On August 9, 1974 .Nixon resigns because of the "Watergate" scandal, to which all subsequent political scandals in the United States will be compared. Nixon is the only sitting US president forced to resign.
When Richard Nixon announced his resignation from the presidency 50 years ago, he did not do so because he realized he had made mistakes or broken the law. "Leaving office before the end of my term goes against every instinct in my body," the Republican emphasized in his resignation speech.
Nixon was forced to resign: by a Supreme Court that ruled (including judges appointed by Nixon himself) that the president was not above the law either. And senators from his own party then clearly declared that they would vote for the president's impeachment, ARD recalls.
The American “pro-scandal"
By resigning, Nixon avoided impeachment proceedings in Congress and was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, without a judicial decision.
"Watergate" is sort of the primary scandal against which all subsequent political scandals are compared,'' said Ken Hughes, a researcher at the University of Virginia who wrote a book on the ``Nixon Record.''
The White House tapes prove it: Nixon was at the center of all the illegal activities - the break-in of the Democratic campaign headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, the attempt to stop the investigation into the break-in, the payment of the hackers with campaign funds - "a particularly shameful detail of the scandal," says Hughes, quoted by ARD.
Nixon's tenure from 1969 to 1974 is considered the peak of presidential power in the United States. This is the time of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Nixon's resignation was followed by a return of sorts to control functions by Congress, the Supreme Court, and the press. The scandal "Watergate" was revealed by two reporters from the newspaper "Washington Post".
Almost absolute presidential immunity
Now, however, the pendulum is swinging back - in the direction of greater power for the president, Hughes emphasizes. Congress is often blocked by the political feud between Democrats and Republicans. Even after storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Republicans voted against impeaching Donald Trump, and the Supreme Court set a whole new standard with its immunity decision on July 1 of this year:
„The Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court has abandoned the principle that the president is not a monarch and that he is not above the law. The court has granted presidents almost absolute immunity: complete immunity from prosecution for so-called official acts and broad immunity within the scope of his official powers. This also covers most of the criminal offenses committed by Richard Nixon," says Ken Hughes.
No one can predict exactly what Trump will do if he wins a second term - whether he will really threaten democracy as his opponents fear. But experts like Hughes are adamant that the door to that is more open than ever.