On this day · archive
The tape that emptied the room
On August 5, 1974, President Richard Nixon released the recording known as the “Smoking Gun” tape under orders from the Supreme Court. The conversation stripped away his remaining political support and accelerated the end of his presidency.
8
events in todayish file
1974
Nixon releases the “Smoking Gun” tape under Supreme Court order.
A recorded conversation from June 1972 made the Watergate cover-up audible and changed the political count in Washington.
Under orders from the United States Supreme Court, President Richard Nixon released the recording known as the “Smoking Gun” tape. It captured a June 23, 1972 conversation about interfering with the investigation of the Watergate break-in.
The tape mattered because it replaced inference with a president’s recorded words. Political allies who had defended Nixon could hear the evidence for themselves.
August 5 marks the moment support collapsed. Three days later Nixon announced his resignation, making the tape a hinge between investigation and departure.
The full record
8 entries from the day’s archive, filed year by year with a note on what each one leaves behind.
The Environmental Protection Agency at Gold King Mine waste water spill releases three million gallons of heavy metal toxin tailings and waste water into the Animas River in Colorado.
The spill carried mine waste into the Animas River and left communities facing contamination and cleanup.
Environment
The Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting took place in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six victims; the perpetrator committed suicide after being wounded by police.
The attack killed six worshippers and deepened concern about hate violence against Sikh communities.
Violence
Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.
The killing of the eye-camp team struck humanitarian workers serving a remote district.
Violence
The New England Revolution win the 2008 North American SuperLiga final against the Houston Dynamo.
The final gave the New England Revolution the regional tournament title.
Sports
A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.
The hotel bombing killed twelve people and wounded scores in Jakarta.
Violence
Watergate scandal: President Richard Nixon, under orders of the US Supreme Court, releases the "Smoking Gun" tape, recorded on June 23, 1972, clearly revealing his actions in covering up and interfering investigations into the break-in. His political support vanishes completely.
The tape destroyed Nixon’s remaining political support during the Watergate crisis.
Politics
Mars 6 is launched from the USSR.
The launch sent another Soviet probe toward Mars.
Space
Apartheid: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
Mandela’s imprisonment became a central chapter in the long struggle against apartheid.
Civil rights