Editing Robert Byrd (section)

==== Nixon resignation ====
In May 1974, the House Judiciary Committee opened [[Impeachment process against Richard Nixon|impeachment hearings against President Nixon]] after the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides and the administration became engulfed in the scandal that would come to be known as [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]]. That month, Byrd delivered a speech on the Senate floor opposing Nixon's potential resignation, saying it would serve only to convince the President's supporters that his enemies had driven him out of office: "The question of guilt or innocence would never be fully resolved. The country would remain polarized — more so than it is today. And confidence in government would remain unrestored". Most of the members of the Senate in attendance for the address were conservatives from both parties that shared opposition to Nixon being removed from office. Byrd was among multiple conservative senators who stated that they would not ask Nixon to resign.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/05/14/archives/leading-senators-refuse-to-press-nixon-on-quitting-conservatives-of.html|title=LEADING SENATORS REFUSE TO PRESS NIXON ON QUITTING|date=May 14, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928044005/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/05/14/archives/leading-senators-refuse-to-press-nixon-on-quitting-conservatives-of.html|archive-date=September 28, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that month, Republican attorney general [[Elliot L. Richardson]] termed Nixon "a law and order President who says subpoenas must be answered by everyone except himself," the comment being echoed by Byrd who additionally charged President Nixon with reneging on his public pledge that the independence of the special prosecutor to pursue the Watergate investigation would not be limited without the prior approval of a majority of congressional leaders.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/05/27/archives/bar-leader-urges-president-to-heed-justices-on-tapes-smith-says-he.html|title=BAR LEADER URGES PRESIDENT TO HEED JUSTICES ON TAPES|date=May 27, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928003354/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/05/27/archives/bar-leader-urges-president-to-heed-justices-on-tapes-smith-says-he.html|archive-date=September 28, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

On July 29, Byrd met with Senate Majority Leader [[Mike Mansfield]], Minority Leader [[Hugh Scott]], and Republican whip [[Robert P. Griffin]] in the first formality by Senate leaders on the matter of President Nixon's impeachment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/30/archives/senate-leaders-prepare-for-impeachment-trial-working-quietly.html|title=Senate Leaders Prepare|first=Richard L.|last=Madden|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 30, 1974 |access-date=September 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914203841/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/30/archives/senate-leaders-prepare-for-impeachment-trial-working-quietly.html|archive-date=September 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Byrd opposed Nixon being granted immunity. ''The New York Times'' noted that as [[Chairman of the Republican National Committee]] [[George H. W. Bush]] issued a formal statement indicating no chance for the Nixon administration to be salvaged, Byrd was advocating for President Nixon to face some punishment for the illegal activities of the administration and that former vice president [[Spiro Agnew]] should have been imprisoned.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/07/archives/decline-in-senate-dole-says-president-now-has-no-more-than-20-votes.html|title=Decline in Senate|date=August 7, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928044038/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/07/archives/decline-in-senate-dole-says-president-now-has-no-more-than-20-votes.html|archive-date=September 28, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Senate leadership met throughout August 7 to discuss Nixon's fate, the topic of immunity being mentioned in the office of Hugh Scott.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/08/archives/senators-unable-to-agree-on-any-move-over-nixon-senators-unable-to.html|title=Senators Unable to Agree On Any Move Over Nixon|first=David E.|last=Rosenbaum|date=August 8, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928003412/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/08/archives/senators-unable-to-agree-on-any-move-over-nixon-senators-unable-to.html|archive-date=September 28, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Nixon announced his resignation the following day and resigned on August 9.<ref>{{cite news| newspaper = The Washington Post| title = Nixon Resigns| series = The Watergate Story| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part3.html| access-date = July 16, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161125171439/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part3.html| archive-date = November 25, 2016| url-status = live}}</ref> The resignation led to Congress rearranging their intent from an impeachment to the confirmation of a new vice presidential nominee and the Senate scheduled a recess between August 23 to September 14, Byrd opining, "What the country needs is for all of us to get out of Washington and let the country have a breath of fresh air".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/11/archives/congress-will-shift-focus-to-vicepresidency-vote-funding-veto-by.html|title=Congress Will Shift Focus To Vice-Presidency Vote|date=August 11, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928003327/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/11/archives/congress-will-shift-focus-to-vicepresidency-vote-funding-veto-by.html|archive-date=September 28, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> By August 11, Hugh Scott announced he was finding fewer members of Congress from either party committed to criminally prosecuting former president Nixon over ''Watergate'', Byrd and Majority Leader Mansfield both indicating their favoring for Nixon's culpability being left in the consideration of Special Prosecutor [[Leon Jaworski]] and the ''Watergate'' grand jury.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/12/archives/scott-says-capitol-leaders-oppose-nixon-prosecution-approve-a.html|title=Scott Says Capitol Leaders Oppose Nixon Prosecution|date=August 11, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921120811/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/12/archives/scott-says-capitol-leaders-oppose-nixon-prosecution-approve-a.html|archive-date=September 21, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>