TT #10 -- 13 Facts about the Watergate Scandal

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Watergate investigations dragged on for two years before President Nixon resigned. Numerous Executive Branch abuses of power (and crimes) were uncovered, causing enormous ripple effects. Congress and the public became more cautious about Executive Branch secrecy, and reporters became more focused on finding real dirt behind politicians' pristine images. Below is a simplified overview of the scandal.

1.  "Watergate" refers to a volcano of scandals that erupted after five men were arrested in June 1972 for breaking into the Democratic Party office (located at a Washington DC hotel/office complex called "The Watergate," see photo).

2. Investigations uncovered illegal acts involving high-level members of Nixon's Administration: e.g., break-ins, political espionage, wiretapping of journalists and citizens....

3.  President Nixon had a recording system that taped  many of his conversations. The "Watergate Tapes" contained damning evidence against the Administration.

4.  Archibald Cox, the first Watergate special prosecutor, tried to get the tapes. Nixon ordered two Justice Department officials to fire Cox; they resigned, instead. Eventually, Solicitor General Robert Bork fired Cox (aka, the "Saturday Night Massacre"). Later, President Reagan nominated Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Senate refused to confirm him.

5. A tape called the "Smoking Gun" evinced that Nixon, himself, had conspired to cover up the break-in.

6. Not wanting to give the Watergate Tapes to Congress, Nixon claimed Executive Privilege. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ordered Nixon to hand over the tapes anyway. 

7. Nixon handed over the tapes and resigned 10 days later (August 1974), to avoid a formal impeachment. He was the only U.S. president to resign.

8. Vice President Gerald Ford became president.  In  September 1974, he pardoned Nixon.

9. Among those operatives who went to prison over Watergate were: 

John Mitchell: Nixon's Attorney General and campaign director, who helped plan the break-in. He died in 1988.

John Dean: White House Counsel, who masterminded the cover-up. He was convicted of crimes but cooperated with prosecutors to reduce his sentence. He is now a political commentator, who supports impeachment of President Bush.

Bob Haldeman: White House Chief of Staff,who was involved in the cover-ups. He died in 1993.

John Ehrlichman: White House staffer who created "The Plumbers," a group that tried to plug embarrassing info leaks and to destroy Nixon's political enemies. He died in 1999.

E. Howard Hunt: worked for CIA, later for the White House. As one of Ehrlichman's "plumbers," Hunt co-engineered the break-in. He died in 2007.

G. Gordon Liddy: a former FBI agent who worked for the White House before moving to Nixon's campaign committee. Among other things, Liddy co-engineered the break-in. Now, Liddy has a talk-radio show and does guest spots on Fox.

10.  The "Pentagon Papers"  were secret government reports about the Vietnam war, which showed that the Johnson Administration had misled the public about the war. In 1971, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg gave the papers to the New York Times. The newly publicized deceptions fueled public opposition to the war.

11. CREEP (Committee to Re-elect the President) was a fund-raising group for Nixon, which used slush funds and laundered money. CREEP operatives broke into a Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office to find discrediting information.

12. All the President's Men is a book (and movie) describing Watergate, written by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who were among the journalists that helped expose the scandal.

13. Deep Throat was the code name of Woodward and Bernstein's secret source. His real name was W. Mark Felt: he was Associate Director of the FBI until 1971. In 1980, Felt was convicted of a felony for ordering FBI agents to illegally break into to Vietnam-war protesters' offices.  President Reagan pardoned Felt.  After decades of denying being Deep Throat, Felt revealed his identity in 2005.

Sources:

Jurist Legal Intelligence              Washington Post's Watergate Story

WatergateInfo.com                   Wikipedia

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Comments

[Elle Fredrix]

Thanks for the detail. I was too young to care about any of this when it happened (and Canadian besides) but it's interesting to get all the facts.

[Sparky Duck]

Great list, all the Presidents Men was one of the first sparks of politics that i can remember. Do you thinks its interesting the John Dean has become such a go to guy for political shows now?

[Sue]

Interesting list! Happy TT and thanks so much for dropping by!

[Gattina]

I have to say that when it happened I was pregnant and had other things in mind then Watergate of course. Afterwards I heard and read a lot about it, but the only thing which I really kept in mind was that everybody said Nixon was a very good president IF .....

[busy]

I was young, but I remember this stuff.

[Joanne]

Why couldn't it have been this straight forward when I learned about it in history class? Happy 13! Thanks for visiting.

[J. Lynne]

If you know anything about the Watergate scandal, I recommend the comedy "Dick," which presents a light-hearted look at the scandal from a different point of view, showing that sometimes it's important not to piss off the wrong people or in Nixon's case, his teenage dog-walkers, who accidentally become "Deep Throat" in this fictional alternative history.

Happy TT!

[J. Lynne]

Oh, and an interesting piece of trivia, former President George Bush was actually the man in the Republican Party who advised Nixon that it was time to resign.

[The Gal Herself]

Monica Lewinsky stayed at the Watergate. Chandra Levy used jog near there. It's amazing what a scandal-magnet that building became!

Thanks for walking us through the scandal. We need to be reminded what happens when we sacrifice our right to know for Executive Privilege.

[Joshua]

Wow! Amazing info. I never knew that. Another learning for me. Thanks! Happy TT!

[erin]

I didn't know half of that information, sadly enough. I have seen the movie All the President's Men, though. Good list. Mine is just random facts about me. Happy TT!

[Chris]

I always enjoy reading your thirteens because much like mine brings back memories or little known facts about sports, yours does the same for me with politics and the like. I will have to stumble this one today. Thanks for all the good stuff. :)

[Cindy Swanson]

As always, a very informative and educational TT! I was in high school when this happened, and frankly, I wasn't paying too much attention. :(

[Yuriko]

Happy TT! Thanks for sharing!

[Joely]

Wow, I didn't realize Deep Throat had come forward. Very cool list as usual. Happy TT!

[Frigga]

Watergate eh? That was well before my time and from everything I've ever heard, it sounds like the full truth has never and will never be told.

In any case - I wholeheartedly disagree with your comment on my TT13 - I'm disappointed in your rush to judgement. However, if you want to retain that opinion go for it, but you're missing out on some good stuff!

[L-Squared]

I love that your TTs are so interesting and educational. I'm always learning something new!

[Amy Ruttan]

Very cool. I knew only a little about Watergate. Interesting how the secret keeper was called Deep Throat, ummm isn't that a porn movie? Interesting, goes to prove what might go through some politician's heads (no pun intended).

[Amy Ruttan]

Very cool. I knew only a little about Watergate. Interesting how the secret keeper was called Deep Throat, ummm isn't that a porn movie? Interesting, goes to prove what might go through some politician's heads (no pun intended).

[Jennifer]

I"m another one who really doesn't know all those facts about Watergate.
Thanks for dropping by my site earlier!

[David]

Lived through it. Thx for the stroll down a dark alley off memory lane...

[Vixen]

If I ever missed one of your TTs I would be missing out on such fun, fascinating information. When I was a freshman in college (1981) G. Gordon Liddy was one of our convocations. Really surprised me what an amazing speaker he was. Of course, I was very young and impressionable.

[Alasandra]

Thanks for visiting my TT, and thank you for listing all the interesting facts about Watergate. The only one I knew was Deep Throat.

[TeaMouse]

Being Canadian, I don't know much about Watergate but this was interesting.

[Southern Girl]

That was fascinating! About the only thing I really remember from that time was President Nixon announcing his resignation, leaving the White House and Ford taking the oath of office. But then I was only five or six. ;)

My TT is up, too:
http://southern-born-and-bred.blogspot.com