By: ELISABETH BECK
Staff Writer
The Watergate Scandal is one of the most notorious scandals that has ever occurred in U.S. History. The Watergate Scandal changed the way people see our government. It changed our country for better or for worse – that’s up to you to decide. But Watergate started because of corrupt power. And that all started with our former President, Richard Nixon.
Richard Nixon. He was elected in 1968. He ran for President in 1960 – which was the first ever presidential election that was televised- but lost to Kennedy because well, look at Kennedy’s looks. Maybe now it’s not the ideal type, but during the ’60s, our country swooned and took Kennedy to the presidential seat.
When Nixon was elected, the Vietnam War was still happening. Nixon had the mindset of finishing out the war strongly. Not only were we at war, but he also was President during the moon landing, he created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and he was the first President to ever establish relations with Communist China. But when it came time again to run for reelection, Nixon had a burning desire to win. Not only did he want to win, but he wanted to crush his opponents. He wanted to win -he wanted to win by a landslide.
So that’s what Nixon did.
But before his election, on June 17, 1972, there was a burglary at Democratic National Committee. A security guard noticed that there was tape covering a lock on a door. Thus, through this, five men were able to gain entry into the building. The security guard of course removed it once he saw it. But when he returned later, the tape was replaced. He then called the police when five men were arrested and charged with the burglary. Later that year, of course, Richard Nixon won by a landslide. But how you may ask?
A journalist for the Washington Post, Bob Woodward, was assigned to cover this -at the time- an insignificant case. But it was further revealed-thanks to Woodward- that one of the men arrested, James McCord, was a former CIA employee. So why would a former CIA employee break into the Democratic National Committee?
Woodward was able to make a connection from the seemingly insignificant break-in back to the President. James McCord was also a member of the Committee of the Reelection of President Nixon. In another Washington Post posted on August 1, the article revealed that a $25,000 check from the Nixon reelection campaign had been deposited by a Watergate burglar. Nixon of course denied all allegations against his involvement in the Watergate scandal; on November 7, Nixon won reelection as president.
In January of 73,’ the Watergate scandal burglars went on trial. In the testimony of those that were arrested, they mentioned Nixon had been a part of the plan to bug and steal information from the Democratic National Committee. Later on in February, the U.S. Senate starts an investigation. Everyone is now pressing and cracking down on Nixon. The truth is finally coming closer and closer to getting out. Even James McCord comes out and claims he was pressured to stay silent and that others were involved in the scandal. With all of the piled-up evidence against him, Nixon gives a televised speech.
Nixon questions “Who then is to blame…?” He describes that the easiest thing to do would be to blame his subordinates, but being “the man at the top” that would be the “cowardly thing to do.” He continues to say the guilty party will be brought to “justice” but once again, Nixon claims his innocence hoping that this will be enough for him to get by.
Furthermore on July 24th, 1974, in the trial, it was brought to attention that Nixon had tapes of his conversations. However, Nixon claimed Executive Privilege when asked to turn over the tapes. Which means that he has the only right to see the information. But in the Supreme Court case in the United States v.s. Nixon, the court demanded that Nixon turn them in. When the tapes were turned in, he didn’t turn in all of them. Portions of the tapes were missing, and it was very evident that parts of the tapes were cut out. The tapes reveal that Nixon indeed knew about the scandal. Some of the tapes contained information about Nixon and John Dean. John Dean did make a testimony against Nixon, and once he helped the Senate’s investigation, he was later fired by President Nixon. In the tape, Nixon tries to help Dean by saying that “if you need the money…you could get the money.” Another tape contains information about Haldeman, the President’s Chief of Staff. Haldeman is informing Nixon that the “FBI is not under control” and that he can threaten them to “Stay the hell out of this business.” These tapes were just the cherry on top for the court to make impeachments against Nixon. These incriminating tapes, in Nixon’s own words, will “ensure that the guilty are brought to justice.”
July 27-30 in 1974, the House of Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment for President Nixon that would later on be voted on by the House of Representatives.
Finally, on August 9, 1974, Nixon later resigned from his Presidency before the impeachment vote.
Nixon was then pardoned by the new President Ford, his former Vice President. This scandal has left a mark on this country. Did it change our country for the better or worse? Does it leave you distrusting our government more? Or does it allow you to have more faith in our government that no one is above the law? That is up to you, the people, to decide for yourself.