Justice Department Reviews Allegations in Nixon-Era Watergate Probe
The Justice Department has heard arguments that prosecutors in the Watergate investigation mistreated defendants connected to former President Richard Nixon, though the department says the review is not a formal investigation.
Geoff Shepard, a former Nixon aide and Watergate historian, recently presented his case in a two-hour session titled “Watergate as Lawfare” to the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said Shepard was invited for his Watergate expertise but stressed that his “presentation does not constitute an investigation.” The review remains preliminary, and it is unclear whether it will lead to a formal inquiry.
In 2022, the department under then-President Joe Biden declined Shepard’s request for an investigation, citing the passage of time.
Shepard argues special prosecutors Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski violated defendants’ due process rights by secretly meeting judges and withholding evidence. Cox was fired by Nixon in the 1973 “Saturday Night Massacre” and replaced by Jaworski.
The department created its professional responsibility office in 1975 following Watergate-era misconduct allegations.
Shepard’s revisionist account differs from the prevailing view that Watergate was a constitutional crisis driven by presidential abuses. Nixon resigned in 1974 as impeachment proceedings advanced. Presidential historian Timothy Naftali has called evidence of Nixon’s abuses “overwhelming,” citing White House tapes.
The review comes as President Donald Trump and allies draw parallels between Nixon and investigations into Trump. Vice President JD Vance made the comparison this summer, saying there was “a parallel.” Trump has also questioned why Nixon resigned and moved to roll back some post-Watergate limits on presidential authority.
Separately, the Hoover Institution announced a project using AI and manual checks to transcribe and annotate more than 3,000 hours of Nixon tapes. The recordings, made from 1971 to 1973, include conversations from the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, Camp David and other locations. Historian Luke A. Nichter is leading the project, which has achieved 98% accuracy on clean audio and surfaced material involving surveillance of a congressman, the opening to China and a Wall Street messaging campaign.
The Hoover project is separate from the DOJ review.
