Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities
| Special committee | |
|---|---|
Defunct United States Senate 93rd Congress |
|
| History | |
| Formed | February 7, 1973 |
| Disbanded | abolished after June 27, 1974, when the committee's final report was published |
| Leadership | |
| Chair | Sam Ervin (D) |
| Ranking member | Howard Baker (R) |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 7 members |
| Political parties |
Majority (4)
|
| Jurisdiction | |
| Purpose | To investigate "illegal, improper, or unethical activities" conducted by individuals involved with a campaign, nomination, and/or election of any candidate for President of the United States in the 1972 presidential election, and produce a final report with the committee's findings. |
| Rules | |
The Senate Watergate Committee, known officially as the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, was a special committee established by the United States Senate, S.Res. 60, in 1973, to investigate the Watergate scandal, with the power to investigate the break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and any subsequent cover-up of criminal activity, as well as "all other illegal, improper, or unethical conduct occurring during the presidential election of 1972, including political espionage and campaign finance practices".
American print news media focused the nation's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The public television network PBS broadcast the hearings from gavel to gavel on more than 150 national affiliates.
Working under committee chairman Sam Ervin (D-North Carolina), the committee played a pivotal role in gathering evidence that would lead to the indictment of forty administration officials and the conviction of several of Nixon's aides for obstruction of justice and other crimes. Its revelations prompted the impeachment process against Richard Nixon, which featured the introduction of articles of impeachment against the President in the House of Representatives, which led to Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974.
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