THE GREATEST POLITICAL SCANDAL IN U.S. HISTORY
Richard M. Nixon is probably one of the most famous and well known of the U.S. presidents to date; however, his fame was gained in a way unlike any other: scandal. The infamous Watergate scandal is without a doubt the greatest and most famous political scandal in U.S. history, resulting in the resignation of Nixon (August 9th, 1974), facing a very probable impeachment and conviction, making Nixon the first U.S. chief executive to resign. This scandal was of such proportions that it extended throughout the Nixon administration, and finally up to Nixon himself, as it gripped the nation for a period of two years. It brought up questions of national security and executive privilege, and with the new groundbreaking technology of the time, where the line should be drawn. For example, to "uncover the sources of leaked news", Nixon authorized, without court approval, the wiretapping of government officials and media, even though some of those wiretapped had no relation whatsoever with security matters, and some even had very vital connections to Senator Edmund Muskie, who was running for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. This freedom Nixon exercised, using the FBI, CIA, and IRS in unethical and unlawful methods against his "enemies" was clearly a violation of constitutional law, and an exploitation of the bureaucracy. The term Watergate is associated with the scandal because of the origins of the investigation and its implications. The crisis began on June 17th, 1972 when five burglars broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee headquarters located in the Watergate office building, hence the name. The five burglars, along with two co-conspirators (G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt) were indicted on charges of burglary, conspiracy and wiretapping. District Court Judge John J. Sircia convicted and sentenced them 4 months later, however, unconvinced that all valuable and pertinent information had been revealed, offered leniency for information. As further information began to link the burglars to the CIA and the CRP (Committee to re-elect the President), Nixon's aids began to speak with federal prosecutors. With the early defection of some aids in the Nixon administration, other members of the administration were quickly implicated into possible involvement. Soon, as it became painstakingly obvious that the scandal was much deeper then first imagined, a committee was appointed by the Senate, headed by Senator Sam Ervin Jr., to look into the growing scandal. Increased attention to possible White House involvement led to the resignations of John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman, two of his closest advisors, along with the dismissal of his counsel, John W. Dean III. Events quickly began to intensify, as White House personnel began to relinquish vital information. For example, John W. Dean revealed to the Senate investigating committee that Nixon had known of the cover-up. Then former White House staff member Alexander Butterfield revealed that Nixon had secretly tape-recorded conversations in his office. These events led the committee to hunt after these recordings, and Nixon, citing executive privilege, refused to produce them. In a series of events known as the "Saturday night massacre", Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson resigned, his deputy William Ruckelshaus was fired, and Archibald Cox, a special prosecutor in the investigation was fired, all in relation to the relinquishment of the suspicious tapes. These actions only led to greater attention and scrutiny placed upon the Nixon administration, and raised even more concern. On March 1st, 1974 a federal grand jury indicted seven people, including Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Mitchell for conspiracy to obstruct justice. Cox's replacement Leon Jaworski continued to fight for the tapes. When the White House released a suspiciously edited transcript of the conversations, they failed to satisfy Judge Sircia, who subpoenaed additional tapes. When Nixon refused, the matter was taken to the Supreme Court and following a unanimous ruling that a president could withhold national security material, but insisting that Watergate was a criminal matter, Nixon was forced to give up the tapes. On July 27th through 30th, the House Judiciary Committee recommended that Nixon be impeached on three charges: obstruction of justice, abuse of presidential powers and trying to impede the impeachment process by defying committee subpoenas. These charges led to Nixon revealing three more tapes to the public on August 5th, 1974, which shredded all remaining credibility and support for him. One of the tapes revealed that Nixon had taken steps to slow and halt the FBI's inquiry of the burglary, and had been involved in the cover-up from its origins. Finally, when impeachment was obviously inevitable, and conviction probable, Nixon became the first President to resign from his office on August 9th, 1974. Facing possible legal convictions after he resigned, was granted by his successor, Gerald Ford a full pardon "for all offenses" which he "has committed or may have committed." Thus, the Watergate scandal was brought to a close, even though its dramatic works would live in infamy in U.S. history for all time.
Works Cited
* Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 1973-1990. Ambrose, Stephen E.
* Encyclopedia Americana: Watergate.
http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/side/watergte.html
* National Archives and Record Administration.
http://www.nara.gov/exhall/originals/nixon.html
* WashingtonPost.com.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...atergate/articles/050173-1.htm
* Watergate: Overview.
http://www.watergate.com/silentcoup/overview.htm