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Watergate

Watergate. President Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal forces him to resign from office. (Corresponds to 24.2). Basic Information. This was a chain of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. “Watergate” comes from the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.

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Watergate

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  1. Watergate President Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal forces him to resign from office. (Corresponds to 24.2)

  2. Basic Information • This was a chain of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. • “Watergate” comes from the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. • Involved the Nixon administration and President Nixon himself.

  3. Scandal • June 17, 1972 Burglary occurs at the Watergate hotel • Burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee offices • Security guard Frank Wills caught the burglars • Burglars were anti-Castro Cuban refugees and former FBI & CIA agents

  4. Frank Wills • If it wasn’t for him the burglary may have never been stopped • Wills’s security log the night of the incidents is right

  5. Scandal • The night of the burglary five men arrested • Two other men arrested that evening • All seven men tried & convicted in Jan 1973 • All were directly or indirectly employees of Nixon’s re-election committee

  6. The Seven • Bernard Baker • Former CIA operative, was involved with Bay of Pigs • Virgilio Gonzales • Miami locksmith, Cuban refugee • James McCord • Security co-worker for the Committee to Re-Elect the Presdient (CREP) & former FBI & CIA agent • Eugenio Matinez • CIA connections and was anti-Castro Cuban Exile • Frank Sturgis • CIA connections and involved in anti-Castro activities

  7. The Seven • Gordon Liddy • Former FBI agent & White House staffer • Refused to answer questions about the burglary – was fired • Howard Hunt • Former White House staffer & former CIA employee • Worked to declassify the Pentagon Papers

  8. The Investigation Begins • Judge John Sirica presides over burglars' trial • Burglar leader James McCord says lied under oath - says advisers involved • White House Counsel John says Nixon involved in cover-up • Nixon dismisses Dean • Senator Samuel J. Ervin heads investigative committee • Alexander Butterfield says Nixon tapes presidential conversations

  9. The Investigation • Investigation highly influenced by media • Two Washington Post reporters at the forefront: • Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. • Woodword & Bernstein received all info from an anonymous informant - “deep throat” • Committee discovered secret tape recordings leading to a legal battle b/w Congress & the President

  10. The Investigation • Bernstein & Woodward learned • That the burglars came from Miami • Wore surgical gloves • Carried thousands of dollars in cash • Bernstein & Woodward relied upon “deep throat” • Bernstein learned that a $25,000 check for Nixon’s re-election had been deposited in a banking account of one of the burglars

  11. “Deep Throat” • 31-year FBI agent • Some stories were half fictional and half truth. • Felt’s identity was one of the best kept secrets • Identity was revealed in 2005 - 30 years after the burglary • Felt is now 91 years old

  12. Saturday Night Massacre • October 20, 1973 • Prosecutor Archibald Cox subpoenaed tapes • Nixon refuses • Nixon orders the firing of Cox • Attorney General Elliot Richardson refuses; resigns • Deputy A.G. William Ruckelshaus refuses; resigns • Solicitor General Robert Bork ordered; complies

  13. Nixon Reacts to Watergate • Nixon re-elected in November of 1973 • Nixon releases partial transcripts of the tapes on April 29, 1974

  14. Nixon’s Last Days • Judiciary Committee accepts 3 Articles of Impeachment • Nixon ordered to release tapes by the Supreme Court • One tape the day after the break-in had an 18 minute gap…erased • August 9, 1974, Nixon resigns

  15. A Brief Timeline of Events • November 1968 • Nixon wins presidency • July 23, 1970 • Nixon approves a plan for expanding domestic intelligence-program for FBI, CIA • June 13, 1971 • New York Times publishes Pentagon Papers

  16. A Brief Timeline of Events • June 17, 1972 • 5 men arrested at 2:30 a.m. trying to bug the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate hotel • August 1, 1972 • $25,000 cashier's check is discovered in the account of a Watergate burglar

  17. A Brief Timeline of Events • November 11, 1972 • Nixon re-elected with 60% of the vote • January 30, 1973 • Nixon aides G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord are convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping

  18. A Brief Timeline of Events • April 30, 1973 • White House staffers H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman & Attorney General Richard Kleindienst resign • White House counsel John Dean fired • July 18, 1973 • Nixon orders White House taping system disconnected • July 23, 1973 • Nixon refuses to turn over tape recordings to the Senate • October 1973 • Saturday Night Massacre

  19. A Brief Timeline of Events • April 30, 1974 • White House releases 1,200 pages of edited tape transcripts to the Judiciary Committee • Committee insists that they must have the tapes themselves • July 24, 1974 • Supreme Court rules unanimously that Nixon must turn over the tapes of White House conversations • Rejects the president’s claim of executive privilege

  20. A Brief Timeline of Events • July 27, 1974 • Judiciary Committee passes one of three impeachment articles • August 8, 1974 • Nixon is the only U.S. president to resign • V.P. Gerald Ford assumes presidency • Ford later pardons Nixon of all charges

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