The Watergate Scandal Essay

Richard Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal left no doubt to his involvement of being impeached. During the Nixon Administration, he was able to prevent colleges from being gender biased and allowing both male and female to have equal opportunity and receiving financial aid as well as competing in sports. He was able to establish the Environmental Protection Agency. He also worked to create a relationship between the U.S and the Middle East. Unfortunately, even with all of the accomplishments, he was able to have, everyone will remember Richard Nixon as the president who was involved in the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal left an asterisk by his legacy while being in the office, the results left him with having to resign and with him facing criminal charges as well, the Scandal became well known to the public in the summer of 1974. Through my essay, I will discuss why I am intrigued by the Watergate scandal, and discuss what if Richard Nixon never got caught on the audio tape?

Among them would be Bob Bernstein, and Carl Woodward, reporters for The Washington Post. They used a background source “Deep Throat” to uncover the relationship between the scandal and the White House. “Deep Throat” later announced was W.Mark Felt. The Senate makes a special committee that nominated Archibald Cox to head the special investigations. James D St. Clair was appointed to be Nixon’s defense counsel. Startling information shocked the nation. There was a check of $25000 in one of the burglar’s bank account. Archibald then learns that Nixon taped all his conversations in the white house. Archibald demanded tapes but Nixon denied. Archibald was getting close to uncovering the case so Nixon demanded him to be fired. He demanded Attorney General Richardson but he protested and resigned. Next in line was Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus who also protested and resigned. Finally, Solicitor General Robert Bork carried out orders. John Sirica, a judge and he also realized not all the pieces of the puzzle were put together.

As time progressed and the investigation began to uncover the truth about what transpired at the Watergate apartment complex several things became evident: most of the burglars were ex-CIA and ex-FBI personnel, the burglars were paid with money directly from the re-election campaign and President Nixon not only knew about and sanctioned the break-in but deliberately attempted to cover it up. When called before Congress to testify about his knowledge, White House staffer John Dean testified that Nixon and his aides attempted to “stonewall” the investigation. As Congress continued its inquiry, it became clear

The system of checks and balances did not work well during the Watergate affair. The president was not sent to prison and Gerald Ford became the president when he shouldn’t have but the part that went well was when Nixon got caught and resigned. The president got away with the crime when others who were involved did not.

Watergate is the popular name for the political scandal and constitutional crisis that began with the arrest of five burglars who broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office in Washington D.C. on the night of June 17, 1972. It ended with the resignation of president Richard M. Nixon. The burglars and two co-potters-G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt were indicated on charges of burglary, conspiracy, and wiretapping. Four monthes later, they were convicted and sentenced to prison terms by District Court Judge John J. Sirica, who was convicted that pertinent details had not been unveiled during the trial and proffered leniency in exchange for further information. As it

Richard Nixon's first term as president will always be connected with the Watergate scandal, the biggest political scandal in United States history. Various illegal activities were conducted including burglary, wire tapping, violations of campaign financing laws, sabotage, and attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents to help Richard Nixon win reelection in the 1972 presidential elections. There were about 40 people charged with crimes related to the scandal. Most of them were convicted by juries or pleaded guilty. Watergate involved more high-level government officials than any previous scandal. It has been etched in the minds of millions and is still being recalled today when faced with the present day scandal of

Even though the president was using his wealth to pay off those that were involved, several of his aides still stepped forward during this time where many thought there were far worse crimes that were yet to be uncovered. They testified that every meeting and word was recorded secretly in the Oval Office by the president. They filed for a subpoena to obtain the tapes as they were believed to be related to the ongoing investigation. It was now the goal of the prosecutors to get access to these tapes to bring down the crimes of the

The Watergate Scandal was truly the biggest political scandal in United States History. Over forty people where charged with crimes relating to the scandal. Bernstein and Woodward were given a fantastic oppourtunity to uncover something truly significant in history. The twenty-one months of investigative reporting done by these two men would ruin Nixon’s name and make these two common everyday reporters lives change forever. Woodward first got his life changing call on June 17th 1972 with his editor telling him about a small invasion of the Democratic Party Headquarters. With being related to the scandal, two members of President Nixon’s cabinet, H.R. Hadlemen and John Ehrlichman, quickly resigned. When first thought of the president even having something to do with the Watergate Scandal, he made every effort to possibly hide this career ruining event. The break in was first found by a security guard by the name of, Frank Wills. Wills saw a piece of tape covering a broken lock. Wills was

“I am not a crook” is one of the most famous quotes from President Richard M. Nixon.  Citizens of the United States of America would hope that their president would never have to defend himself as a crook, but that is just what happened in the presidency of Richard M. Nixon. President Nixon had to defend himself for not being a crook because of the events famously known as the ‘Watergate Scandal’. In 1972, members of Nixon’s re-election committee broke into the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate offices and stole top-secret documents as well as trying to get into their phone system. They eventually were caught and so was President Nixon which led him to his resignation. Even though it was an unfortunate event, there have been positive outcomes because of it. The lasting implications of the Watergate Scandal have been generally positive on society because of the passing of Ethics in Government Act, amending the Freedom of Information Act and 42 states passing election reform laws.

James McCord later admitted in his testimony that they had not acted alone in the Watergate burglary and he implicated the white house. Then it was revealed by a former White House Aide, Alexander Butterfield, that there were listening devices in the white house that recorded conversations the president had on tapes. The tapes could be used to prove or disprove James McCord’s testimony so the Watergate committee subpoenas the tapes. Nixon refused to comply and handover the tapes. The prosecutor on the case, Archibald Cox requested and demanded the tapes, but Nixon refuses to comply. Nixon then orders the attorney general, Elliot Richardson, to fire Cox and he refuses. Nixon fires Cox and Richardson resigns because of the president’s actions. Then Nixon fires Richardson’s Deputy William Ruckelshaus for refusing to fire Cox when he ordered him to. As ordered by the President, a half hour after FBI sealed off the offices of the individuals that were fired. Nixon’s actions stirred up controversy and caused the public to want to impeach him. At his impeachment trial Nixon awas once again subpoenaed to

In January 1973, two months after Nixon's reelection, the seven indicted men were tried before Judge John Sirica in the U.S. district court in Washington D.C. Five pleaded guilty, and McCord and Liddy were convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping. Meanwhile, suspicions grew that the break-in was part of the broad program of political espionage. The U.S. Senate voted to conduct an

Watergate was the name of the biggest political scandal in United States history. It included various illegal activities constructed to help President Richard Nixon win reelection in the 1972 presidential elections. Watergate included burglary, wire tapping, violations of campaign financing laws, and sabotage and attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents. It also involved a cover-up of conduct. There were about 40 people charged with crimes in the scandal and related crimes. Most of them were convicted by juries or pleaded guilty.

When Woodward heard mention that one of the burglary suspects previously worked for the CIA he began his investigation. Historical accounts suggest that at the time Woodward was beginning his investigation Nixon was unaware that this work, the bugging and burglaries were occurring. However, becoming aware that the investigation would lead to ties to the White House, Nixon ordered a cover-up. Further, Nixon tried to get the CIA to help him cover-up the break-ins. CIA director Richard Helms would refuse to assist in the cover-up, a decision that would later cost him his job. In 1972, the administration managed to cover up the investigation until after the presidential election (Charles River Editors 12-15).

President Richard Nixon's Watergate Scandal is one of the most controversial court cases to this date. He was the first president to ever resign from office and caused the American trust in the government to suffer. Did Richard Nixon really have something to hide? Did the Supreme court make the right decision? Was the case handled in the most sufficient way? Whether one agrees with the outcome of Nixon vs. United States or not, this case left a mark on American history and shouldn't lessen trust in the American Government. The case was treated just as equally as any other case and went through the long Judicial practice as stated in the Constitution.

The Watergate scandal became known as one of the most controversial political issues of modern time. This controversy began when five burglars broke into the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate office, which was located in Washington, D.C on June 17, 1972. This scandal still affects our country and how we have handled political situations since. This issue made the United States Senate take notice and start a council on Presidential Campaign Activities, which was known as the Ervin Committee this council, was formed in late 1972. The main point for this committee was to investigate the Watergate scandal surrounding the break-in and the cover-up and other issues that surrounded the 1972 presidential campaign. They were supposed to report all their findings about this situation to the Senate before February 28th, 1974.