Ahem, you can probably guess why I'm interested in how much the President can do while under investigation or impeachment proceedings. Was Nixon's administration able to pass legislation? How did Nixon's cratering popularity affect their ability to gain support for their legislation?
Journalists began covering the break in at the Watergate as soon as it occurred in 1972. Congress did not begin the wheels of impeachment until ample evidence began to mount up, taking the first steps in February 1974. The process was slow and deliberate because of the gravity of what was unfolding, but also because news gathering and reporting was at a slower pace before 24 hour news and the internet. The Watergate hearings dominated the political landscape in 1974, but before that, the story emerged slowly.