Watergate Break-in

The Watergate break-in occurred in the early hours of June 17, 1972, when five men were arrested inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. The burglars—Bernard Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, James McCord, and Frank Sturgis—were caught installing wiretaps and photographing documents. Initially dismissed as a "third-rate burglary" by the Nixon White House, investigative reporting by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed connections to President Nixon's re-election campaign. The ensuing scandal uncovered a massive cover-up orchestrated from the White House, leading to the indictment of 69 people and conviction of 48, including top Nixon administration officials. The scandal led to President Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974—the only U.S. president to resign from office. Watergate became synonymous with political corruption and abuse of power.