The Watergate Scandal Semester 2 Week 13

Nixon’s Thought Process  Nixon had grown defensive, secretive & often resentful of his critics  Nixon had become president during a time when the U.S. was still very much at war with itself  Race riots & protests over the Vietnam War continued to consume the country  In Nixon’s view, these protesters & other “radicals” were out to bring down his admin  Nixon was so consumed w/ this opponents that he compiled an “enemies list” filled with people from politicians to members of the media whom he considered a threat to his presidency

Re-Election Plans  Nixon’s team engaged in a host of subversive tactics, from spying on opposition rallies to spreading rumors & false reports  These tactics included an effort to steal info from the Dem. Party’s headquarters  In the early hours of 6/17/1972, 5 Nixon supporters broke into the party’s office at the Watergate complex in DC  intended to obtain any sensitive campaign info & to place wiretaps on the office telephones

The Wheels Were Turning  media discovered that one of the burglars, James McCord, was a member of the Committee for the Re-election of the President (CREEP)  Reports soon surfaced that the burglars had been paid to execute the break-in from a secret CREEP fund controlled by the White House  Nixon may not have ordered the break-in, he did order a cover-up; The White House denied any involvement  W/ Nixon’s consent, CIA asked to intervene & stop the FBI from inquiring about money paid to the burglars  Nixon won re-election over George McGovern, winning the electoral vote

Problems for Nixon’s Administration  6/1973, John Dean testified before Sen. Ervin’s committee that former Attorney Gen. John Mitchell had ordered the Watergate break-in & that Nixon had played a part in attempting to cover up any White House involvement  Nixon admin strongly denied the charges  All the groups investigating the scandal sought access to tapes from the Oval Office; Nixon refused, pleading executive privilege  Nixon was forced to give up the tapes  VP Spiro Agnew, was forced to resign in disgrace  Agnew took bribes as governor of MD & continued as VP  Gerald Ford, the Repub leader of the H of R became the new VP

The Tapes Are Wanted  4/1974, Nixon released edited transcripts of the tapes, claiming that they proved his innocence  Investigators felt otherwise & went to court again to force Nixon to turn over the unedited tapes  July, Supreme Court ruled that the president had to turn over the tapes, not just the transcripts  Several days later, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon, or officially charge him of presidential misconduct  The committee charged that Nixon had:  obstructed justice in the Watergate cover-up  misused federal agencies to violate the rights of citizens  defied the authority of Congress by refusing to deliver tapes and other materials that the committee had requested

Nixon Resigns  One of the unedited tapes revealed that on 6/23/1972, just 6 days after the Watergate burglary, Nixon had ordered the CIA to stop the FBI’s investigation of the break-in  even the president’s strongest supporters conceded that impeachment & conviction in the Senate now seemed inevitable  8/9/1974, Nixon resigned his office; Gerald Ford took the oath of office & became the nation’s 38 th president

The Legacy of Watergate  Upon taking office, President Ford urged Americans to put the Watergate affair behind them & move on  The effects of the scandal, however endured long after Richard Nixon’s resignation  The Watergate crisis prompted a series of new laws intended to limit the power of the executive branch  In the 1970s, Congress passed a number of laws aimed at reestablishing a greater balance of power in gov’t  Federal Campaign Act Amendments - limited campaign contributions and established an independent agency to administer stricter election laws

PREPARE FOR QUIZ  TAKE OUT A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER  NUMBER 1-5

QUIZ 1. The scandal known as Watergate originated from? 2. Who was Nixon’s opponent in the Election of Who were Nixon’s Vice Presidents? 4. Name one thing that the committee charged Nixon with. 5. This limited campaign contributions and established an independent agency to administer stricter election laws?