Simone Lawson
The Watergate Scandal, which began with the arrest of five burglars at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972, led to a constitutional crisis in the United States. The scandal involved a break-in and wiretapping at the Watergate complex, orchestrated by President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign. Nixon's administration refused to grant investigators access to tapes, citing executive privilege and separation of powers, which resulted in a Senate investigation and a constitutional debate. The House Judiciary Committee pursued impeachment, charging Nixon with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, criminal cover-up, and violations of the Constitution. Nixon resigned in 1974, becoming the second president to face impeachment, and his resignation addressed the constitutional issues at stake.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of the scandal | June 17, 1972 |
| Location | Watergate hotel and office complex, Washington, D.C. |
| People involved | 5 burglars, President Richard Nixon, Charles Wendell Colson, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, W. Mark Felt, John Mitchell |
| Outcome | Nixon resigned, was pardoned by President Gerald Ford |
| Constitutional issues addressed | Surveillance, wiretapping, obstruction of justice, abuse of power, criminal cover-up, separation of powers, executive privilege |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
Separation of powers
The Watergate Scandal, which began in 1972, is considered one of the most significant political scandals in American history, leading to a constitutional crisis and raising questions about the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of the US government.
The scandal centred around a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Five burglars with connections to President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign were caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents.
As the Senate Watergate Committee, led by Senator Ervin, a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, investigated the incident, Nixon repeatedly refused to comply with their subpoenas, citing executive privilege and separation of powers. He refused to allow his aides to testify, claiming that the constitutional separation of powers protected him from doing so.
Senator Ervin rebutted this claim, stating that the Senate committee was exercising its constitutional power to conduct the investigation and that the doctrine of the separation of powers required the President to recognise this and refrain from obstructing the committee.
The scandal ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, as he faced near-certain impeachment for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and criminal cover-up, among other charges. The tapes that Nixon had refused to release provided undeniable evidence of his complicity in the Watergate crimes.
The Watergate Scandal highlighted the importance of checks and balances in the US system of government, demonstrating the power of congressional investigations and media scrutiny in holding the executive branch accountable and ensuring that no one, not even the President, is above the law.
Roman Constitution: Power Division Among Citizens
You may want to see also
Executive privilege
During the Watergate Scandal, President Nixon invoked executive privilege to withhold audio tapes of conversations recorded by him in the White House. He argued that executive privilege gave him the power to withhold sensitive information from other government branches to maintain confidentiality within the executive branch.
Senator Ervin, chairman of the Constitutional Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, rebutted that the committee was exercising its constitutional power to conduct the investigation and that the separation of powers doctrine required the President to recognize this and refrain from obstructing the committee. He also stated that executive privilege could not be extended to cover criminal behavior.
The Supreme Court case United States v. Nixon dealt a fatal blow to Nixon's presidency, as the Court ruled that even a President has a legal duty to provide evidence of communications with aides when relevant to a criminal case. This decision helped frame the definition of executive privilege and set a precedent for future cases involving the principle.
Understanding Bank of America's Business Day Parameters
You may want to see also
Surveillance and wiretapping
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974.
The scandal revolved around members of a group associated with Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, who broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., where they planted listening devices, and Nixon's subsequent attempts to conceal his administration's involvement in the burglary.
The burglars were caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents. The wiretaps failed to work properly, so the burglars returned to the Watergate building with a new microphone. However, a security guard noticed that someone had taped over several of the building's door locks, and the police arrived just in time to catch them.
The Watergate scandal raised several constitutional issues, including the right to privacy and the separation of powers. The scandal also brought to light the abuse of presidential power and the obstruction of justice by Nixon and his administration.
Nixon had installed a voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office, and he refused to grant investigators access to the tapes, leading to a constitutional crisis. The Senate Watergate Committee, chaired by Senator Ervin, a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, investigated the scandal and subpoenaed the tapes. Nixon continued to resist, citing executive privilege and separation of powers. The incident bolstered the public's belief that Nixon had something to hide.
The tapes provided undeniable evidence of Nixon's complicity in the Watergate crimes, and he resigned in disgrace on August 8, 1974, to avoid impeachment by Congress. The Watergate scandal changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leaders and think more critically about the presidency.
The Constitution's Power to Regulate Slave Trade Explained
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Obstruction of justice
In the case of the Watergate Scandal, President Nixon was accused of obstruction of justice by interfering with the investigation of the Watergate break-in, protecting those responsible, and concealing the existence of other illegal activities.
The scandal began when five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972. They were arrested and found to be carrying large amounts of cash and surveillance equipment. The FBI launched an investigation, and the reporting of two Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, raised questions about a connection between Nixon’s reelection campaign and the burglars.
Nixon denied any involvement in the scandal and claimed that there were no political motivations in his instructions to the CIA. However, it was later revealed that Nixon had installed a voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office, and he refused to grant investigators access to the tapes, leading to a constitutional crisis. Nixon continued to resist even after special prosecutor Archibald Cox obtained a subpoena for the tapes. This incident bolstered the public belief that Nixon had something to hide.
In April 1974, Cox's replacement Leon Jaworski issued a subpoena for the tapes again, but Nixon only released edited transcripts. In July 1974, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to comply with the subpoena, and formal hearings in the impeachment inquiry began. Members of the Judiciary Committee eventually approved three articles of impeachment, including obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and defiance of Judiciary Committee subpoenas.
Nixon's own lawyers, Fred Buzhardt and James St. Clair, admitted that Nixon had lied to the nation and that a tape, referred to as a "smoking gun", proved Nixon's involvement in the cover-up. Nixon's supporters in Congress announced they would vote to impeach and convict him for obstructing justice, leading to his resignation on August 9, 1974.
The Constitution and Southern Slavery: A Complicated History
You may want to see also
Abuse of power
The Watergate Scandal, which began in 1972, was a series of interlocking political scandals of the US President Richard Nixon's administration. The scandal included 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, and by Nixon himself.
The scandal revealed a pattern of abuse of power by Nixon, who took aggressive steps to cover up the crimes. Nixon arranged to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in "hush money" to the burglars and instructed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to impede the FBI's investigation of the crime, which was a deliberate obstruction of justice.
Nixon also refused to grant investigators access to tapes of conversations in the Oval Office, despite being subpoenaed for them. He claimed a constitutional separation of powers and refused to allow his aides to testify, citing executive privilege. This refusal to comply with the investigation led by Senator Sam Ervin, a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice, further bolstered the public belief that Nixon had something to hide.
Nixon's actions constituted an abuse of power and a violation of the Constitution, leading to the House Judiciary Committee voting to impeach him. Facing almost certain impeachment by Congress, Nixon resigned in disgrace on August 8, 1974, and left office the following day.
Citing a Constitution: MLA Style Guide
You may want to see also
