President Richard Nixon Meanwhile p p Nixon was

President Richard Nixon

Meanwhile…. . p p Nixon was one of the most successful American presidents of the twentieth century in terms of foreign policy, his domestic policy has marred his reputation…. “Watergate" n n p June 16, 1972: n p Men working for Nixon planted illegal wiretaps in the Democratic offices. Botched affair from the very beginning, which…. n n p Name of a Washington, D. C. hotel and office complex The Democratic National Committee located its campaign headquarters for the 1972 election. Ended Nixon's presidential career Changed Americans' ideas about politics, in general, and about the Presidency, in particular. After Watergate, many Americans refused to trust the executive branch of government to the extent that they had in the past.

Background on Watergate p p Richard M. Nixon had a paranoid fear of political enemies. This fear manifested itself in Nixon's efforts to isolate and destroy any potential dangers and to try and control dissent in American society. Many of Nixon's closest advisers shared the President's siege mentality. These people included: n n Charles Colson, Special Assistant to the President John Mitchell, Attorney General H. R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff John Ehrlichman, Chief Domestic Advisor

“The List” p Advisors drew up list of “enemies” n n p p numbered about 300 people The list labeled twenty persons "especially dangerous. " Next step: Determine how best to neutralize the enemies. John Dean, a lawyer and White House staffer, said: "How can we maximize the fact of our incumbency in dealing with the persons known to be active in their opposition to our administration? Stated a bit more bluntly, how can we use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies? "

“Law & Order” p p 1968 Platform Squash political dissent. n n n p (1) IRS investigate tax records of his “enemies” (2) Wiretap the National Security Council (3) Take over United States intelligence (Houston Plan) Create his own intelligence-gathering group, the "Plumbers, " to plug leaks of secret presidential activities and foreign policy actions. n Their first major operation was to stop the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971.

Pentagon Papers p p The Pentagon Papers were a classified study of the Vietnam War carried out by the Department of Defense. June 13, 1971: Daniel Ellsberg, a Defense Department official, believed that the public had the right to know the secret details of the administration's war plans, so he released copies of the study to the New York Times and to the Washington Post. Nixon tried to prevent the paper from releasing the papers to the public, the Supreme Court ruled that the newspaper had the right to publish the documents. In response to the incident, the "Plumbers, " n n Broke into the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist in search of damaging information. "if done under your assurance that it is not traceable. "

CREEP Committee to Re-Elect the President, known as CREEP was headed by John Mitchell (Attorney general). p 1972: New campaign laws created p n p Mitchell worked to get around the laws before laws went into effect Favorite methods was "government by stickup. “ n Approach major corporations for money with the understanding that, in exchange for generous campaign contributions, the Justice Department would turn a blind eye to any of that corporation's illegal activities.

Break-In at the Watergate p p p G. Gordon Liddy proposed the break-in Mitchell refused to authorize the plan at first, but approved it after two months. The night of June 16, 1972: n n n p A group of inept burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters. Police quickly discovered the break in and arrested the culprits. Investigators eventually traced large amounts of cash carried by the burglars back to CREEP During the campaign, the Democrats did not exploit the issue, and Nixon won reelection. .

Washington Post p p p journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein began an in-depth investigation into the burglary and reported their findings. The public learned that on June 23, 1972, Nixon had authorized the FBI to cover up the scandal, although it remained unclear whether Nixon himself had ordered the Watergate break-in in the first place. Soon after, a Senate select committee, investigated the break-in and the cover-up and began to unearth a sordid tale of political corruption and rampant abuse of government power.

United States v. Nixon p May 1973: Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox subpoenaed tapes of Oval Office meetings and telephone conversations n p Backlash n n p Nixon cited executive privilege and refused to comply with the request. Damage Nixon's public image The Supreme Court eventually rejected the President's claim of executive privilege in United States v. Nixon (1974) and forced the President to hand over the tapes. Bad timing: n n Vice President Spiro T. Agnew accepting bribes. Agnew became the first United States Vice President to resign from office.

House Hearings p p p House hearings began in July 1974. Although Nixon had not surrendered all of the tapes, Congress heard enough to learn that Nixon had been the ringmaster of a deceitful administration. The House planned to impeach the President for: n n n p Organizing a cover-up, Obstructing justice, and Abusing power. Nixon’s Decision: n n Facing a largely unsympathetic public and the prospect of an impeachment trial, Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974. Eventually, 378 federal officials either pleaded guilty or were indicted in connection with Watergate.

Impact of Watergate p Campaign Finance n Why: Nixon Administration took large sums of $ from private donations p n Reform: Create Presidential Election Campaign Fund p p p Result: Donations buy influence Est’d federal financing of presidential campaigns limit role of private contributions Presidential Power n Why: Nixon Administration use executive privilege to cover up information p n Result: Nixon try to block publication of Pentagon Papers & refuse to hand over tapes during Watergate investigation Reform: Freedom of Information Act p Public has right to know