Nixon and the Watergate Scandal free essay sample

Watergate Scandal Victoria Daniele Constitutional History May 19, 2013 The Watergate Scandal involved a number of illegal activities that were designed to help President Richard Nixon win re-election. The scandal involved burglary, wiretapping, campaign financing violations, and the use of government agencies to harm political opponents. A major part of the scandal was also the cover-up of all these illegal actions. The Watergate Scandal got its name from the Watergate office complex in Washington, D. C. This large office building was the home of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters, and the site of the break-in that began the largest scandal in American politics. However, even before the break-in, President Nixon had begun illegal operations. In January 1972, G. Gordon Liddy[-gt;0], general counsel to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President[-gt;1] (CRP), presented a campaign intelligence plan to CRPs Acting Chairman Jeb Stuart Magruder[-gt;2], Attorney General John Mitchell[-gt;3], and Presidential Counsel John Dean[-gt;4], that involved extensive illegal activities against the Democratic Party[-gt;5]. We will write a custom essay sample on Nixon and the Watergate Scandal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Mitchell viewed the plan as unrealistic, but two months later was alleged to have approved a reduced version of the plan which involved burgling the Democratic National Committees (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate Complex[-gt;6] in Washington, D. C. The ostensible purpose of this was to photograph documents and install listening devices. Liddy was nominally in charge of the operation, but has since insisted that he was duped by Dean and at least two of his subordinates. These included former CIA officers E. Howard Hunt[-gt;7] and James McCord[-gt;8], then CRP-Security Coordinator; John Mitchell had by then resigned as Attorney General to become chairman of the CRP. WATERGATE RETROSPECTIVE: THE DECLINE AND FALL[-gt;9], Time Magazine, August 19, 1974 After two attempts to break into the Watergate Complex failed to yield information of value, the order for yet another break-in was given to Liddy by Jeb Magruder, either acting on his own or on orders from Dean. Shortly after midnight on June 17, 1972, Frank Wills[-gt;10], a security guard at the Watergate Complex, noticed tape overing the latches on doors in the complex (allowing the doors to close but remain unlocked). He removed the tape and thought nothing of it. Wills returned an hour later and discovered that someone had re-taped the locks, which he then called the police. Five men were discovered and arrested inside the DNCs office. WATERGATE RETROSPECTIVE: THE DECLINE AND FALL[-gt;11], Time Magazine, August 19, 1974 The five men were Virgilio Gonzalez, Bernard Barker[-gt;12], James McCord, Eugenio Martinez[-gt;13], and Frank Sturgis[-gt;14], who were charged with attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications. On September 15, a grand jury[-gt;15] indicted them, as well as Hunt and Liddy,Watergate: chronology of a crisis 1. Washington D. C. : Congressional Quarterly Inc. p. 4. ISBN[-gt;16] 0-87187-059-2[-gt;17]. OCLC[-gt;18] 20974031[-gt;19] for conspiracy, burglary, and violation of federal wiretapping laws. The five burglars who broke into the office were tried by Judge John Sirica[-gt;20] and convicted on January 30, 1973. Throughout the next few months this minor break-in turned into a full blown political scandal. When first questioned about the situation in early 1973, Nixon denied all allegations that either he or any White House official was linked to the break-in. Later that year evidence was uncovered that linked several White House officials to the break-in, and/or the cover-up and concealment of the evidence. This information indicated that White House officials had attempted to involve the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the cover-up. The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund[-gt;21] used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President[-gt;22], the official organization of Nixons campaign. Watergate: chronology of a crisis 1. Washington D. C. : Congressional Quarterly Inc. pp. 8 133 140 180 188. ISBN[-gt;23] 0-87187-059-2[-gt;24]. OCLC[-gt;25] 20974031[-gt;26]. This book is volume one of a two-volume set. Both volumes share the same ISBN and Library of Congress call number, E859 . C62 1973The Smoking Gun Tape[-gt;27] (Transcript of the recording of a meeting between President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman). Watergate. info website. June 23, 1972. Retrieved 2013-05-03. In July 1973, as evidence mounted against the presidents staff, including testimony provided by former staff members in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee[-gt;28], it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and he had recorded[-gt;29] many conversations. The Watergate hearings: break-in and cover-up; proceedings. New York: Viking Press. ISBN[-gt;30] 0-670-75152-9[-gt;31]. The White House Transcripts. New York: Viking Press. ISBN[-gt;32] 0-670-76324-1[-gt;33]. OCLC[-gt;34] 1095702[-gt;35] Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he had attempted to cover up the questionable (and illegal) events that had taken place after the break-in. The Smoking Gun Tape[-gt;36] (Transcript of the recording of a meeting between President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman). Watergate. info website. June 23, 1972. Retrieved 2013-04-18. Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon. New York: Atheneum Publishers. pp. 7. ISBN[-gt;37] 0-689-10658-0[-gt;38]. In April of 1973, special prosecutor Archibald Cox was appointed to handle the case. Presidential Council, John W. Dean III became the chief witness against President Nixon in the court hearings. In the trial Dean admitted that he was a major part of the scandal and that Nixon did in fact know of the illegal activities being committed by his administration. Dean also testified that Nixon’s Administration had planned to use the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other government agencies to punish people who the White House had placed on a so-called enemies-lists. Dean served four months in prison for his part in the Watergate Scandal, but through his testimony a new door was opened into the scandal. Through further investigation it was discovered by Alexander P. Butterfield that President Nixon had made tape recordings of conversations with White House officials. When asked to release the tapes Nixon refused saying that he had a Constitutional right to keep the tapes confidential. He was later ordered by the court to hand the tapes over. Nixon offered to provide summaries of all the tapes but his idea was rejected and he was again ordered to hand over the original tapes. Infuriated by the court’s decision he ordered his Attorney General and his Deputy Attorney General to fire Cox. For their refusal to dismiss Cox, both Attorney General, Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General, William Ruckelshaus were fired. This series of dismissals by Nixon became known as the Saturday Night Massacre. When Cox was fired, Leon Jaworski was appointed to take his place. The firing of Cox however, did not work to Nixon’s advantage. In April of 1974, Jaworski ordered Nixon to release the tape recordings and documents of sixty-four White House conversations. By the end of April, Nixon had released 1,254 pages of transcripts from White House conversations. Jaworski however, was not satisfied; he wanted the original tapes. After a protracted series of bitter court battles, the U. S. Supreme Court[-gt;39] unanimously ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators; and Nixon he ultimately complied. With the tapes at hand, Jaworski began the Watergate trial. In March of 1974, seven of Nixon’s former members of his administration and re-election committee were charged with conspiracy in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in. Among the seven were John D. Echrlichman, H. R. Haldeman, and John N. Mitchell. They were all found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury. They were sentenced to two and a half to eight years in prison. Their prison terms were later reduced to just one to four years. G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt were also indicted for their involvement as plumbers and for their involvement in the break-in and cover-up of the scandal. They too were sentenced to one to four years in prison. In July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Nixon. They adopted three articles of impeachment: obstruction of justice, abusing presidential powers, and illegally withholding evidence from the judiciary committee. On August 5, 1974 Nixon released the final three transcripts of the White House conversations. These final three transcripts dated back to six days after the break-in. They revealed that Nixon had ordered the FBI to abandon its investigation of the break-in. Nixon ordered them to close the investigation for he feared that the FBI would discover the involvement of his campaign committee. After the release of the final three tapes Nixon lost nearly all his support in Congress and Nixon’s top aides advised him to resign the presidency. On August 9, 1974 President Richard M. Nixon followed their advice and resigned from the presidency to avoid being removed from office. Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn into office the same day. On September 8, 1974 President Ford pardoned Nixon of all federal crimes that he had committed while serving as the President of the United States. With President Nixons resignation, Congress dropped its impeachment proceedings. Criminal prosecution was still a possibility both on the Federal and State level. The Legal Aftermath Citizen Nixon and the Law[-gt;40]. TIME. August 19, 1974. Retrieved 2013-05-03. Nixon was succeeded[-gt;41] by Vice President Gerald Ford[-gt;42] as President, who on September 8, 1974, issued a full and unconditional pardon[-gt;43] of Nixon, immunizing him from prosecution for any crimes he had †¦committed or may have committed or taken part in†¦ as president. Gerald Fords Proclamation Granting a Pardon to Richard Nixon[-gt;44]. Ford. utexas. edu. Retrieved 2013-04-18. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interest of the country. Ford also said that the Nixon familys situation †¦is an American tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must. Gerald R. Ford Pardoning Richard Nixon. Great Speeches Collection. The History Place. Retrieved 2013-05-03. Nixon proclaimed his innocence until his death in 1994. In his official response to the pardon, he said that he was wrong in not acting more decisively in dealing with Watergate, particularly when it reached the stage of judicial proceedings and grew from a political scandal into a national tragedy. Some commentators have argued that pardoning Nixon contributed to President Fords loss of the presidential election of 1976[-gt;45]. ( Shane, Scott. For Ford, Pardon Decision Was Always Clear-Cut. The New York Times. p. A1. ) Allegations of a secret deal made with Ford, promising a pardon in return for Nixons resignation, led Ford to testify before the House Judiciary Committee[-gt;46] on October 17, 1974. Silent coup: the removal of a president. New York: St. Martins Press. p. 420. ISBN[-gt;47] 0-312-05156-5[-gt;48]. OCLC[-gt;49] 22493143[-gt;50]. A time to heal: the autobiography of Gerald R. Ford. San Francisco: Harper Row. pp. 196–199. ISBN 0-06-011297-2[-gt;51]. In his autobiography A Time to Heal, Ford wrote about a meeting he had with Nixons Chief of Staff, Alexander Haig[-gt;52]. Haig was explaining what he and Nixons staff thought were Nixons only options. He could try to ride out the impeachment and fight against conviction in the Senate, or he could resign. Nixon’s options for resigning were to delay his resignation until further along in the impeachment process to try and settle for a censure vote in Congress, or to pardon himself and then resign. Haig told Ford that some of Nixons staff suggested that Nixon could agree to resign in return for an agreement that Ford would pardon him. The effect on the 1974 Senate election[-gt;53] and House election[-gt;54] three months later was significant[-gt;55]. The Democrats gained five seats in the Senate and forty-nine in the House. Watergate led to Congress passing legislation making changes in rules for campaign financing. The scandal contributed to Congress amending the Freedom of Information Act[-gt;56] in 1974, as well as to laws requiring new financial disclosures by key government officials, such as the Ethics in Government Act[-gt;57]. While not legally required, other types of personal disclosure, such as releasing recent income tax forms, became expected. Presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt[-gt;58] had recorded many of their conversations, but after Watergate, this practice purportedly ended.