What if nixon did not resign

That wasn't always the case. On August 9, , Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency to escape impeachment and almost certain removal from office. And the impeachment process was finished. Today, it is hard to imagine an impeachment continuing after the official has departed office. But in the nineteenth century, it was an open question. During the first federal impeachment proceedings—for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase , three federal judges, and President Andrew Johnson —no one resigned.

They stuck it out until the very end, resulting in a Senate acquittal or conviction. The first official to resign under the cloud of impeachment was Judge Mark H. President Abraham Lincoln had appointed Delahay in to serve on the U. President Ulysses S. Grant faced a much different scenario with his secretary of war, William W. His second wife, Carrie, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, and the two of them hosted extravagant parties in D.

Eventually Marsh made a deal with the current occupant of the office, John Evans. And since Marsh was using the Belknaps' influence to extort the money, he agreed to give half of it to them. This scheme continued after Carrie died.

Hiester Clymer D-PA , chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War and an opponent of the president and his Reconstruction policies, began to investigate, and on February 29, Marsh admitted to the deal in sworn testimony during a secret meeting with only Democrats in attendance.

When the committee refused, he left without testifying. At least two-thirds of the Senate would have needed to convict Nixon on at least one of the three impeachment articles to force his removal from office.

The release of the Watergate tape transcripts on August 5, , made Nixon's resignation inevitable, said the Washington Post on its front page on August 9, the day Nixon officially resigned. There were demands from some of his staunchest supporters that he should resign at once. But on August 3, Nixon speechwriter Ray Price worked on draft remarks for an address that Nixon could give if he had decided to face a Senate trial.

Nixon apparently was never shown the draft remarks. Instead, Price worked with the President on his resignation speech several days later. Toggle navigation. Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center. George H. But facing high deficits and the prospect of severe cuts in entitlements, Bush agreed with the Democratic-controlled Congress on a budget that included new taxes. The reversal hurt him in when he lost his bid for reelection.

George W. The fighting, however, would drag on for seven years. The group said the Obama campaign, like others before it, uses a narrow definition of lobbyist that allows them to say that they do not accept their donations.

Most of the US media was initially not up to the challenge. Nixon was the country's most accomplished liar, who cleverly and systematically shielded most of his bright, young staffers from the truth of his dark dealings. Only the inner core of his team -- a handful of men -- actually knew the reality behind the spin and they were a tough, loyal lot.

As a result, with few exceptions, well-established journalists missed the deeper implications of the Watergate break-in and were content to accept the Nixon White House's explanation of the event as an amateurish "caper" by zealots.

Two young journalists, however, who had no national reputations to lose and lots of energy, convinced their editors at the Washington Post to see where the story led. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein would inspire a revolution in American journalism by not accepting that the Nixon political machine was too professional and too smart to be behind a wiretapping operation at the DNC.

Photos: Richard Nixon's life and career. President Richard Nixon was in the White House from to , when he became the first president to resign from office. He died at 81 in Here's a look at his life and legacy:.

Nixon was born in California on January 9, He is pictured at age 4. As a teenager, Nixon poses for a portrait with a violin in Nixon, No. After graduating from Whittier, he attended law school at Duke University.

Nixon, far right, stands next to John F. Kennedy and other freshmen members of Congress in Republican presidential nominee Dwight D. The Eisenhower-Nixon ticket won the election that year. The two leaders engaged in an informal debate about the merits of capitalism versus communism at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow. Nixon poses for a portrait with his wife, Pat, and their daughters, Tricia and Julie, circa Vice President Nixon and Sen.

Kennedy take part in a televised debate during their presidential campaign. Kennedy won the election that year. Republican presidential candidate Nixon campaigns in New York in Nixon addresses supporters after winning his party's nomination again in The president was on hand to greet the astronauts after their splashdown in the Pacific.

In , Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia to the American public. President Nixon, left, briefs the Congressional leadership in before his televised announcement of the ceasefire in the Vietnam War.