Simone Lawson
The Watergate Scandal was a series of interlocking political scandals during U.S. President Richard Nixon's administration. It began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 and led to a constitutional crisis. The crisis was provoked by a series of confrontations between the Watergate Committee and the White House, as President Nixon repeatedly refused to comply with the committee's requests for information and access to tapes, citing executive privilege and separation of powers. The scandal raised questions about whether the President of the United States could be prosecuted for criminal charges during his term and led to Nixon becoming the only U.S. president to resign in 1974.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of the scandal | June 17, 1972 |
| Location of the break-in | Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in the Watergate complex, Washington, D.C. |
| People involved | 5 burglars, 4 of whom were formerly active in CIA activities against Fidel Castro in Cuba, and the 5th was James W. McCord, Jr., security chief of the Committee to Re-elect the President |
| People who uncovered the scandal | Journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein |
| President at the time | Richard Nixon |
| Nature of the scandal | Series of interlocking political scandals involving President Nixon's administration, including a break-in at the DNC headquarters and subsequent cover-up by people associated with the White House |
| Constitutional crisis | The discussion of whether the President of the United States can be prosecuted for criminal charges during his term of office |
| Impeachment | President Nixon resigned in 1974, and impeachment was considered for only the second time in history |
| Indictment | The question of whether to seek an indictment against Nixon was debated, with no clear guidelines in the Constitution regarding a resigned President |
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What You'll Learn
Nixon's tapes
The Watergate Scandal provoked a constitutional crisis in the US, leading to discussions on whether the President could be prosecuted for criminal charges during his term. The tapes made by Alexander Butterfield, a White House aide, were considered key to revealing what Nixon knew and when he knew it.
Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods, claimed that on September 29, 1973, she accidentally overwrote around five minutes of a tape from June 20, 1972, leaving an 18-and-a-half-minute gap. The gap occurred during a conversation between Nixon and Haldeman three days after the Watergate break-in, and the contents remain unknown. Nixon claimed not to know the topics discussed during the gap, but Haldeman's notes from the meeting mention the arrests at the Watergate Hotel. The validity of Woods' explanation has been questioned, and the incident has become known as the "Rose Mary Stretch".
The existence of the taping system was first confirmed by Senate Committee staff member Donald Sanders in an interview with Butterfield on July 13, 1973. The system was mentioned during Butterfield's televised testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee later that year. Nixon had learned of the taping system from his predecessor, Lyndon B. Johnson, and initially ordered its removal. However, he later concluded that audio recordings were necessary to ensure a full account of conversations and decisions.
Nixon's refusal to comply with a subpoena for the tapes was a basis for an article of impeachment against him and led to his resignation on August 9, 1974. The final 340 hours of the tapes were released by the Nixon Library and the National Archives in 2013, with the first segment of sixty hours being made available in 1989. The tapes contain about 3,700 hours of conversation, with only 200 hours related to Watergate.
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The role of the media
The Watergate Scandal was a series of interlocking political scandals of the US President Richard Nixon's administration. On June 17, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. The subsequent cover-up involved people who worked for or with the White House, and Nixon himself.
Woodward and Bernstein's reporting faced challenges as the White House attempted to discredit their work, portraying it as the biased agenda of a "liberal" newspaper. Despite these obstacles, their revelations sparked sustained public interest and prompted further investigations by other media outlets, such as CBS News, which produced a two-part television report exploring the scandal's ties to the White House.
The media coverage of the Senate Watergate Committee's investigation also contributed to its success. The committee's work was extensively covered by the press, which helped to revive public confidence in congressional investigations. The media played a crucial role in keeping the public informed about the unfolding events, ensuring transparency and accountability in the process.
Additionally, an anonymous source known as "Deep Throat" provided leaks to Woodward and Bernstein, revealing important information about the scandal. Years later, this informant was revealed to be FBI deputy director W. Mark Felt, Sr.
In conclusion, the media played a critical role in exposing the Watergate Scandal, sustaining public interest, and contributing to the investigation's success. Their work helped shed light on the truth, leading to significant political ramifications and sparking discussions about constitutional crisis and presidential accountability.
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Nixon's claims of executive privilege
The Watergate Scandal, which began in 1972, led to a constitutional crisis as it brought up the question of whether the President of the United States could be prosecuted for criminal charges during their term. The scandal involved a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. by five men with ties to Nixon's administration.
During the investigation, Nixon repeatedly refused to comply with the Senate Watergate Committee's requests for information, citing executive privilege and constitutional separation of powers. He refused to allow his aides to testify and claimed that executive privilege gave him the power to withhold sensitive information from other government branches to maintain confidentiality within the executive branch.
The Supreme Court rejected Nixon's claim of absolute executive privilege, acknowledging that while a qualified privilege existed while the President is in office, it could not override the needs of the judicial process or extend to cover criminal behaviour. The Court ordered the release of the Watergate tapes, which provided evidence of Nixon's involvement in the cover-up, ultimately leading to his resignation.
The Watergate Scandal and the subsequent legal proceedings set a precedent for balancing the confidentiality of presidential communications with the need for fairness and transparency in criminal investigations involving the President.
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The constitutional power of the Senate
The Watergate Scandal, a series of interlocking political scandals, involved a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., and a subsequent cover-up by people who worked for or with the White House, including President Nixon himself. The scandal provoked a constitutional crisis, as it led to discussions on whether the President of the United States could be prosecuted for criminal charges during his term in office.
The Senate Watergate Committee, headed by Senator Ervin, a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, played a crucial role in investigating the scandal. The committee was empowered by a Senate resolution to subpoena witnesses and materials, and it had the full support of the Senate. The committee's investigation revealed that the Watergate wiretapping and break-in were financed through illegally laundered campaign contributions, and that the bugging incident was part of a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage directed by White House officials.
Throughout the inquiry, President Nixon rebuffed the committee's requests for information and testimony from his aides, citing constitutional separation of powers and executive privilege. Senator Ervin, however, insisted that the committee was exercising the constitutional power of the Senate to conduct the investigation, and that the separation of powers required the President to recognise this and refrain from obstructing the committee.
The Senate's constitutional power to conduct investigations, as demonstrated by the Watergate Committee, is an important check on the executive branch and helps ensure accountability and transparency in government. The Senate's power to subpoena witnesses and documents, and its ability to conduct thorough investigations with the support of investigators, media coverage, and public interest, can help reveal wrongdoing and hold those in power accountable, even the President of the United States.
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Impeachment and indictment
The Watergate Scandal, a series of interlocking political scandals, led to a constitutional crisis as it brought to light the question of whether the President of the United States could be prosecuted for criminal charges during his term.
The scandal involved a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972, and a subsequent cover-up by people who worked for or with the White House, including President Nixon himself. The cover-up involved wiretapping and was financed through illegally laundered campaign contributions.
The Senate Watergate Committee revived public confidence in congressional investigations, with extensive media coverage, sustained public interest, meticulous work by investigators, and the cooperation of key witnesses. However, President Nixon repeatedly rebuffed the committee's requests for information, claiming constitutional separation of powers and refusing to allow his aides to testify. Senator Ervin, a former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice, insisted that executive privilege could not be used to cover up criminal behaviour.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor was created by Executive Order in May 1973, and twice faced the question of whether to seek an indictment of President Nixon. The first time was in March 1974, when a grand jury handed down indictments of seven White House aides for perjury and obstruction of justice. The House Judiciary Committee pursued its constitutional mandate and drew up five articles of impeachment, three of which they approved in the summer of 1974.
On August 9, 1974, facing likely impeachment, Nixon resigned, becoming the only US president to do so. This raised further constitutional questions, as there were no guidelines in the Constitution about a President who had resigned. A memorandum outlined reasons for and against pursuing an indictment against Nixon. Ultimately, on September 8, 1974, Nixon was granted a full and unconditional pardon by President Gerald Ford for any crimes he may have committed while in office.
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Frequently asked questions
The Watergate Scandal was a series of interlocking political scandals involving U.S. President Richard Nixon and his administration. It began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972, and subsequent cover-up attempts by the White House.
The constitutional crisis arose from the question of whether a sitting U.S. President could be prosecuted for criminal charges during his term of office. The Watergate Scandal brought this question to the forefront as there was no clear guidance in the Constitution regarding a President who had resigned, particularly in the context of impeachment and indictment.
The investigative journalism of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post played a crucial role in exposing the Watergate Scandal. Their reporting revealed connections between Nixon's reelection campaign and the burglars, as well as the involvement of Nixon's intimates in Watergate activities, sparking further investigations.
The Watergate Scandal provoked a constitutional crisis as it led to a confrontation between the Senate Watergate Committee and the White House. President Nixon repeatedly refused to comply with the committee's requests for information and testimony from his aides, citing executive privilege and separation of powers. This obstruction of the committee's investigation raised significant constitutional questions and implications.
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