The Watergate Scandal marks an important time in history when the President of the United States betrayed the American trust. Watergate is a general term used to describe a complex web
of political scandals between 1972 and 1974.
The affair began when 5 men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Convention at the Watergate hotel in Washington DC. The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, the official organization of Nixon's campaign. No one knows for sure of the purpose of the break in, but experts suspect that the men were after specific information. Many people think they were after secret documents and to wiretap phones. A common hypothesis was that they were after the office of Larry O'Brien, the chairman of the DNC, for information. In July 1973, evidence was found against the president's staff. It included testimony provided by former staff members in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes shows that the president had attempted to cover up the questionable (and illegal) things that had taken place during his administration, both before and after the break-in. After a series of bitter court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators. Before they could hold an impeachment trial, Nixon resigned, proving his guilt. Although Nixon was never prosecuted, the Watergate scandal changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leadership and think more critically about the presidency.
Before the actually events occurred, there were a series of events that led up. In July 23, 1970, Nixon approved a plan for greatly expanding domestic intelligence-gathering by the FBI, CIA and other agencies. He has second thoughts a few days later and rescinds his approval. In June 13, 1971 The New York Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers – the Defense Department’s secret history of the Vietnam War. The Washington Post published the papers later in the week. In September 9, 1971 The White House “plumbers” unit – named for their orders to plug leaks in the administration – burglarizes a psychiatrist’s office to find files on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers.
ELYSE GORAN
The affair began when 5 men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Convention at the Watergate hotel in Washington DC. The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, the official organization of Nixon's campaign. No one knows for sure of the purpose of the break in, but experts suspect that the men were after specific information. Many people think they were after secret documents and to wiretap phones. A common hypothesis was that they were after the office of Larry O'Brien, the chairman of the DNC, for information. In July 1973, evidence was found against the president's staff. It included testimony provided by former staff members in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes shows that the president had attempted to cover up the questionable (and illegal) things that had taken place during his administration, both before and after the break-in. After a series of bitter court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators. Before they could hold an impeachment trial, Nixon resigned, proving his guilt. Although Nixon was never prosecuted, the Watergate scandal changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leadership and think more critically about the presidency.
Before the actually events occurred, there were a series of events that led up. In July 23, 1970, Nixon approved a plan for greatly expanding domestic intelligence-gathering by the FBI, CIA and other agencies. He has second thoughts a few days later and rescinds his approval. In June 13, 1971 The New York Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers – the Defense Department’s secret history of the Vietnam War. The Washington Post published the papers later in the week. In September 9, 1971 The White House “plumbers” unit – named for their orders to plug leaks in the administration – burglarizes a psychiatrist’s office to find files on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers.
ELYSE GORAN