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

[Nicole Austin]

Another great TT and informative post. Its amazing Felt was able to remain silent until 2005.

[Ann Aguirre]

Lots of interesting facts there! I'm glad Mr. Liddy has profited and got a talk show out of Watergate. Hehe.

[Julie]

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and for such an educational TT!

[Natalie]

Great TT!

[Deb - Mom of 3 Girls]

I'd never known that much about Watergate - it's very interesting to learn more about what happened and who was involved. Thanks! :)

[tommiea]

I was too young to remember any of this....or at least the nitty gritty details. Goes to say, you learn something new everyday.

Thanks for visiting my TT.

[RittyRats]

This list should also have included Chuck Colson, who was special counsel to Nixon, and one of the Watergate Seven. He served his time in prison, then later created Prison Fellowship.
Yep, this definitely is a walk down the murky dark waters of US politics, of which the nation has never recovered. Today I believe the American public should be impeached simply because of their apathy. What a sorry, lazy lot we have become! Who said those who don't know their history are condemned to repeat it? Hang on for the ride!
Just returning a visit to my site; hope you have a great weekend!

[Mallory]

Robin, I soooo remember that! I was a little kid watching my Sesame Street or some show and that boring Watergate show that mom liked would come on. I hated that show! lol

Thanks for catching me up on what really happened...well explained.

[samulli]

See, and again I learned something new. I knew virtually nothing about the Watergate scandal - except the name and the fact that Nixon had to resign because of it.
Deep Throat I connect only with X-Files. But I like this CREEP committee. Never was one more appropriately named... :o)

[Christina]

Wow! Now that is an impressive T13!

[Stien and Andi]

Very interesting list! Hehehe, great name for that CREEP group... Sounds just like something I would choose ;-)
Happy TT to you!

[Choosing Voluntary Simplicity]

I have enjoyed reading this very interesting and informative post. Thanks for visiting my site.

[nikki]

very informative. as someone who was born after that scandal, i read your tt with hungry eyes. thanks for clearing it up!

[coaldancer]

Ah, the memories. Nice job summarizing such a complicated piece of history.

[Open Grove Claudia]

I went to graduate school with a guy who was in prison with these guys. He said that Haldeman was an amazing poker player. He was funny, interesting, and never bitter for the way things turned out. Just a great guy - that's what he said.

Of course, he was my 4th grade Presidential person to follow. We stopped that project mid-year when all the shit hit the fan.

Great TT! :)

On a Limb - www.on-a-limb.com

[Kara]

Thanks for clearing this up - I lived through it as a young girl. Found a lot of information here that I hadn't know. Great TT.

[Amy]

I learned stuff from this TT!! =)

[Michelle at Scribbit]

I just remember it being one of the ugliest buildings in all of D.C.

[el-e-e]

Hey, thanks for visiting my TT!

[Janet]

So we can blame Nixon for the creation of the media frenzy! And hmmm...maybe John Dean knows what he's saying, having been through it once already...

Where they SERIOUS? CREEP? Idiots!

Thanks for visiting me; sorry I'm visiting so late!

[nononsense girl]

I'm glad I liked you to my blog. You guys are always interesting!!!! Happy TT!

Mine is up @ http://thenononsense.blogspot.com/2007/09/13-things-that-went-wrong-this-week.html

[Joy T.]

I 'thought' I knew a lot about Watergate. Turns out I didn't. Always nice coming here for TT!

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