Nixon and Watergate The Election of 1968 n

Nixon and Watergate

The Election of 1968 n n Nixon campaigned as a champion of the "silent majority, " the hardworking Americans who paid taxes, did not demonstrate, and desired a restoration of "law and order. ” He vowed to restore respect for the rule of law, reconstitute the stature of America, dispose of ineffectual social programs, and provide strong leadership to end the turmoil of the 1960's.

What was Watergate? Watergate was one of the largest political scandals in the history of the United States The scandal occurred when the Republicans were caught spying on the Democrats at the Democratic Headquarters

Watergate became a major scandal when President Nixon lied about his role in the break-in and tried to cover it up

Roots of Watergate n. When the New York Times and Washington Post began to publish the Pentagon Papers, the Nixon Administration sued them. n. New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) It was Richard Nixon’s paranoia that his enemies wanted to ruin his presidency that was at the root of the Watergate scandal

After the release of the Pentagon Papers, the White House created a unit to ensure internal security. Howard Hunt James Mc. Cord G. Gordon Liddy Chuck Colson This unit was called the “Plumbers” because they were put in charge of stopping information “leaks”.

The Watergate Break-in n n When initial polls showed Nixon slightly behind in the Election of 1972, the Plumbers turned their activities to political espionage. On 17 June 1972, 5 men were arrested while attempting to bug the headquarters of the Democratic Party inside the Watergate building in Washington D. C. One of the men arrested, James Mc. Cord, was the head of security for the Republican Party. The Nixon campaign denied any involvement.

The Washington Post Watergate came to public attention largely through the work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, investigative reporters from the Washington Post

Watergate Enters the Nixon Campaign n The break-in was eventually tied to the Nixon reelection campaign through a $25, 000 check from a Republican donor that was laundered through a Mexican bank and deposited in the account of Watergate burglar Bernard Barker.

The Election of 1972 Despite the growing stain of Watergate, which had not yet reached the President, Nixon won by the largest margin in history to that point.

Watergate Investigations n n In March 1973, defendant James Mc. Cord informed Judge John Sirica that Watergate was a conspiracy Sirica’s investigation transformed Watergate from a “third-rate burglary” to a major scandal.

Congressional Hearings May 1973: Congress began hearings to investigate the scandal and found that Nixon’s Former Attorney General, John Mitchell, , head of Nixon’s “Committee to Re-Elect the President, ” (CREEP) controlled a fund to pay for espionage operations

Congressional Hearings The hearings were televised in their entirety. They focused on when the President knew of the break-in. In June 1973, former White House legal counsel John Dean delivered devastating testimony that implicated Nixon from the earliest days of

The Oval Office Tapes In an effort to discredit Dean’s testimony, the White House announced that Nixon had secretly been taperecording conversations. These tapes would become the focus of the investigation.

When the Supreme Court forced Nixon to surrender the tapes, he refused invoking “executive privilege”

The Saturday Night Massacre n n n Archibald Cox The Administration reached an agreement with the Senate Watergate Committee that its Chairman would be allowed to listen to tapes and provide a transcript to the Committee and to Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. The deal broke down when Cox refused to accept the transcripts in place of the tapes. Since the Special Prosecutor is an employee of the Justice Department, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox.

The Saturday Night Massacre n n n When Richardson refused, he was fired. Nixon ordered Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. When he refused, he was fired. Nixon then ordered Solicitor General Robert Bork to fire Cox and he complied. The Washington Post reported on the “Saturday Night Massacre. ”

The Oval Office Tapes On October 23, 1973 Nixon agreed to turn over White House tape recordings requested by the Watergate special prosecutor to Judge Sirica.

n Nixon was implicated from the earliest days of the cover-up: authorizing the payment of hush money n attempting to use the CIA to interfere with the FBI investigation. n One tape has an 18 ½ minute gap. n Nixon’s secretary Rosemary Woods demonstrated how she could have inadvertently erased the tape, but no one bought it. n

Nixon’s Final Days On July 27, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee approved Articles of Impeachment against Nixon. The House was set to vote on the matter.

Nixon’s Final Days On August 5, 1974, when the “smoking gun tape” became public, Nixon was told that the Senate was going to find him guilty of impeachment charges

On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first American president to resign

Aftermath of Watergate § Gerald Ford became the 38 th president. § Over 30 government officials went to prison. § In September 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon. A pardon is when someone is forgiven of a crime and released from the penalty of the crime Ford pardoned Nixon to save the nation the shame of having a president found guilty of a federal crime

Watergate’s Legacy § For the first time in U. S. History, a president is forced to resign. § There was a public distrust of the government that continues to this day. § It was damaging to U. S. status in world affairs