1. President Nixon and the Watergate Scandal
Chapter 24-Section 2-Supplemental Power Point

2. Main Idea and Objectives
Main Idea: President Richard Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal forced him to resign from office.
After we finish this section, we should be able to:
Explain how Richard Nixon’s approach to the Presidency led to the Watergate scandal
Describe how Nixon and high-ranking government officials worked to cover up the details of the break-in
Explain how these events led to impeachment proceedings and Nixon’s resignation

3. Part I: President Nixon and His White House

4. Nixon’s Approach to the Presidency
Following his victory in the 1968 Presidential Election Richard Nixon took an “imperial” approach to the presidency
Previous presidents such as FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson had steadily increased the power of the presidency
Nixon approached the presidency with this same attitude, and took it even further, often failing to consider the constitutional implications of what he was doing
Ex. Impounding of funds to stop certain Congressional programs from working

5. Nixon’s Approach to the Presidency
Nixon surrounded himself with and confided in a small, fiercely loyal group of advisers containing people like H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and John Mitchell
This group helped him develop the sense that they were above the law

6. The Committee to Re-Elect the President
Nixon’s re-election team often sought out different ways of gaining an advantage in hopes of securing a second term for President Nixon in 1972
On June 17, 1972, five men carrying wiretapping equipment were arrested breaking into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters located in the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C.
They planned to steal documents, plant phone taps, etc.

7. Nixon’s attempt at a Cover-up
It was soon discovered that this was orchestrated by an organization known as the Committee to Re-elect the President (C.R.E.P)
James McCord-A former CIA agent
John Mitchell-Directed the team and their break-in
The Nixon administration quickly worked to cover-up the break-in
The White House asked the CIA to request that the FBI to stop investigating the cover-up on the grounds that it would be bad for national security
The Watergate burglars were given $450,000 to buy their silence
When newspapers and others confronted the administration, it denied all allegations
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post, through a source within the government continued to follow the information in an attempt to expose the truth

8. Part II: The Cover-up Unravels

9. The Investigation Begins
First, the Watergate burglars themselves were tried for the break-in
The trial judge John Sirica, stated that he thought that the burglars had not acted alone
Just before the burglars were sent to prison, one of them, John McCord, sent a letter to Sirica telling him that he had lied under oath, and he hinted that some high-ranking members of the Nixon administration might be involved
When McCord let on that there was more than what appeared, this news caught the interest of the public and Congress

10. Nixon’s Reaction
Nixon quickly dismissed John Dean, and announced the resignations of H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and Attorney General Richard Klendienst
Nixon went on television and denied any attempt at a cover-up.
He would appoint a new attorney general and authorized him to appoint a new special prosecutor to investigate any cover-up
This didn’t stop Congress from pursuing their investigation and on May, 1973, the Senate began its own investigation of the Watergate cover-up
Over the course of the summer, different members of the Nixon administration testified in front of the Senate’s Watergate committee
Americans everywhere watched the events unfold on television

11. What did the President Know?
The main thing investigators and the prosecutors wanted to know was “What did the president know and when did he know it?”
John Dean answered this question by saying that President Nixon had been deeply involved in the cover-up referencing a meeting in which he and other presidential advisers discussed strategies for continuing the cover-up
The investigation reached a breakthrough when presidential aide Alexander Butterfield revealed that Nixon had taped virtually all of the conversations that took place in the Oval Office
The Senate committee demanded that Nixon hand over the tapes as evidence

12. The Saturday Night Massacre
U.S. Solicitor General Archibald Cox sued Nixon for the release of the tapes
Nixon refused citing the power of executive privilege in his attempt to protect national security
Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richards to fire Archibald Cox
Richards refused to fire him and instead was fired himself
Leon Jaworski replaced Archibald Cox, and he continued to try to get the tapes from Nixon

13. Part III: The Fall of a President

14. Nixon Withholds the Tapes
Nixon announced in the spring of 1974 that he would release edited transcripts of White House conversations about Watergate
Investigators demanded that Nixon give the unedited tapes unsurprisingly, Nixon refused
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Nixon had to hand over the tapes
Nixon had said that this would put national security in danger, but the Supreme Court ignored this even the President couldn’t withhold information about a criminal act
Nixon defended himself in a press conferences famously saying “I am not a crook.”

15. Nixon Releases The Tapes
Even without the tapes, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee believed there was enough evidence to bring impeachment charges against President Nixon:
The Charges:
Obstruction of justice
Abuse of power
Contempt of Congress–refusing to obey the Congressional subpoena to release the tapes
Nixon decides to finally release the tapes
Contained many gaps when playback the tape
Most noticeably there was one tape that contained an eighteen-and-a-half minute gap
Nixon said that his secretary had accidentally erased part of the conversation
The investigators did find a tape that revealed that Nixon had known about his administration’s role in the break-in and had agreed to plan the cover-up and obstruct the FBI’s investigation

16. President Nixon Resigns
On August 8, 1974 Richard Nixon announced his resignation from the office of the President
He never admits that he is guilty. He only says that he made some bad judgment calls
The following day on August 9th, 1974 Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States

17. The Legacy of Watergate
Following President Nixon’s resignation twenty-five additional members of his administration were convicted of related crimes and sentenced to prison
President Ford would later pardon Richard Nixon on September 8, He did it because he thought the country needed to move on and look to the future rather than the past.
Combined with the negative perceptions of our involvement in Vietnam, Watergate seemed to increase people’s distrust for government in the United States