CLEP US History II

Answer: E - Richard M. Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace to avoid impeachment after his involvement in the Watergate break-in and the subsequent cover-up was made irrefutable. The break-in was executed by henchmen employed by the Committee to Re-Elect the President (later known by the acronym CREEP). The Democratic National Headquarters was located in Washington, DC’s Watergate Hotel, and the henchmen broke into the party’s headquarters to collect information about their campaign tactics. The activity was particularly ill-conceived because (in addition to being illegal) Nixon was so far ahead of his Democratic challenger, George McGovern, his campaign was essentially risking everything to gain nothing.