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Richard Nixon
Also known as: President Richard Nixon, Nixon
Facts (28)
Sources
History of the Central Intelligence Agency - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 13 facts
accountOn November 13, 1972, following his re-election, President Richard Nixon expressed his intention to ruin the existing Foreign Service and build a new one, while also planning to replace CIA Director Richard Helms with James Schlesinger.
accountPresident Richard Nixon ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation to limit its investigation into the Watergate case, specifically instructing them not to proceed further into the matter.
claimRichard Nixon's "plumbers" unit included former CIA officials Howard Hunt and Jim McCord.
accountOn June 17, 1972, Richard Nixon's 'Plumbers' were caught burglarizing the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex.
accountIn a recorded conversation, President Richard Nixon ordered his chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman, to instruct the CIA to impede the FBI's investigation into the Watergate burglary by suggesting that the investigation would expose CIA activities related to the Bay of Pigs.
accountDuring the beginning of Richard Nixon's presidency, Henry Kissinger managed the Central Intelligence Agency, though Nixon instructed James Schlesinger to appear to Congress as the person in charge to avoid suspicion regarding Kissinger's involvement.
claimRichard Nixon and Henry Kissinger engaged in eavesdropping on their own aides and on reporters.
claimPresident Richard Nixon aimed to create the position of Director of National Intelligence and separate the CIA's covert action division into a distinct organization.
perspectiveRichard Nixon believed there was a liberal infection inside the CIA and attempted to remove the agency's leadership.
accountPresident Richard Nixon ordered the removal of Richard Helms from his position as Director of Central Intelligence before Helms reached the mandatory retirement age of 60, despite a previous promise to let him stay until that birthday.
accountRichard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman instructed Central Intelligence Agency officials Richard Helms and Vernon Walters to communicate to FBI Director L. Patrick Gray that the FBI should not follow the money trail from the Watergate burglars to the Committee to Re-elect the President, because it would uncover CIA informants in Mexico.
claimThe CIA's reputation was damaged by the involvement of former CIA officers in the burglary of the Democratic Party's Watergate headquarters and President Richard Nixon's subsequent attempt to use the CIA to obstruct the FBI's investigation into the burglary.
accountIn a recorded meeting in the Oval Office on June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon discussed Richard Helms, the Director of Central Intelligence, in a conversation with H. R. Haldeman.
The Evolution of the U.S. Intelligence Community-An Historical ... govinfo.gov 4 facts
claimPresident Nixon's November 1971 directive reconstituted the United States Intelligence Board to assist the Director of Central Intelligence, established an Intelligence Committee of the National Security Council to coordinate intelligence activities, and created an Intelligence Resources Advisory Committee to advise on the consolidated intelligence budget.
claimIn December 1970, President Richard Nixon directed Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget James Schlesinger to recommend structural changes to the Intelligence Community to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
claimIn November 1971, President Richard Nixon issued a directive requiring the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to be responsible for planning, reviewing, and evaluating all intelligence programs and activities, as well as the production of national intelligence.
accountIn its June 1975 report, the Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States confirmed the CIA conducted domestic mail opening operations, maintained files on 300,000 U.S. citizens and organizations regarding domestic dissident activities in the late 1960s and early 1970s, found that President Richard Nixon attempted to use CIA records for political purposes, and concluded the CIA was not involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Strategic Rivalry between United States and China swp-berlin.org 3 facts
claimThe United States believes that the engagement policy pursued since Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to Beijing has failed.
claimThe United States' engagement policy with China, which began with Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to Beijing, is widely considered to have failed.
claimThe United States' engagement policy toward China, pursued since Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1972, is widely considered to have failed.
Editorials Supporting an Iran Nuclear Deal, January - September 2015 armscontrol.org 3 facts
perspectiveThe West Central Tribune argues that negotiating a workable agreement with Iran is valid despite concerns about Iranian intentions, drawing a historical parallel to US negotiations with the Soviet Union under Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
quoteCritics have offered no alternative other than a Middle East nuclear arms race among Iran and its rival Sunni states and Israel, and the prospect of a massive regional war. The agreement is realistic, more akin to President Richard Nixon’s outreach to China more than 40 years ago than to appeasement. China remains, in many ways, an adversary. But it is part of the global community and less dangerous than it might have been in isolation. The same prospect now arises relative to Iran.
accountThe Journal Gazette editorial board compared the 2015 letter sent by 47 Republican senators to Iranian leadership to a 1968 incident where presidential candidate Richard Nixon secretly communicated with the government of South Vietnam to undermine peace negotiations being conducted by the Johnson administration.
U.S.-China Relations cfr.org 1 fact
accountU.S. President Richard Nixon visited China for eight days in February 1972, meeting with Chairman Mao and signing the Shanghai Communiqué with Premier Zhou Enlai.
The Geopolitical Competition of the United States, China ... journalisslp.com 1 fact
referenceStephen McGlinchey documented the creation of the U.S.-Iran arms agreement of May 1972 in a 2013 article titled 'Richard Nixon's Road to Tehran'.
Iran War Unravels U.S. Strategy and Strengthens Russia–China Axis toda.org Mar 24, 2026 1 fact
accountFrom the Nixon and Kissinger opening to China through the Reagan administration's management of late Cold War dynamics, the United States maintained a consistent strategic principle of preventing a durable alignment between Moscow and Beijing.
How the war in Ukraine changed Russia's global standing | Brookings brookings.edu Apr 2, 2025 1 fact
referenceThe SALT I treaty, signed by Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev in 1972, established the regulation of strategic nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Why the US and the WTO should part ways - CEPR cepr.org Jun 25, 2025 1 fact
measurementIn 1971, President Richard Nixon imposed a flat 10% import surcharge on all goods regardless of origin to force trading partners to revalue their currencies.