Watergate Scandal Case Study

On June 17, 1972 five thieves were arrested for breaking into the Watergate hotel in Washington D.C, the culprits planed install tape recorders, wiretap phones and steal secret documents to spy on the Democratic Party; originally the hotel was used as the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. The burglars were connected to the White House and President Nixon and his reelection campaign, who was a republican. One of the burglars was a After the the burglars were tried, one of them, James McCord charged that Nixon’s administration officials were tied to the scandal; consequently, the Senate conducted further investigation and televised hearings where numerous sources implied that the scandal was connected to the white house. When
In June of 1973, Dean tells investigators that Nixon authorized a cover up. In the fall of 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned over the scandal and Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to become President. As the investigation further unfolded it was revealed that the Oval Office contained tapes of the President’s interactions with his top aids. In one tape Nixon revealed that he wanted to give the burglars one million dollars to keep quiet about the White House’s connection to the scandal. The reason the tapes were placed in the office was because Nixon was a paranoid person who believed that someone was out to get him so the tape recorders were installed to assure that no one could trick Nixon or plot against him. In July of 1973, Nixon refused to hand over the tapes saying that he could keep the tapes as Executive Privilege. Afterwards Nixon offers to make transcripts of the tapes where he summarizes what was said on the tapes. When Archibald Cox, the Justice Department's Special Prosecutor, refuses to accept the transcripts of the tapes, Nixon fires him. This leads to the Saturday Night Massacre where other people resign or are fired. In 1974, Richard Nixon is named an “unindicted co conspirator” meaning that he is involved in the scandal and the coverup. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court declares that the tapes must be forfeited as they do not fall under Executive Privilege. In one tape, eighteen and a half minutes seemed to be gone from the tape. Rose Mary Woods, Nixon's secretary took the blame for the missing portion of the tape because she accidentally kicked the recording with her foot. The tapes proved that Nixon authorized a cover up and on August 9, 1975 Nixon becomes the First US president to resign. President Ford was sworn into