Nixon Assassinated at Height of Watergate

Pretty much what it says. What happens if Richard Nixon is assassinated on, say, August 1, 1974? The Judiciary Committee has recommended the three articles of impeachment against the President, but the "smoking gun" tape hasn't been revealed yet. Nixon in OTL would've resigned eight days later.

Assuming the assassin is the typical "lone nut" with no ties to any sort of extreme group anywhere, what is Nixon's legacy today? Does the investigation into Watergate continue in the aftermath of Nixon's assassination, or is it wrapped up as being in poor taste? How is Ford viewed differently? What effects does this have on the mid-70's political situation in the United States?
 
I think the details still come out at a later date-Ford would still have become VP, and he probably wouldn't have followed Nixon's course on the tapes.

What would have been interesting is his reaction to the two assassination attempts on his own life that took place a year later in OTL-would he have been more paranoid in the wake of the Nixon assassination?
 
I think that this means that Ford wins in 1976- remember it was a fairly close election in OTL and how much damage the pardon did, never mind the sympathy thing.
 
Since the smoking gun tape would have become public right after the funeral. Nixon reputation is the same as it is OTL. Derek is right though Ford could have won in 1976 as there would not have been a pardon. This means however that Reagan loses in 1980, as he is tied to the President in a time of a bad economy and hostage crisis.
 
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