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 (Worldbook 2).
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- (Worldbook 2). 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.
Watergate Scandal Watergate was the biggest political scandal in the United States. ... The Watergate scandal ended with Nixon resigning from being the President. ... The Watergate Scandal also involved a cover-up of the brake-in. The Watergate scandal got its name from the Watergate complex of apartment and office buildings in Washington, D.C. ... Also the evidence pointed to people that tried to cover-up the scandal. ...
Frank Sturgis, the last burglar, was an American soldier-of-fortune (Watergate: Scandal in the White House). ... But as we all saw this would end up one of the most unique political scandals ever to take steps on United States" soil. ... Ervin's Watergate committee begins public hearings on Watergate (The Whole Truth: The Watergate Conspiracy). ... Nixon: The Watergate Tapes). ... This was the first time a chief executive had resigned from office (Watergate: Scandal in the White House). ...
Gordon Liddy helped plan the Watergate scandal. ... Hunt's telephone number was found in the Watergate's burglars" address books. ... Colson tried to help cover up the scandal. Archibald Cox was named the first special prosecutor in the Watergate investigation. ... There is one important question that should still be answered: How could President Nixon be totally unaware of everything that went on in the Watergate scandal when so many of his close colleagues were involved?...
Watergate was the largest political scandal ever to be inside of the nation's capitol. ... On the surface, Watergate was the break in and bugging of the DNC (Democratic National Committee) headquarters that was located in the Watergate Hotel and office building complex which resides in Washington D.C. ... Shortly after, Nixon claimed that John Dean, White House counsel, had conducted an investigation into the Watergate scandal and supposedly found that no one from inside the White House was involved. ... Easter Sunday, Nixon sent John Dean to Camp David to prepare a report about the Wa...
Watergate v. Iran-Contra: A Comparison of Two Scandals and their Investigations Watergate and Iran-Contra are two of the most publicized scandals of all time. ... In the Iran-Contra scandal, President Reagan escaped any impeachment charges claiming he was "uninformed" (Hurwitz et. al., Presidential Support During Iran-Contra, 360). ... Before looking at the effects of the aforementioned scandals, it is necessary for one to first know the reasons for investigating in the first place. ... Dean was of particular importance because his testimony, if truthful would do much damage to the...
THE WATERGATE SCANDALS The Watergate Scandal involved a number of illegal activities that were designed to help President Richard Nixon win re-election. ... "Watergate, however, differed from most previous political scandals because personal greed apparently did not play an important role. ... The Watergate Scandal got its name from the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. ... 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. ... Dean se...
A major issue at the beginning of Nixon's second term became known as the Watergate scandal. ... The Watergate scandal presented such crisis for our Constitutional system because the Supreme Court issued a major decision on executive privilege. ... A free press was essential to the outcome of the Watergate scandal because reporters, such as Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post, were able to uncover useful information and piece together facts that proved Nixon's involvement. ... Thus, Nixon might have been able to get away with the scandal and the cover-up. By...
In 1972, scandal hit the Nixon Administration. ... Richard Nixon's desire to be reelected and his imperial role would shock the nation and bring scandal to the White House. On June 17, 1972, at 2:30 a.m., five men broke into the campaign headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. ... The White House quickly began covering up the scandal. ... During the Watergate trail, James McCord wrote a letter to Judge John Sirica saying he had lied under oath and members of Nixon's Administration were involved in the burglary. ...
The Watergate Scandal involved a number of illegal activities that were designed to help President Richard Nixon win re-election. ... "Watergate, however, differed from most previous political scandals because personal greed apparently did not play an important role. ... The Watergate Scandal got its name from the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. ... 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. ... Dean served four months in prison for ...
