Final answer:
John Dean was fired, and Nixon's closest aides, John Ehrlichman and H. R. Haldeman, were requested to resign due to their involvement in the Watergate scandal. After their indictment for conspiracy, and facing near-certain impeachment, Nixon resigned, and Gerald Ford assumed the presidency and pardoned Nixon.
Step-by-step explanation:
After allegations of perjury during the Watergate scandal trial came to light, John Dean, the White House counsel, confessed to his involvement. Consequently, on April 30, 1973, President Nixon fired Dean and requested the resignations of his two closest aides, John Ehrlichman and H. R. Haldeman, who were also heavily implicated in the scandal. In an effort to address the situation and show a response to the criticisms, Nixon appointed a new attorney general and eventually named a special prosecutor for the case. In May 1973, Elliott Richardson, the newly appointed attorney general, named Archibald Cox as special prosecutor to investigate Watergate.
Despite efforts to manage the crisis, by March 1974, Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and John Mitchell, the former attorney general, were indicted and charged with conspiracy. The situation for Nixon worsened as the investigation continued, and ultimately, due to the mounting evidence and pressure, Nixon resigned from office on August 8, 1974, before he could be impeached. Vice President Gerald Ford, who had replaced Spiro Agnew after his resignation, assumed the presidency and later granted Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president.