A Watergate Diary By Elizabeth Drew

1. A Watergate DiaryBy Elizabeth Drew May 1973

2. The Watergate Scandal • The scandal began in 1972, when Richard Nixon’s administration organised the burglary and wiretapping of the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate Office Complex. • Initially, Nixon attempted to cover up any involvement via his control of FBI officials (Such as John Dean) and by having the CIA block the FBI’s investigation. • It was found that Nixon possessed tapes that implicated himself in the scandal, the Supreme Court ruled that he hand them over to Government investigators- which he did. • Facing certain impeachment, in 1974 Nixon became the only President to ever resign from office. • His predecessor, Gerald Ford controversially issued a full pardon of Nixon, exonerating him from any potential criminal prosecution.

3. Features of The Article • The article is made up of exerts from a diary kept by the writer, Elizabeth Drew, who was a Washington correspondent during the month of May, 1973. Each paragraph starting with the date it’s content was observed and written. ‘May 2- One of the…’ • The piece is written in an ‘in your face’ confrontational manner, saying everything exactly how it is, without wrapping it up in metaphorical or descriptive bows. • The piece is objective, she never uses personal pronouns such as ‘I’ ‘We’ ‘You’ etc. She merely talks of those involved in the covert affairs she depicts, without expressing any personal feelings towards the matters.

4. Recasting Task • Using information from the piece, write a post-scandal report on whether the FBI remains a legitimate institution and decide upon whether it should be closed down, or remain as an authority. • You should get any information you use from ‘May5-’ through to the end of the article.