Renominated with Agnew in 1972, Nixon defeated his Democratic challenger, liberal Sen. George S. McGovern, in one of the largest landslide victories in the history of American presidential elections: 46.7 million to 28.9 million in the popular vote and 520 to 17 in the electoral vote. Despite his resounding victory, Nixon would soon be forced to resign in disgrace in the worst political scandal in United States history. The Watergate scandal stemmed from illegal activities by Nixon and his aides related to the burglary and wiretapping of the national headquarters of the Democratic Party at the Watergate office complex in
John Dean, in full John Wesley Dean III, (born October 14, 1938, Akron, Ohio, U.S.), American lawyer who served as White House counsel (1970–73) during the administration of U.S. Pres. Richard M. Nixon and whose revelation of official participation in the Watergate scandal ultimately led to the resignation of the president and the imprisonment of Dean himself and other top aides. Dean attended Colgate University (Hamilton, New York) and then the College of Wooster (Ohio), where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1961. He received a law degree from Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) in 1965. He first joined a law