How the Watergate scandal broke to the world: A visual timeline
When Americans woke up on June 17, 1972, they knew President Richard M. Nixon was cruising to a likely reelection. He had withstood the embarrassing leak of the Pentagon Papers the year before, which revealed a darker picture of U.S. involvement in Vietnam than the public had previously seen.
But they did not know that since then, the White House had formed a covert team that carried out unethical and illegal spying and sabotage against Democratic candidates.
And they did not know that, while most Americans slept, that team had bungled a burglary, or that the eventual coverup would bring about the end of Nixon’s presidency.
Here is how the Watergate story was revealed, connection by connection, leading all the way to the president.
Frank A.
Sturgis
Virgilio R.
Gonzalez
Eugenio R.
Martinez
Alfred C.
Baldwin III
Bernard
L. Barker
James W.
McCord Jr.
NIXON ADMINISTRATION
CRP
L. Patrick
Gray III
E. Howard
Hunt Jr.
John Mitchell
G.Gordon
Liddy
H.R. “Bob”
Haldeman
Charles W.
Colson
Gordon C.
Strachan
John D.
Ehrlichman
Hugh W.
Sloan Jr.
Kenneth H.
Dahlberg
Dwight L
Chapin
Egil “Bud”
Krogh Jr.
John W.
Dean III
David R.
Young
Maurice Stans
Jeb Stuart
Magruder
Richard G.
Kleindienst
Donald H.
Segretti
Sentenced
to prison
Herbert W.
Kalmbach
President
Richard M. Nixon
Frank A.
Sturgis
Virgilio R.
Gonzalez
Eugenio R.
Martinez
Alfred C.
Baldwin III
Bernard
L. Barker
James W.
McCord Jr.
NIXON ADMINISTRATION
CRP
E. Howard
Hunt Jr.
L. Patrick
Gray III
John Mitchell
G. Gordon
Liddy
H.R. “Bob”
Haldeman
Charles W.
Colson
Hugh W.
Sloan Jr.
John D.
Ehrlichman
Gordon C.
Strachan
Kenneth H.
Dahlberg
Egil “Bud”
Krogh Jr.
Dwight L
Chapin
John W.
Dean III
Maurice Stans
David R. Young
Jeb Stuart
Magruder
Richard G.
Kleindienst
Donald H.
Segretti
Sentenced
to prison
Herbert W.
Kalmbach
President
Richard M. Nixon
Frank A.
Sturgis
Burglar
Virgilio R.
Gonzalez
Burglar
Eugenio R.
Martinez
Burglar
Sentenced
to prison
Alfred C.
Baldwin III
Lookout
Bernard
L. Barker
Burglar
James W.
McCord Jr.
Burglar
NIXON ADMINISTRATION
CRP
Hugh W.
Sloan Jr.
Campaign
treasurer
John Mitchell
Campaign director,
former attorney
general
E. Howard
Hunt Jr.
Consultant
Charles W.
Colson
Special counsel
Kenneth H.
Dahlberg
Midwest finance
chairman
H.R. “Bob”
Haldeman
White House
chief of staff
John D.
Ehrlichman
Nixon adviser,
domestic affairs
G. Gordon Liddy
Finance counsel
Jeb Stuart
Magruder
Deputy
Campaign
director
Egil “Bud”
Krogh Jr.
Ehrlichman aide
Gordon C.
Strachan
Haldeman aide
Maurice Stans
Finance chairman
Dwight L
Chapin
Haldeman aide
Donald H. Segretti
Attorney
David R. Young
Ehrlichman aide
John W.
Dean III
White House
Counsel
Richard G.
Kleindienst
Attorney general
Herbert W.
Kalmbach
Nixon’s personal
attorney
L. Patrick Gray III
Acting FBI
director
President Richard M. Nixon