The Watergate scandal during Richard Nixon's presidency was arguably the high point of journalism's role in American politics. What had been considered a rather inept burglary attempt upon Democratic party offices in the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. and was therefore ignored by most journalists when it happened was investigated by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, until it was proven to be a criminal conspiracy whose organization and subsequent cover-up reached as high as the Oval Office. In terms of media coverage of the scandal, however, it is worth noting that while Woodward and Bernstein had access to a privileged source of information, whom they named only as "Deep Throat" (but much later revealed to be high-ranking FBI official W. Mark Felt), they were not the only reporters covering the scandal as it unfolded. By looking at other journalistic sources, it may be possible to get a larger view of how President Nixon dealt with the scandal, how public opinion and responded, and ultimately how Nixon was led to resign. The Watergate burglary occurred in June of 1972, since it was conducted as part of a strategic effort to undermine the Democratic Party's campaign to run against Nixon in the presidential election later that year. Nixon won the 1972 election in a landslide: any coverage of the scandal that occurred before November of 1972 was sufficiently unincriminating that it did not hamper his re-election campaign. Although hints that the
While the government was leading their investigation, it soon became public that John Mitchell, the current Attorney General who had previously denied any affiliation with the instances at Watergate, had been keeping a private account specifically intended for collecting information on the Democrats (“Mitchell Controlled Secret GOP Fund”). Later, the FBI publicly declared that the Watergate incident “stemmed from a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage conducted on behalf of President Nixon’s re-election and directed by officials of the White House and the Committee for the Re-election of the President” (“FBI Finds Nixon Aides Sabotaged Democrats”). While The Washington Post continued to follow the story of the Watergate Scandal, most other
1972 – 1974: Watergate Scandal: In June, 1972, Police arrested five men who broke into the the Democratic National Committee Office in the Watergate District of Washington, D.C. When further investigated, two more men were arrested. Following a background check, it was revealed that the men belonged to a committee to re-elect the president. It was also revealed that men were paid by the committee and the committee was controlled by the people who work in the White House. This information was gathered by the Washington Post, which had an FBI informant, nicknamed “Deep Throat.” The investigation revealed that some of Nixon’s closest advisors may be involved in the scandal. Nixon was also thought to be involved as the investigation proceeded. During Senate hearings, Nixon denied an affiliation with the scandal, but it was revealed that Nixon recorded every conversation in this office. After refusing to hand-over the tapes, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to do so. He did turnover the tapes, however there were minutes missing from the recordings. Congress drew up the Articles of Impeachment to impeach Nixon, but he decided to resign before he was
The Watergate Scandal and crisis that rocked the United States began on the early morning of June 17, 1972 with a small-scale burglary and it ended August 9, 1974 with the resignation of Republican President Richard Milhous Nixon. At approximately 2:30 in the morning of June 17, 1972, five burglars were discovered inside the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate office building in Washington DC. The burglars, who had been attempting to tap the headquarters’ phone were linked to Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). Over the next few months, what had began as a minor break-in quickly escalated into a full-blown political scandal. It was
This was no ordinary robbery that happened on the morning of June 17, 1972. The burglars were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and the prowlers had been caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. The historians of this decade are not sure whether or not President Richard Nixon knew about the Watergate espionage operation before it happened. However, History.com states, President Nixon, okayed
The year was 1972. From events such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, the United States was faced with extreme political and social turmoil. Despite Nixon’s promise to end war and unite the country, no one could have predicted that his election would accompany one of the largest political scandals to date. It all began with tape on door latches, finally ending with the resignation of a president and a scandal that echoes in American culture four decades later. Like most scandals, Watergate started simply enough with the intention of keeping Nixon’s political enemies at bay. However, before long it went from tape on door latches to bugging offices to breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters. By the year 1974, 43 people were facing legal consequences for their role in Watergate, and President Nixon was nearing the frightening reality of trial and possible impeachment. As small as it may have seemed at its beginning, the Watergate Scandal ending up affecting all aspects of American culture, specifically American politics.
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 was the 37th president of the United States elected in January of 1968 winning one of the closest elections in history. Nixon beat Humphrey by less than 500,000 votes (“Richard Nixon Elected President.”). Neither Richard Nixon or Humphrey received over 50 percent of the popular votes. Shortly before the next election on July 17, 1972 Burglars were arrested after breaking into Democratic National Committee. At this time the country was in the Vietnam War and the country was very much divided, and Nixon needed an advantage to win his reelections. Prior to the burglars being caught and arrested, they had previously bugged the phones, but the wiretaps failed to work properly. At approximately 2:30 a.m. the same men broke into the Democratic National Committee and tried to replant new microphones. While they were inside planting microphones a security guard noticed tape around several of the locks on the doors and called the cops. The cops showed up Just seconds before the burglars were planning to leave and caught them in the action.
The Burglary that lead to the uncovering of the Whitehouses involvement took place on July 17, 1972. According to u-s-history.com the burglary took place around 2:30 in the morning, where 5 men broke into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) main offices. The DNC main offices are located at the watergate hotel in washington D.C.. Security guard Frank Wills was on duty the night of the burglary and on his routine schedule he notices that The door between the basement stairs and the parking garage had a piece of tape on it. Thinking that it must of been a janitor, he Just removed it and thought nothing of it. Later that evening the same door was taped again. Now getting suspicious Frank Wills called the Police. Once the police arrived they arrested five people breaking in the DNC offices. ”The five burglars were later identified as Bernard Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, Frank Sturgis, and James W. McCord Jr.” (Watergate Scandal.) The break in is what Finally connected the White House and the Watergate
Republican President Richard M. Nixon was up for reelection, in a time that the country was extremely divided when the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. The Watergate scandal uncovered an intricate trail of wrongdoing on June 17, 1972, when members of Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect the President were arrested for burglary. The burglars had broken into the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate headquarters and stole copies of top-secret documents and wiretapped the telephones. The burglars at first were not clear that they were associated with the president, but it became disbelieving when detectives found copies of the reelection committee’s White House phone number in the burglars’ possessions. Richard M. Nixon later gave a
On the morning of June 17, 1972, several men were arrested in connection with the burglary inside the office of the Democratic National Committee located near the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. The robbery was in
A scandal now known as Watergate occurred on June 17, 1972. This scandal occurred when five men were caught trying to wiretap the Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. At 1:55 A.M., Frank Wills, a security guard at the Watergate hotel, discovered evidence of a break-in and called the police. The five men, who broke into the hotel, tried to wiretap the sixth floor where the headquarters was but failed. Though it now makes sense, it was a surprise to many people when Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein reported that the men involved in this break-in were directly or indirectly involved with Richard Nixon’s reelection committee known as CREEP. The five men involved in the break-in, as well as
The Presidential election of 1972 gave birth to an event known as watergate. Watergate is a hotel the Democrats established as their headquarters for the election. Five guys were busted breaking into the democratic headquarters. An investigation was brought forth and it comes out that one burglar was a former FBI agent. Another burglar had a black book and it was ceased. They found the initials WH with a number to the White House. It was speculated that the president sent these mean to steal information to help with his campaign. Congress got involved and opened their own investigation. In the investigation it became known that Nixon had a separate recording device that records people unknowingly. President Nixon declared executive privilege
THE WATERGATE SCANDAL Watergate is a hotel in Washington D.C. where the Democratic National Committee held their campaign headquarters. The current president at the time was Richard M. Nixon, who was involved in the scandal himself and which lead to the cause of his resignation. The Watergate scandal should not have happened, but it did and it caused the American people to judge less of their government system. The scandal began on June 17, 1972, with the arrest of five men who were caught in the offices of the Democrat’s campaign headquarters. Their arrest uncovered a White House sponsored plan of espionage against the political opponents and a trail of intrigue that led to some of the highest officials in the land. The officials
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.
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.