1. Nixon Watergate Scandal Ashlyn Smith & Kodi Campetti *** NOT EVERYTHING ON THIS POWERPOINT IS ON YOUR PAPER!!!*****

2. ●June 17th, 1972 ●Several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee ●Located in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. ●Caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents ●Historians are not sure whether Nixon knew about the Watergate espionage operation before it happened Background Watergate building

3. Richard Nixon should have been impeached and removed from congress due to his dishonesty, unlawful behaviors, and betrayal to the citizens of the United States. Thesis:

4. Nixon should have faced more consequences than he did and should have not taken the easy way out by resigning as president and instead go through the impeachment process. Position:

5. Nixon should not have felt forced to resign in order to escape impeachment. There was never any hard evidence of him knowing about the scandal while it was happening even if he did find out after the fact. Opposition:

6. What is impeachment? ● Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as criminal or civil punishment

8. ● On August 5, 1974, the long sought after audio tapes provided the "smoking gun" which revealed President Nixon had been deeply involved in the coverup and had ordered Haldeman to halt the FBI investigation just six days after the Watergate break-in. ● That revelation resulted in a complete collapse of support for Nixon in Congress. ● On Friday, August 9, Nixon resigned the presidency and avoided the likely prospect of losing the impeachment vote in the full House and a subsequent trial in the Senate. Impeachment:

9. ● He thus became the only U.S. President ever to resign. Vice President Gerald R. Ford succeeded him and a month later granted Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he might have committed while President. ● A total of 25 officials from his administration, including four cabinet members, were eventually convicted and imprisoned for various crimes. Impeachment:

10. The Break In

11. ● In 1972, Republican President Richard Nixon was running for reelection. ● The United States was involved in the Vietnam War and deeply divided internally. ● During this, a forceful presidential campaign seemed essential to the president and some of his key advisers. Their intense tactics included what turned out to be illegal surveillance. ● In May 1972, as evidence would later show, members of Nixon’s Committee to Re- Elect the President broke into the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate headquarters, stole copies of top-secret documents and bugged the office’s phones. ● The wiretaps failed to work properly, however, so on June 17 the group returned to the Watergate building. ● As they were preparing to break into the office with a new microphone, a security guard noticed that they had taped the building’s locks. The guard called the police, who arrived just in time to catch the spies red handed Facts about the Break In:

12. ● It was not immediately clear that the burglars were connected to the president, though suspicions were raised when detectives found copies of the re-election committee’s White House phone number among the burglars’ belongings. ● In August, Nixon gave a speech in which he swore that his White House staff was not involved in the break-in. ● Most voters believed him, and in November the president was reelected in a landslide. Continued...

13. ● It later came to light that Nixon was not being truthful. A few days after the break-in, for instance, he arranged to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in “hush money” to the burglars. Trials:

14. ● This was a more serious crime than the break-in: It was an abuse of presidential power and a deliberate obstruction of justice. ● Seven conspirators were indicted on charges related to the Watergate affair. At the urging of Nixon’s aides, five pleaded guilty and avoided trial; the other two were convicted in January 1973. ● Some of the conspirators began to crack under the pressure of the cover-up. ● Some of Nixon’s aides, including White House counsel John Dean, testified before a grand jury about the president’s crimes; they also testified that Nixon had secretly taped every conversation that took place in the Oval Office. (Easy proof) Trials:

15. ● Nixon struggled to protect the tapes during the summer and fall of 1973. His lawyers argued that the president’s executive privilege allowed him to keep the tapes to himself ● When Cox refused to stop demanding the tapes, Nixon ordered that he be fired, leading several Justice Department officials to resign in protest. (These events, which took place on October 20, 1973, are known as the Saturday Night Massacre.) Eventually, Nixon agreed to surrender some—but not all—of the tapes. ● The jury, unsure if they could indict a sitting president, called Nixon an “unindicted co- conspirator.” ● In July, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes. ● House of Representatives voted to impeach him for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, criminal cover-up and several violations of the Constitution. Trials:

16. ● The jury, unsure if they could indict a sitting president, called Nixon an “unindicted co-conspirator.” ● In July, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes. While the president dragged his feet, the House of Representatives voted to impeach him for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, criminal cover-up and several violations of the Constitution. Trials:

17. ● The tapes revealed several crucial conversations that took place between the President and his counsel; John Dean, In this conversation, Dean summarized many aspects of the Watergate case, and focused on the subsequent cover-up, describing it as a "cancer on the presidency". ● The burglary team was being paid hush money for their silence. Release of Tapes:

18. ● At the time of the initial congressional impeachment, it was not known if Nixon had known and approved of the payments to the Watergate defendants earlier than this conversation. ● On December 7, 1973, it was found that an 18½ minute portion of one recorded tape had been erased. Nixon's longtime personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, said she had accidentally erased the tape by pushing the wrong pedal on her tape player when answering the phone. Release of Tapes:

19. Nixon was accused of both the obstruction of justice and the abuse of power. ● On August 5, 1974, the White House released a previously unknown audio tape from June 23, 1972. Recorded only a few days after the break-in, it documented the initial stages of the cover up: it revealed Nixon and Haldeman meeting in the Oval Office and formulating a plan to block investigations by having the CIA falsely claim to the FBI that national security was involved. ● After explaining how the money from CRP was traced to the burglars, Haldeman explained to Nixon the coverup plan and President Nixon approved the plan. Release of Tapes:

20. ● After explaining how the money from CRP was traced to the burglars, Haldeman explained to Nixon the coverup plan and President Nixon approved the plan. ● Nixon urged the FBI to press forward Release of Tapes:

21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHnmri yXYeg Quick Summary Clip!!

22. Nixon took the easy way out by resigning before he had to face any impeachment accusations. He made a huge mistake that he should now have to face all consequences of his actions. He didn’t have to face many legal issues that the colleges that did this for him had to. Nixon should have stayed and faced the impeachment and face all consequences he would have if he didn’t resign. Nixon disrespected his government, fellow candidates and most importantly his country. Conclusion: