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The Articles of Impeachment of Richard Nixon
by US Congress
The Articles of Impeachment of Richard M. Nixon*
RESOLUTION
Impeaching Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, of high crimes
and misdemeanors.
_Resolved,_ That Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, is
impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of
impeachment be exhibited to the Senate:
Articles of Impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the
United States of America in the name of itself and of all of the people of the
United States of America, against Richard M. Nixon, President of the United
States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him
for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article I
In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Richard M.
Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the
office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in
violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully
executed, has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of
justice, in that:
On June 17, 1972, and prior thereto, agents of the Committee for the Re-
election of the President committed unlawful entry of the headquarters of the
Democratic National Committee in Washington, District of Columbia, for the
purpose of securing political intelligence. Subsequent thereto, Richard M.
Nixon, using the powers of his high office, engaged personally and through his
subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay,
impede, and obstruct the investigation of such unlawful entry; to cover up,
conceal and protect those responsible; and to conceal the existence and scope
of other unlawful covert activities.
The means used to implement this course of conduct or plan included one or
more of the following:
(1) making or causing to be made false or misleading statements to
lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United
States;
(2) witholding relevant and material evidence or information from
lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United
States;
(3) approving, condoning, acquiescing in, and counseling witnesses
with respect to the giving of false or misleading statements to lawfully
authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States and
false or misleading testimony in duly instituted judicial and
congressional proceedings;
(4) interfering or endeavoring to interfere with the conduct of
investigations by the Department of Justice of the United States, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Watergate Special
Prosecution Force, and Congressional Committees;
(5) approving, condoning, and acquiescing in the surreptitious payment
of substantial sums of money for the purpose of obtaining the silence or
influencing the testimony of witnesses, potential witness or individuals
who participated in such unlawful entry and other illegal activities;
(6) endeavoring to misuse the Central Intelligence Agency, an agency
of the United States;
(7) disseminating information received from officers of the Department
of Justice of the United States to subjects of investigations conducted
by lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United
States, for the purpose of aiding and assisting such subjects in their
attempts to avoid criminal liability;
(8) making false or misleading public statements for the purpose of
deceiving the people of the United States into believing that a thorough
and complete investigation had been conducted with respect to allegations
of misconduct on the part of personnel of the executive branch of the
United States and personnel of the Committee for the Re-election of the
President, and that there was no involvement of such personnel in such
misconduct; or
(9) endeavoring to cause prospective defendants, and individuals duly
tried and convicted, to expect favored treatment and consideration in
return for their silence or false testimony, or rewarding individuals for
their silence or false testimony.
In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust
as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great
prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the
people of the United States.
Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial,
and removal from office.
Article II
Using the powers of the office of President of the United States, Richard M.
Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the
office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in
disregard of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully
executed, has repeatedly engaged in conduct violating the constitutional
rights of citizens, impairing the due and proper administration of justice and
the conduct of lawful inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies
of the executive and the purposes of these agencies.
This conduct has included one or more of the following:
(1) He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and
agents, endeavored to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in
violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, confidential
information contained in income tax returns for purposes not authorized
by law, and to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of
citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigations to be
initiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.
(2) He misused the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secret
Service, and other executive personnel, in violation or disregard of the
constitutional rights of citizens, by directing or authorizing such
agencies or personnel to conduct or continue electronic surveillance or
other investigations for purposes unrelated to national security, the
enforcement of laws, or any other lawful function of his office; and he
did direct the concealment of certain records made by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation of electronic surveillance.
(3) He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and
agents, in violation or disregard of the constitutional rights of
citizens, authorized and permitted to be maintained a secret
investigative unit within the office of the President, financed in part
with money derived from campaign contributions, which unlawfully utilized
the resources of the Central Intelligence Agency, engaged in covert and
unlawful activities, and attempted to prejudice the constitutional right
of an accused to a fair trial.
(4) He has failed to take care that the laws were faithfully executed
by failing to act when he knew or had reason to know that his close
subordinates endeavored to impede and frustrate lawful inquiries by duly
constituted executive, judicial, and legislative entities concerning the
unlawful entry into the headquarters of the Democratic National
Committee, and the cover-up thereof, and concerning other unlawful
activities, including those relating to the confirmation of Richard
Kleindienst as Attorney General of the United States, the electronic
surveillance of private citizens, the break-in into the offices of Dr.
Lewis Fielding, and the campaign financing practices of the Committee to
Re-elect the President.
(5) In disregard of the rule of law, he knowingly misused the
executive power by interfering with agencies of the executive branch,
including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Division, and
the Office of Special Watergate Prosecution Force, of the Department of
Justice, and the Central Intelligence Agency, in violation of his duty to
take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust
as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great
prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the
people of the United States.
Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial,
and removal from office.
Article III
In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Richard M.
Nixon, contrary to his oath faithfully to execute the office of President of
the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and
defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his duty to
take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has failed without lawful
cause or excuse to produce papers and things as directed by duly authorized
subpoenas issued by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives on April 11, 1974, May 15, 1974, May 30, 1974, and June 24,
1974, and willfully disobeyed such subpoenas. The subpoenad papers and things
were deemed necessary by the Committee in order to resolve by direct evidence
fundamental, factual questions relating to Presidential direction, knowledge,
or approval of actions demonstrated by other evidence to be substantial
grounds for impeachment of the President. In refusing to produce these papers
and things, Richard M. Nixon, substituting his judgment as to what materials
were necessary for the inquiry, interposed the powers of the Presidency
against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, thereby assuming
to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power
of impeachment vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives.
In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust
as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great
prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the
people of the United States.
Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial,
and removal from office.
*Voted by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and
submitted to the House in its report of August 20, 1974.
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