Answer: a COVER-UP
Context/detail:
"Watergate" was the scandal in which persons working for President Nixon's reelection campaign committed crimes to spy on their opponents at Democratic party headquarters, and then efforts were made to cover up those crimes. Nixon didn't directly order the break-ins and spying attempts, but he did order the cover-up of his administration's connections to those activities.
The first break-in attempt by burglars working on Nixon's behalf occurred in May, 1972, as persons connected to the Nixon reelection campaign broke into the Democratic National Committee office in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington, DC. They were planting wire-taps on the Democrats' phone lines, and also stole copies of documents. When the wire-taps didn't work properly, they broke in again (in June) to try to fix the surveillance devices, but they were caught.
Nixon's role in Watergate was especially in his efforts and those of members of his staff to cover up what had happened. Ultimately, the Watergate affair brought down the Nixon presidency. He resigned in order to avoid impeachment. And the whole affair made Americans more distrusting of government.
