The Watergate scandal resulted in 69 government officials being charged and 48 being found guilty, including:[3]
John N. Mitchell, Attorney General of the United States who resigned to become Director of Committee to Re-elect the President, convicted of perjury about his involvement in the Watergate break-in. Served 19 months of a one- to four-year sentence.[18]
Richard Kleindienst, Attorney General, convicted of "refusing to answer questions" (contempt of court); given one month in jail.[83]
Jeb Stuart Magruder, Deputy Director of Committee to Re-elect the President,[22] pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to the burglary, and was sentenced to 10 months to four years in prison, of which he served 7 months before being paroled.[84]
Frederick C. LaRue, Advisor to John Mitchell, convicted of obstruction of justice. He served four and a half months.[84]
H. R. Haldeman, Chief of Staff for Nixon, convicted of conspiracy to the burglary, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Served 18 months in prison.[85]
John Ehrlichman, Counsel to Nixon, convicted of conspiracy to the burglary, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Served 18 months in prison.[86]
Egil Krogh, aide to John Ehrlichman, sentenced to six months.[84]
John W. Dean III, counsel to Nixon, convicted of obstruction of justice, later reduced to felony offenses and sentenced to time already served, which totaled 4 months.[84]
Dwight L. Chapin, deputy assistant to Nixon, convicted of perjury.[84]
Herbert W. Kalmbach, personal attorney to Nixon, convicted of illegal campaigning.[84]
Charles W. Colson, special counsel to Nixon, convicted of obstruction of justice. Served 7 months in Federal Maxwell Prison.[83]
Herbert L. Porter, aide to the Committee to Re-elect the President. Convicted of perjury.[84]
Convictions among members of the Watergate "burglary" team included:
G. Gordon Liddy, Special Investigations Group, convicted of masterminding the burglary, original sentence of up to 20 years in prison.[84][87] Served 4½ years in federal prison.[88]
E. Howard Hunt, security consultant, convicted of masterminding and overseeing the burglary, original sentence of up to 35 years in prison.[84][87] Served 33 months in prison.[89]
James W. McCord Jr., convicted of six charges of burglary, conspiracy and wiretapping.[84] Served 2 months in prison.[88]
Virgilio Gonzalez, convicted of burglary, original sentence of up to 40 years in prison.[84][87] Served 13 months in prison.[88]
Bernard Barker, convicted of burglary, original sentence of up to 40 years in prison.[84][87] Served 18 months in prison.[90]
Eugenio Martínez, convicted of burglary, original sentence of up to 40 years in prison.[84][87] Served 15 months in prison.[91]
Frank Sturgis, convicted of burglary, original sentence of up to 40 years in prison.[84][87] Served 10 months in prison.[91]
To defuse public demand for direct federal regulation of lawyers (as opposed to leaving it in the hands of state bar associations or courts), the American Bar Association (ABA) launched two major reforms. First, the ABA decided that its existing Model Code of Professional Responsibility (promulgated 1969) was a failure. In 1983 it replaced it with the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.[92] The MRPC have been adopted in part or in whole by 49 states (and is being considered by the last one, California). Its preamble contains an emphatic reminder that the legal profession can remain self-governing only if lawyers behave properly. Second, the ABA promulgated a requirement that law students at ABA-approved law schools take a course in professional responsibility (which means they must study the MRPC). The requirement remains in effect.[93]
On June 24 and 25, 1975, Nixon gave secret testimony to a grand jury. According to news reports at the time, Nixon answered questions about the 18½-minute tape gap, altering White House tape transcripts turned over to the House Judiciary Committee, using the Internal Revenue Service to harass political enemies, and a $100,000 contribution from billionaire Howard Hughes. Aided by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, the historian Stanley Kutler, who has written several books about Nixon and Watergate and had successfully sued for the 1996 public release of the Nixon White House tapes,[94] sued for release of the transcripts of the Nixon grand jury testimony.[95]
On July 29, 2011, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth granted Kutler's request, saying historical interests trumped privacy, especially considering that Nixon and other key figures were deceased, and most of the surviving figures had testified under oath, have been written about, or were interviewed. The transcripts were not immediately released pending the government's decision on whether to appeal.[95] They were released in their entirety on November 10, 2011, although the names of people still alive were redacted.[96]
Texas A&M University–Central Texas professor Luke Nichter wrote the chief judge of the federal court in Washington to release hundreds of pages of sealed records of the Watergate Seven. In June 2012 the U.S. Department of Justice wrote the court that it would not object to their release with some exceptions.[97] On November 2, 2012, Watergate trial records for G. Gordon Liddy and James McCord were ordered unsealed by Federal Judge Royce Lamberth.[98]
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