Watergate
What Was Watergate? "Watergate" is a general term used to describea complex web of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. The word refersto the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. In addition to the hotel, theWatergate complex houses many business offices. It was here that the officeof the Democratic National Committee was burgled on June 17th, 1972. "Watergate"is now an all-encompassing term used to refer to:
- political burglary
- bribery
- extortion
- wiretapping (phonetapping)
- conspiracy
- obstruction of justice
- destruction of evidence
- tax fraud
- illegal use of the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.)
- illegal use of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (F.B.I.)
- illegal campaign contributions
- use of public (taxpayers') money for private purposes
Background to Watergate
1968: Richard MilhousNixon (Republican ) elected president. Clickhere to read Nixon's first Inaugural Address. Nixon had been Vice Presidentunder Eisenhower (1952-60) and had been defeated in the 1960 presidentialelection by John F. Kennedy.
1971: Publication of the "Pentagon Papers". Thesesecret Defense Department documents on American involvement in the Vietnamwar were leaked to the New York Times by an official in the Defense Department,Dr. Daniel Ellsberg. Nixon challenged the publication of the documents inthe Supreme Court and lost when the court ruled 6-3 in favour of publication.
1970-1: A White House Special Investigations Unit is established,known as the "Plumbers". This secret group investigated the privatelives of Nixon's critics and political enemies. It burgled the office ofEllsberg's psychiatrist in an attempt to discover damaging information.
Nixon was reported to have a "hate list", containing the namesof many Democrats, James Reston, Jack Anderson, Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand,Paul Newman, and even Gough Whitlam.
Somewhere around 1971, voice-activated tape recorders were installed inthe Oval Office in the White House.
- The Political Debate
The late 1960s were a time of great political and social upheaval inthe United States. President Johnson had been destroyed by the Vietnam Warand had announced that he would not contest the 1968 election. A spiritof unrest pervaded the college campuses. Demands for black rights were growingand a huge anti-war movement had developed.
Nixon was elected on a pledge of ending the war. During his term, he openedup diplomatic relations with China (1971) and establishing "detente"with the Soviet Union. It has been argued that only a president with Nixon'swell-established and hostile attitude to communism could have done thesethings. As the 1972 election approached, the Democrats opted for a liberalcandidate, Senator George McGovern, a factor that led to the landslide winby Nixon. Nixon won 49 of the 50 states, McGovern winning only Massachusettsand Washington D.C. Clickhere to read Nixon's second Inaugural Address. During the campaign,McGovern had been forced to drop his vice-presidential running mate, ThomasEagleton, after newspapers published reports of his previous mental illness.McGovern had earlier said he was 1000% behind Eagleton. Eagleton was replacedby Sargent Shriver.
The Watergate Burglary
June 17th, 1972: Five men are arrested at the Watergatecomplex after burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee.Charges are also laid against G.Gordon Liddy (CREEP) and E. Howard Hunt, a former White House aide.The "Watergate Seven" were sentenced by Judge John Sirica.
January 1973: James McCord and others alleged that theyhad lied in earlier evidence at the urging of John Dean (counsel to thePresident) and John Mitchell (Attorney-General). These allegations of acover-up and obstruction of justice by the highest law officers in the landblew Watergate wide open.
February 1973: The Senate votes (77-0) to establish a SelectCommittee on Presidential Campaign Activities, chaired by Senator Sam Ervin(Democrat - North Carolina)
April 30th 1973: Nixon announces the dismissal of Deanand the resignations of Haldeman and Erlichman, two of his closest advisers.The Attorney-General, Richard Kleindienst, also resigns and is replacedby Elliot Richardson. Archibald Cox is appointed as a special Watergateprosecutor.
May-October 1973: Senate hearings continue. Alexander Butterfielddisclosed the existence of the White House tapes and a protracted legalbattle begins. Nixon claimed "executive privilege" for the tapesand argued that he should not have to hand them over. Archibald Cox andthe Senate Watergate committee request the Supreme Court instruct Nixonto surrender the tapes.
October 12th 1973: Nixon nominates Gerald Ford, RepublicanMinority leader in the House of Representatives, as vice-president, followingthe resignation of Spiro Agnew on bribery and tax evasion charges.
October 1973 - The Saturday Night Massacre: Nixon ordersthe Attorney-General to dismiss the special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. Richardsonrefuses to do so and resigns. His deputy is sacked for similarly refusingto carry out Nixon's order. Eventually, the Solicitor-General, Robert Bork,dismisses Cox. In the 1980s, Bork becomes a controversial Reagan nomineeto the Supreme Court. His nomination is rejected by the Senate.
Late October 1973: Under immense pressure, Nixon releasessome of the tapes. One tape is found to have a 18 and a half minute gap.Electronics experts report that the gap was the result of at least 5 separateerasures. Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods, denies deliberately erasingthe tape.
Early 1974: There are calls for Nixon to resign and theCongress begins to seriously consider impeachment.
April 30th 1974: Nixon releases more edited transcriptsof tapes. There is public shock at the foul language used by Nixon and theexpression "expletive deleted" enters the vocabulary.
July 24th 1974: The Supreme Court orders (8-0) Nixon torelease more tapes that were potential evidence in criminal trials of hisformer subordinates.
July 27th-30th: The House of Representatives JudiciaryCommittee voted (27-11) to recommend that Nixon be impeached on three charges,including obstruction of justice.
August 5th 1974: Nixon releases three more tapes that provehe ordered a cover-up of the Watergate burglary on June 23rd 1972, six daysafter the break-in. The tapes show that he knew of the involvement of WhiteHouse officials and the Campaign for the Re-election of the President. Thesetapes become known as the "smoking gun". The eleven Republicanson the Judiciary Committee who voted against impeachment say they will changetheir votes. It is clear that Nixon will be impeached and convicted in theSenate.
August 9th 1974: Nixon resigns, the first president everto do so.
Listento Nixon's resignation speech (62k).
The complete speechis also available (7.4meg), as are many other Nixonsoundbites.
Gerald Ford becomes the 38th president. He nominates NelsonRockefeller as vice-president. They become the nation's first unelectedpresidential duo.
September 1974: President Ford grants Nixon a "full,free and absolute pardon".
November 1976: Jimmy Carter defeats Ford to become the39th president.
Casualties & Convictions Resultingfrom Watergate
one presidential resignation
one vice-presidential resignation
40 government officials indicted or jailed
H.R. Haldeman & John Erlichman (White House staff) resigned 30 April1973, subsequently jailed
John Dean (White House legal counsel) sacked 30 April 1973, subsequentlyjailed
John Mitchell, Attorney-General and Chairman of the Committee to Re-electthe President (CREEP) jailed
Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy(ex-White House staff), planned the Watergate break-in, both jailed
Charles Colson, specialcounsel to the President jailed
James McCord (Security Director of CREEP) jailed
Aftermath
Some commentators attribute the increased level of cynicism about politicsto the Watergate affair.
The media becomes more confident and aggressive. Watergate was unravelledby the Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Theirwork led to the development of teams of "investigative" reporterson newspapers around the world. "Deep Throat" became an everydayterm, referring to the anonymous official who leaked information to Woodwardand Bernstein.
A new wave of Democratic congressmen is elected in 1976 and there are dramaticchanges in the composition of committee chairmanships.
Many of Nixon's subordinates are jailed, some discover religion, and otherswrite books.
Political scandals are termed "--gate".
Nixon sets about rehabilitating his reputation, writing books and travellingthe world. He dieson April 22nd 1994 at the age of 81.
In 1995, Oliver Stone produces a film called "Nixon",starring Anthony Hopkins as Nixon. The film is condemned by the Nixon family.
Former Vice-President Spiro Agnew dies on September 17, 1995, in Berlin,Maryland, aged 77.
Political Values and Watergate
Watergate provides useful material for analysing the operation of the President,Congress or Supreme Court. It gives some idea of the interplay between the3 arms of the American political system and of the political values underpinningthe constitutional framework.
Congressional committees (Senate Watergate & House Judiciary) - Theoperation of these committees demonstrate a fundamental difference betweenthe Australian and American political systems. US congressional committeeshave much more independence and power than parliamentary committees in Australia.The inquiries undertaken by the Senate Watergate Committee were crucialin securing Nixon's resignation. The recommendation by the Judiciary Committeeto impeach the president was carried by the votes of both Democrat and Republicanmembers.
Supreme Court power over the Executive branch - The checks and balancesbuilt into the US system were demonstrated by the rulings of the Court thatNixon release the tapes of Oval Office conversations.
Presidential executive power, and the White House office - Nixon claimed"executive privilege" for the White House tapes and other documents.His personal staff, particularly Haldeman and Erlichman, demonstrate thepower that the White House office can exercise. Unlike Cabinet appointments,these positions are not subject to Senate confirmation.
Separation of powers - No member of any of the 3 arms of the US governmentmay belong to any of the other arms.
Checks and balances - The Watergate scandal demonstrates the complex webof safeguards built into the American Constitution. On the one hand, thePresident is the Head of Government, but does not control the Legislature.Unlike a Westminster Prime Minister, the President cannot dissolve Congress.Whilst the President may nominate members of the Judicial arm, they requireSenate approval. Similarly, the President serves a fixed 4-year term andmay only be removed following an impeachment process that must begin inthe House of Representatives. The President may only be removed from officeby the Senate.
Values of accountability and responsibility - the removal of Richard Nixondemonstrates an array of accountability processes. Whilst serving a fixedterm of office, the President is accountable to the House of Representatives,the chamber that most directly reflects the most recent opinion of the nation.However, in keeping with the Federalist values of the Founding Fathers,it is only the Senate, where each state, regardless of population, is representedby two Senators, which may remove the President.
These notes are Copyright © Malcolm Farnsworth, but maybe reproduced provided acknowledgement is clearly given.
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