 The latter was confirmed as the President-elect of Chile by the National Congress of Chile on October 24, 1970.Three of the central figures in the Watergate scandal (E. Howard Hunt, Eugenio Martinez, and James W. McCord) were former employees of the CIA, creating political problems for Helms and Karamessines.Although then-President Richard Nixon and several of his staff (including senior aides such as White House Counsel John Dean and Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman) tried to cover up the scandal (or at least mitigate the damage) by instructing the CIA to block further investigation by the FBI, something which Helms forcefully resisted, it spiraled out of the White House's control and ultimately forced Nixon to resign his office on August 9, 1974.