1. WATERGATE SCANDAL ETHICAL DILEMMA Francisco Ramírez A00812234 Sofía Elosúa A01175220 Mariana de la Garza a00802026

2. CONTEXT  When was it?  June 17, 1972.  What was it?  A political scandal that occurred in the United States.  Principal actors.  CIA, FBI, IRS, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, William Mark Felt and Nixon’s administration.  What is “Watergate”?  A term used to describe a political scandal in the USA between 1972 and 1974. The word specifically refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.

3. DEVELOPMENT  Richard Milhous Nixon became the nation’s 37th President on January 20, 1969.  These series of events happened at the time of Nixon's re-election campaign.  In June 17, 1972 there was a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.  Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement.  The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972.  The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, the official organization of Nixon's campaign.  In July 1973, as evidence mounted against the president's staff, including testimony provided by former staff members, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape- recording system in his offices and he had recorded many conversations.

4. DEVELOPMENT  After a series of court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators.  Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he had attempted to cover up what had taken place after the break-in.  The House of Representatives and the Senate were about to charge Nixon with misconduct in office.  Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974.  Gerald Ford became the 38th President of the United States when Nixon resigned  President Ford then issued a pardon to him on September 8, 1974.

5. ETHICAL ISSUES  Obstruction of justice:  The president denied for a long time his involvement in the break-in taken place at the Watergate hotel.  Abuse of power:  Nixon and his team used his political power to steal information from the opponent’s party.  Contempt of Congress:  Obstructing the work of the United States Congress

6. CONCLUSION  “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln  “It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.” David Brin

7. REFERENCES  Hosansky, David. Eyewitness To Watergate : A Documentary History For Students. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 6 Feb. 2014