The United States Senate created the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities on 7 February 1973 to investigate the 1972 presidential campaign, the Watergate break-in, the cover-up and related campaign practices.
Senator Sam J. Ervin Jr. chaired the committee and Senator Howard H. Baker Jr. served as vice chairman. Public hearings began on 17 May 1973, and the committee issued its final report on 27 June 1974.
The record cards below are rendered directly in this page’s HTML. They are selected from the World History Database Watergate dataset; the source links beneath each record group provide authoritative context for the chronology.
Becomes chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, created to investigate Watergate, campaign espionage and related abuses.
Discusses with Nixon the developing Senate Watergate investigation, John Dean's activities, minority counsel arrangements and possible White House responses.
Judge Sirica urges McCord to cooperate fully with the Senate Watergate Committee after McCord alleges involvement by additional officials.
Judge Sirica urged Mc Cord to cooperate fully with the Senate Watergate Committee, which was about to begin its investigation.
Senate Watergate Committee lawyer Sam Dash told reporters that he had interviewed James McCord twice, and that McCord had "named names" and had begun supplying a full and honest accounts of the Watergate operation.
Leaks following McCord's closed Senate testimony contribute to the committee's decision to conduct later Watergate hearings in public.
McCord tells Senate investigators that G. Gordon Liddy said John Mitchell had approved the burglary and surveillance operation.
McCord testifies for about five hours in a closed session of the Senate Watergate Committee.
James McCord testified before the Senate Watergate Committee in a closed 5-hour session. There were so many leaks to the press that committee leaders decided to conduct all future hearings in public session.
James McCord testified before the Senate Watergate Committee in a closed 5-hour session.
Discusses the timing and possible effect of a public statement by Haldeman before the opening of the Senate Watergate hearings.
President Nixon made a brief statement before the White House Press Corps that his White House aides and staff would appear before the Senate Watergate Committee if asked.
Opens the Senate Watergate Committee's public hearings, beginning months of nationally televised testimony about the burglary, campaign abuses and cover-up.
The Senate Watergate committee begins its nationally televised hearings. Attorney General-designate Elliot Richardson taps former solicitor general Archibald Cox as the Justice Department’s special prosecutor for Watergate.
Questions James McCord during the second day of public hearings as the committee examines the Watergate break-in, wiretapping and efforts to conceal responsibility.
Participates as the committee hears Gerald Alch, Bernard Barker and Alfred Baldwin during continuing testimony about the burglary operation and its participants.
Participates in the continuing Phase I hearings as the committee examines the structure, personnel and activities of the Nixon reelection campaign.
Oversees testimony from Maurice Stans as the committee examines campaign finance practices and the handling of money associated with Nixon's reelection organization.
Takes part in a Phase I hearing focused on campaign finances, fundraising practices and evidence being developed through the committee's Watergate investigation.
Presides as former White House counsel John Dean begins major testimony describing Watergate-related events and alleging a widening effort inside the administration to conceal them.
Begins televised testimony with a lengthy opening statement describing White House efforts to contain the scandal and implicating senior administration officials.
Questions John Dean as his nationally broadcast testimony continues, testing Dean's account of White House knowledge, meetings and actions connected with the Watergate cover-up.
Participates as the committee continues questioning witnesses about White House staff involvement, campaign intelligence operations and the developing cover-up allegations.
Presides over further testimony concerning the alleged Watergate cover-up and the conduct of officials linked to the White House and reelection campaign.
Publicly confirms before the Senate Watergate Committee that presidential conversations were automatically recorded in several White House locations.
Ends operation of the remaining White House recording system after Alexander Butterfield publicly discloses its existence to the Senate Watergate Committee.
Directs the committee's follow-up after disclosure of the White House taping system while hearings continue into presidential aides and Watergate-related financial and political activities.
Participates in continuing Phase I testimony as the committee investigates White House involvement, campaign activities and the implications of the newly disclosed presidential recording system.
Takes part as the committee continues assembling testimony about executive branch actions, campaign intelligence and the handling of information after the Watergate arrests.
Nixon refuses to turn over the presidential tape recordings to the Senate Watergate committee or the special prosecutor.
Refuses to provide presidential recordings to the Senate Watergate Committee or Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, invoking executive privilege and separation of powers.
Leads continuing examination of John Ehrlichman as the committee explores White House investigative operations, presidential staff conduct and disputed Watergate-related decisions.
Questions and evaluates continuing testimony from John Ehrlichman as the committee develops its record concerning White House operations and the Watergate cover-up.
Participates as former White House chief of staff H. R. Haldeman begins testimony, bringing one of Nixon's closest former aides before the televised Watergate hearings.
Participates as the committee continues its late Phase I hearings, reviewing testimony and evidence concerning White House and campaign conduct.
Participates in further Phase I testimony as the committee approaches the end of its initial public examination of the burglary and related cover-up.
Hunt testified publicly before the Senate Watergate Committee about his CIA background, White House assignments, political intelligence work, and the Watergate break-ins.
Presides as the committee resumes public Watergate hearings after the summer sessions, continuing its examination of evidence gathered during the investigation.
Hunt continued answering Senate questions about Charles Colson, G. Gordon Liddy, campaign intelligence operations, and his understanding of White House authority.
Participates in Phase II hearings examining campaign practices associated with the 1972 presidential election and evidence gathered by the committee's investigators.
Takes part in another Phase II hearing as the committee examines testimony about campaign conduct, political operations and election-related practices.
Participates as the committee resumes Phase II hearings and continues examining campaign practices, political operations and related evidence from the 1972 election.
Presides over a November Phase II session continuing the committee's examination of campaign practices and election-related political operations.
Leads the opening of Phase III hearings devoted to campaign financing, expanding the committee's public inquiry into fundraising and financial practices surrounding the 1972 election.
Presides over continued campaign-finance hearings as the committee examines contributions, fundraising arrangements and financial evidence developed during its investigation.
Leads another public session examining campaign financing and the committee's accumulated evidence about fundraising practices and political contributions.
Oversees executive-session testimony in the Milk Fund investigation as the committee examines financial and political relationships connected with campaign contributions.
Participates in a further executive session reviewing evidence in the committee's Milk Fund investigation and its relationship to campaign financing.
Participates in the final documented December executive session of the Milk Fund investigation as the committee continues reviewing campaign-finance evidence.
Reference context for this record group: U.S. Senate — Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities · National Archives — Watergate chronology
Submits the Senate Watergate Committee's final report with recommendations on campaign finance, a permanent special prosecutor and congressional legal authority.
Reference context for this record group: U.S. Senate — Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities · National Archives — Watergate chronology
The explanatory text and major chronology on this page were cross-checked against the following institutional sources. Individual database records may contain additional detail from the wider World History Database dataset.