the new Attorney General the authority to appoint a special prosecutor.
May 18: Attorney General-Designate Elliot Richardson names Archibald Cox to the promised new position. In the days following, McCord tells his story to the nationally televised Senate Watergate committee hearings, which open May 17. Faced with a flood of revelations, Nixon issues a statement admitting that there was a cover-up with in the White House, though he denies participating in it. Nixon says that after the break-in he had restricted certain aspects of the investigation on the grounds of "national security."
Nixon's speech is designed to end suspicions of his own involvement, but the televised Senate hearings provide a flood of incriminating new revelations. From June 25 to 29, Dean tells the committee that Nixon knew about aspects of the cover-up as early as Sept. 15, 1972. Equally embarrassing: Dean discloses White House efforts to hound political "enemies."
The White House retaliates on June 27 by calling Dean the "mastermind" of the cover-up and Mitchell his "patron." But the President's position is weakened by the release the same day of the "enemies lists" by the Senate committee.
V The Telltale Tapes
A far more devastating blow comes on July 16. Former White House Aide Alexander Butterfield tells the Watergate committee that Nixon secretly taped his own conversations. Why Nixon allowed his participation in the cover-up to be recorded is one of the affair's greatest mysteries. Cox and Ervin request that Nixon turn over key tapes. On July 23, he rejects the requests on the ground of Executive privilege. Ervin and Cox issue subpoenas.
On Aug. 15, the President maintains: "Not only was I unaware of any coverup. I was unaware there was anything to cover up." Earlier, Ehrlichman and Haldeman tell the Senate committee that Dean was responsible for the coverup, and that they and the President are innocent. Aug. 22: Nixon terms Watergate "water under the bridge." But on Aug. 29, Sirica orders that he turn over tapes of the nine conversations subpoenaed by Cox.