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United States, U.s. V. Nixon

Decent Essays

Not to be confused with Nixon v. United States, U.S. v. Nixon was a crucial case of the

Supreme Court during a time of political scandal. On the night of June 17th, 1972, five men

broke into the Democratic National Committee in an attempt to gain secrets that would help

Nixon win the re-election. The men were found to be connected to Nixon himself. Upon being

caught, all hell broke loose for Nixon’s presidency and there was no turning back. Upon further

investigation by Congress, Nixon was committing illegal acts other than that of burglary. It was

discovered that the tapes Nixon used to record his conversations in the Oval Office would be

beneficial in the sense that they contained all the proof needed to impeach the president. The

president argued that this damning information needed not be shared with the community and

was protected by his executive privileges. The entire situation became known as the Watergate

scandal and exploded in popularity with the help of the media. After it was all said and done, the

Supreme Court ruled that Nixon was being unconstitutional. This is undoubtedly true due to the

fact a president is supposed to help a country grow stronger, not tear it apart.

In November of 1968, Richard Nixon, a former vice president, gains the title of president

beating Hubert Humphrey in a strikingly close election. However, his presidency was soon met

with difficulty and scandal. By 1971, the Pentagon Papers had been leaked to the

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