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Impeachment process against Richard Nixon

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Impeachment process against Richard Nixon
A televised public meeting
First day of the House Judiciary Committee's formal impeachment hearings against President Nixon, May 9, 1974
DateOctober 30, 1973 (1973-10-30) – August 20, 1974 (1974-08-20)
VenueRayburn House Office Building
(staff headquartered at House Annex-1)
LocationWashington, D.C.
CauseWatergate scandal
TargetRichard Nixon, 37th president of the United States
Organized byUnited States House Committee on the Judiciary
Participants38 members of the Judiciary Committee, Peter Rodino, chairman; also, Lead counsel John Doar, Attorney James D. St. Clair, among others
OutcomeResolution containing three articles of impeachment adopted July 30, 1974; resolution became moot August 9, 1974 when President Nixon resigned from office[1]
ChargesAdopted: obstruction of justice, abuse of power, contempt of Congress
Rejected: usurping congressional war powers, tax fraud

The impeachment process against Richard Nixon began in the United States House of Representatives on October 30, 1973, following the "Saturday Night Massacre" episode of the Watergate scandal.

The House Committee on the Judiciary set up impeachment inquiry staff and began investigations into possible impeachable offenses by Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States.

The process began on February 6, 1974, when the House granted the Judiciary Committee authority to investigate whether sufficient grounds existed to impeach President Nixon of high crimes and misdemeanors under Article II, Section 4, of the United States Constitution.

This investigation happened one year after the United States Senate created the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to investigate the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C..

On August 9, 1974, before the full House could vote on the articles of impeachment, Nixon resigned. This ended the impeachment process.

References

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  1.  This article incorporates public domain material from the Congressional Research Service document "Congressional Resolutions on Presidential Impeachment: A Historical Overview" by Stephen W. Stathis and David C. Huckabee (retrieved on October 14, 2019—via University of North Texas Libraries, Digital Library, UNT Libraries Government Documents Department).