Public outrage forced Nixon to reactivate the Watergate Special Prosecution Force. A new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, resumed the legal battle to obtain the tapes. In July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment, charging the president with obstruction of justice. Public reaction and the prospect of an impeachment trial forced Nixon to resign from the presidency on August 9, 1974. His successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him the next month for all offenses he had committed or might have committed during his presidency.
Controversy persists as to the significance of Watergate.
Nixon's critics reply that he endangered the constitutional system by corrupting the electoral process and that he had sought to expand the powers of the presidency beyond constitutional limits. The Reader's Companion to American History Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors. Inc. All rts rsvd. Start Page Member or not, you can create positive effects with these laws by themselves. It is our experience that this data applies to citizens living and working domestically.