Election of 1972• Nixon wanted landslide victory in ‘72• Wanted ‘mandate’ to rule• Those loyal to Nixon committed illegal actions• Nixon tried to hide illegal activities
The Watergate Scandal
• How did the Nixon White House battle its political enemies?
• How did the Committee to Reelect the President conduct itself during Nixon’s reelection campaign?
• What was the Watergate break-in, and how did the story of the scandal unfold?
• What events led directly to Nixon’s resignation?
Battling Political Enemies
• Nixon: – suspicious and secretive– White House operate as if surrounded by
political enemies.
• Creation of an “enemies list,”– list of prominent people seen as
unsympathetic to the administration.
• Someone in the National Security Council appeared to have leaked secret government information to the New York Times
• Nixon ordered wiretaps be installed on telephones of some news reporters and members of his staff.
Leaks to the Press: The “Plumbers”• “Leaks” (of information) to
the press continued• Former Defense Department
official Daniel Ellsberg’s leak of the Pentagon Papers - government study that revealed widespread deception about the situation in Vietnam.
• Nixon organized special White House unit, nicknamed the “Plumbers”
• Plumbers - – stop government leaks. – September 1971, Plumbers
broke into the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist
– Hoped to punish Ellsberg by disclosing damaging personal information about him.
Nixon’s Reelection Campaign
Campaign Funding• Committee to Reelect the
President (C.R.E.E.P.) - John Mitchell
• Aimed to collect as much campaign $$$ as possible before a new law required contributions to be reported.
• $$$ C.R.E.E.P. collected intended to fund:– routine campaign activities– secret unethical actions
Nixon’s Re-Election Campaign: “Dirty Tricks”
“Dirty Tricks”• Attempts to sabotage Nixon’s
political opponents • Included sending hecklers to
disrupt Democratic campaign meetings
• Assigning spies to join campaigns of opposing candidates.
• Damaging “dirty trick” involved a faked letter that seriously hurt the candidacy of Edmund Muskie, a leading Democratic presidential contender.
The Watergate Break-In• March 1972, C.R.E.E.P. plans to
wiretap phones at Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.
• Led by E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy.
• First attempt failed. • Second attempt June 17, 1972, 5
arrested. • $$$ they carried traced directly
to Nixon’s reelection campaign - linking the break-in to the campaign.
• Break-in and cover-up became known as the Watergate scandal.
The Watergate Break-in and Cover
up• Nixon not involved in break-in. Nixon involved in cover up.• Nixon illegally authorized CIA to persuade the FBI to stop
investigation of the break in -saying the matter involved “national security.”• Nixon’s advisors launched scheme to:
– bribe Watergate defendants into silence– coach defendants on how to lie in court.
• Incident barely noticed by the public. • Nixon won 1972 election by a landslide.
The Scandal Unfolds
The Watergate Trial• All the defendants either
pled guilty or were found guilty.
• Judge John J. Sirica not convinced full story told.
• Sentenced burglars to long prison terms - suggesting terms could be reduced if they cooperated with upcoming Senate hearings on Watergate.
Woodward and Bernstein
Woodward and Bernstein• Washington Post
reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein - influential in investigating the Watergate story.
• Woodward and Bernstein believed White House would eventually prove to be involved in the Watergate scandal.
• “All the President’s Men (novel then movie) - Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford
The Scandal Unfolds
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (Sen. Sam Ervin - (D)NC
• Aided by: – Woodward and Bernstein– testimony of one of the
Watergate burglars (James McCord), a Millions of Americans watched the Senate hearings unfold on national television.
• Nixon attempted to protect himself:– forced 2 top aides to
resign– Proclaimed he would take
final responsibility for the mistakes of others.
Secret Taping System
A Secret Taping System• Former presidential
assistant Alexander Butterfield revealed existence of a secret taping system in the President’s office.
• Taping system set up to provide a historical record of Nixon’s presidency.
• Would be used to show whether or not Nixon had been involved in the Watergate cover up.
The “Saturday Night Massacre”
• May 1973 - Nixon appointed a special prosecutor for the Watergate affair. – Special prosecutor works for the
Justice Department and conducts investigations into claims of wrongdoing by government officials.
• Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, insisted Nixon release the White House tapes.
• Nixon fired him on Saturday, October 20, 1973
• Began series of resignations and firings known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.”
Administration in JeopardyProblems in the Nixon
Administration, 1973–1974
• Nixon’s public approval rating plummeted after his firing of Cox.
• Cox’s replacement, Leon Jaworski, also requested Nixon turn over the tapes
• Nixon turned over edited transcripts instead.
• Public feelings of anger and disillusionment after reading transcripts
Resignation of VP Spiro Agnew
• Vice President Spiro Agnew - accused of evading income taxes and taking bribes
• Resigned in early October 1973.
• Completely unrelated to the Watergate Scandal.
• Successor - Gerald Ford confirmed two months later.
Impeachment Hearings and Nixon’s Resignation
• After Saturday Night Massacre, Congress began the process of determining if they should impeach the President.
• Summer of 1974 - House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon on numerous charges.
• Conviction, and removal from office, seemed likely.
The final stages: Release of the White House tapes
• On August 5, 1974, Nixon released the White House tapes, with an 18 1/2 minute gap.
• Tapes revealed Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate coverup.
• On August 9, 1974, Nixon became the first President ever to resign.
• Gerald Ford was sworn in as the new President.