FREE ESSAY ON THE WATERGATE SCANDALS

THE WATERGATE SCANDALS

The Watergate Scandal involved a number of illegal activities that were designed to help
President Richard Nixon win re-election. The scandal involved burglary, wiretapping,
campaign financing violations, and the use of government agencies to harm political
opponents. A major part of the scandal was also the cover-up of all these illegal
actions. "Watergate, however, differed from most previous political scandals because
personal greed apparently did not play an important role. Instead Watergate attacked one
of the chief features of Democracy - free and open elections" (McCarthy 43). 
The Watergate Scandal got its name from the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. This
large office building was the home of the Democratic National Headquarters, and the site
of the break-in that began the largest scandal in American Politics. However, even before
the break-in, President Nixon had begun illegal operations. 
President Nixon had created a special investigation unit to prevent the leaking of
confidential documents to the public. He did this after a number of Defense Department
papers were released to the public concerning President Nixon's paranoia over the
public's criticism of his Vietnam War policies (Owens 1).
The "Plumbers", as they were nicknamed, were headed by two of Nixon's top aides, G.
Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt. In order to prevent all information leaks, the
"Plumbers" investigated the private lives of Nixon's political enemies and critics. The
White House rationalized the actions of the plumbers by saying that they were protecting
National Security. 
The actual Watergate Scandal began on June 17, 1972, with the arrest of five men for
breaking into the Democratic Party's National Headquarters located in the Watergate
Complex in Washington D.C. The five men were part of the Committee to Re-Elect the
President (CREEP). They were attempting to fix a broken phone tap that they had installed
about a month before. The five men were charged with burglary and wiretapping. Throughout
the next few months this minor break-in turned into a full blown political scandal.
When first questioned about the situation in early 1973, Nixon denied all allegations
that either he or any White House official was linked to the break-in. Later that year
evidence was uncovered that linked several White House officials to the break-in, and or
the cover-up and concealment of the evidence. This information indicated that White House
officials had attempted to involve the CIA and FBI in the cover-up (McCarthy57).
In April of 1973, special prosecutor Archibald Cox was appointed to handle the case.
Presidential Council John W. Dean III became the chief witness against President Nixon in
the court hearings. In the trial Dean admitted that he was a major part of the scandal
and that Nixon did in fact know of the illegal activities being committed by his
administration. Dean also testified that Nixon's Administration had planned to use the
IRS and other government agencies to punish people who the White House had placed on so
called "enemies-lists" (Small270). Dean served four months in prison for his part in the
Watergate Scandal, but through his testimony a new door was opened into the scandal.
Through further investigation it was discovered by Alexander P. Butterfield, that
President Nixon had made tape recordings of conversations with White House officials.
When asked to release the tapes Nixon refused, saying that he had a constitutional right
to keep the tapes confidential. He was later ordered by the court to hand over the tapes.
Nixon offered to provide summaries of all the tapes, but his idea was rejected and he was
again ordered to hand over the original tapes. Infuriated by the court's decision, he
ordered his attorney general and his deputy attorney general to fire Cox. For their
refusal to dismiss Cox, both Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney
General William Ruckelshaus were fired as well. This series of dismissals by Nixon became
known as the "Saturday Night Massacre" (Small273). When Cox was fired, Leon Jaworski was
appointed to take his place.
The firing of Cox, however, did not work to Nixon's advantage. In April of 1974, Jaworski
ordered Nixon to release the tape recordings and documents of 64 White House
conversations. By the end of April, Nixon had released 1,254 pages of transcripts from
White House conversations (Small273). However, Jaworski was not satisfied. He wanted the
original tapes. With President Nixon refusing to furnish the court with the original
tapes, Jaworski sued him and won. In July, The Supreme Court ordered Nixon to hand over
the original tapes and "ruled that the President cannot withhold any evidence in a
criminal case" (Jaworski73).
With the tapes at hand, Jaworski began the Watergate trial. In March of 1974, seven of
Nixon's former members of his administration and re-election committee were charged with
conspiracy in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in. Among the seven were, John D.
Echrlichman, H.R. Haldeman, and John N. Mitchell. They were all found guilty of
conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury. They were sentenced to 2 ? to 8 years in
prison. Their prison terms were later reduced to just 1 to 4 years. G. Gordon Liddy and
E. Howard Hunt were also indicted for their involvement as "plumbers" and for their
involvement in the break-in and cover-up of the scandal. They too were sentenced to 1 to
4 years in prison.
In July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Nixon. They
adopted three articles of impeachment: obstruction of justice, abusing presidential
powers, and illegally withholding evidence from the judiciary committee.
On August 5, Nixon released the final three transcripts of the White House conversations.
These final three dated back to six days after the break-in. They revealed that Nixon had
ordered the FBI to abandon its investigation of the break-in. Nixon ordered them to close
the investigation for he feared that the FBI would discover the involvement of his
campaign. After the release of these final three tapes, Nixon lost nearly all his support
in Congress. With no support, and having already been impeached, President Nixon's top
aides advised him to resign. On August 9, 1974 President Richard M. Nixon followed their
advice, and resigned from the presidency to avoid being removed from office. Vice
President Gerald R. Ford replaced him that very same day. On September 8, 1974 President
Ford pardoned Nixon of all federal crimes that he had committed while serving as the
President of the United States.
The resignation of the President, charges to nearly forty people, and a nation in disgust
were not the only results of the Watergate Scandal. In 1974 Congress approved reforms in
the financing of political campaigns. The reforms limited the amount of money that could
be given by contributors and required detailed reporting of all contributions and
spending. These new laws were soon adopted by state legislation as well. 
Bibliography
1. Small, Mary. The Watergate Scandals. Green Publishing House, 1990
2. Jaworski, Jerry. Watergate Scandals: A Presidential Outlook. Scott and Forseman
Publishing, 1989
3. Owens, Fredrick. A Presidential Scandal. Scott and Forseman Publishing, 1991