Name __________________________________
Crisis at Watergate
Richard M. Nixon had been vice president from 1953 to 1961 in President Eisenhower’s administration. He was the
Republican candidate for president in 1960 but lost to John F. Kennedy. Nixon was embittered by that narrow loss. He next lost an
election for governor of California in 1962. In spite of these losses Mr. Nixon was able to make a comeback. He was nominated for
president and won a close victory in 1968.
The anti-Vietnam war protests were at their height when Nixon took office in 1969. Nixon responded by reducing
American forces from about 540,000 in 1969 to 39,000 in 1972. In addition, Mr. Nixon was the first American president to visit the
People’s Republic of China. That trip was made in 1972, the year he would be running for president.
Nixon was very concerned about re-election in 1972. He wanted not only to win, but to destroy his Democrat opponent,
whoever he might be. This affected Nixon’s outlook and his actions. In many ways Nixon was an able and likable person.
However, in the words of his own White House chief of staff:
“There was another side to him, like the flat, dark side of the moon.”
Another White House aide found Nixon to be “…absolutely paranoid about criticism.”
The atmosphere in the White House was often suspicious and combative. This was largely because of the outlook of the
president. He felt that the United States needed important changes. In later years he explained this when he wrote:
“…Congress, the bureaucracy, and the media were still working [together] to maintain the ideas and ideology of the
establishment that had come down… through the New Deal…”
He wrote in his diary that his plan was:
“…the only way , and probably the last time, that we can get government under control…”
Those were President Nixon’s views in 1973. By that time he had won re-election in 1972. The President had believed these
things before the election. He had felt he must be re-elected in 1972 to carry them out.
Meantime, the president was angered by the publication of certain secret Pentagon files about the war in Vietnam (the
Pentagon Papers). He gave approval to a secret White House unit to find his “political enemies.” This secret unit, which became
known as the “plumbers,” forged documents, illegally wiretapped the phones of the president’s opponents, and also carried out
burglaries. They claimed to be protecting national security. In reality, their actions served President Nixon’s personal interests.
A special committee was set up in early 1972 to run Nixon’s re-election campaign. It was called the Committee to Re-elect
the President, but was called CREEP by many reporters. The CREEP leaders lost little time in secretly putting some “plumbers”
on its payroll.
In addition to these illegal activities, Nixon accepted huge amounts of money for his political campaign fund in return for
special illegal favors he gave to individuals and corporations. For example, Robert Allen paid $100,000 and obtained the
dropping by the government of action against his company’s pollution. Dairy interests wrote Nixon a letter promising him $2
million for his reelection campaign and asked for limits on how many dairy products could be imported from other countries.
Nixon started the limits immediately. These are just some examples of how Nixon was raising enormous amounts of cash for his
reelection campaign, but there were many other examples.
By mid-1972 it was clear Nixon was going to win re-election. In spite of this, the “plumbers” in CREEP set out on some
unbelievable adventures. Perhaps they were made bold because they had escaped untouched up to that time. In May, 1972, they
broke into the Democratic Party Headquarters and securely planted several “bugs” (listening devices).
On the night of June 17, 1972, five of the “plumbers” again broke into the Democratic Party offices in Washington, D.C.
The offices were located in the Watergate apartment complex. They used tape to keep the door to the offices open while they were
inside.
A Watergate security officer later recalled:
“…I relieved another officer at twelve midnight…That night I had made a check of the doors…the locks and so forth…”
The officer, Frank Willis, found the tape on a door; he removed the tape but found it replaced on his next check of the area.
“…I found that tape stuck two different times…I called the Metropolitan police…and that’s when they discovered the
Watergate seven…”
Actually five men were found hiding in the offices. They had cameras and electronic “bugging” equipment with them. The
five burglars were soon identified. Their leader was the chief of security for the Committee to Re-elect the President.
The White House immediately denied any knowledge of the burglary. In August, President Nixon told a press conference:
“Under my direction, counsel to the President, Mr. Dean, has conducted an investigation…I can say categorically that
his investigation indicates that no one in the White House staff, no one in this Administration, presently employed, was
involved in this very bizarre accident.”
The President was not telling the truth. Actually, Dean had made no such investigation. However, the American people had
no way of knowing this. They took the president at his word.
For a time it seemed the Watergate incident might fade away. There was, however, a strong belief that some sort of coverup was going on. This was suggested by two reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post . In the words
of a writer of the time:
“They were the first to link the money paid to the burglars to the Nixon campaign fund…Most important they came to
believe the unbelievable, that the cover-up might be linked to the President himself.”
Most voters believed the President and not the newspaper articles. In November, 1972, Nixon was re-elected by an
overwhelming vote. But the Watergate case remained a problem to the President.
The five “burglars” arrested at Watergate and two others were indicted by a grand jury. This meant that the “Watergate
Seven” would stand trial. The trial opened in January 1973, soon after President Nixon’s inauguration.
In February the judge at the trial declared that a fuller investigation was needed. Within a few days the Senate voted to set
up a special “Select Committee” to examine events involving the Watergate episode. At the same time the Woodward and
Bernstein articles were becoming more widely read and believed. The increasing pressure was having an effect on President
Nixon.
The silence of the “Watergate Seven” was finally broken in March 1973. One of the “burglars” said that John Mitchell was
the person who directed the break-in. Mitchel, the former Attorney General in the Nixon administration, had been the chairman of
the Committee to Re-elect the President.
By now the President was deeply involved in the effort to save himself from the scandal. In May 1973, the Senate
Committee began holding televised hearings. Meantime, an independent special counsel was also appointed to look into the
Watergate affair. Then, in July, some new information was brought out.
A witness testifying before the Senate Committee told of secret tape recordings. It seemed that President Nixon secretly
taped conversations in the Oval Office. Those tapes were in the possession of the president. The Senate Committee and the
independent special counsel each demanded the tapes. President Nixon refused these demands at first. In July, the Supreme Court
ruled he must surrender the tape recordings. He finally gave in.
The tapes were a disaster for the president. They showed he had tried to cover up aspects of the Watergate affair. By this
time the House of Representatives had begun looking into the question of whether to impeach the president. Impeachment
procedures are contained in the Constitution.
If the House voted impeachment, Nixon would face trial by Senate. A guilty verdict by the Senate would remove him from
office.
In July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted for three articles of impeachment. All the Democrats on the committee
voted for impeachment. They were joined by eleven Republicans in the 27 to 11 vote on the First Article of impeachment which
accused President Nixon of :
“(1) Making or causing to be made false or misleading evidence or information…
“(2) withholding relevant and material evidence or information…
“(3) Approving, condoning…and counseling witnesses with respect to the giving of false or misleading statements…
“(4) Making false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States…
“Wherefore Richard Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and a removal from office.”
President Nixon did not wait for a full impeachment vote by the House. He resigned on August 9, 1974, the first president
to resign in the history of the United States. In his resignation speech to the nation Nixon refused to admit his guilt. A Canadian
newspaper commented:
“The man who approved the Watergate cover-up six days after the break-in continued to hide his guilt right up to the end.
In his resignation speech last night, there was no admission of wrong-doing, no acceptance of personal responsibility for the
scandal that threatened for a time, to destroy public confidence in the democratic system.”
Vice President Gerald Ford became the new president. He had been named vice president in October 1973. The elected vice
president, Spiro Agnew, had resigned after being accused of taking tribes. The appointment of Ford, and his approval by the
Congress, was done under the provisions of the 25th Amendment (1967).
Some Americans argued that Nixon had been “hounded from office.” This charge was not accepted, even by many of his
fellow Republicans. Eleven days after Nixon resigned, 10 of the 17 Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee signed a report
saying:
“We know that it has been said…that Richard Nixon was ‘hounded’ from office by his opponents and media critics.
We…point out, however, that it was Richard Nixon who impeded the FBI’s investigation of the Watergate affair…Day after day,
month after month, he imprisoned the truth about his role in the Watergate cover-up so long and so tightly…that it could not be
unleashed without destroying his Presidency.”
President Ford granted a pardon to Richard Nixon, but that did not end the shame of Watergate. Mr. Nixon had tried to
explain his action soon after he left office. On September 9, 1974, he said:
“….one thing I can see clearly now is that I was wrong in not acting more decisively and more forthrightly in dealing with
Watergate…That the way I tried to deal with Watergate was the wrong way is a burden I shall bear for every day of the life
that is left to me.”
In his remarks, Nixon still refused to admit guilt. He spoke of poor judgment, but Watergate placed a heavy burden upon
the nation. Still, if it showed the nation’s weaknesses, it also showed its many strengths.
1.
How did Nixon’s political outlook affect his presidency?
2.
Who were the “plumbers” and what illegal activities were they involved in before the Watergate break-in?
3.
How did Nixon illegally get money for his election campaign?
4.
What happened at the Watergate apartment complex?
5.
How did Nixon explain the Watergate affair to the nation?
6.
What was the importance of the newspaper stories of Woodward and Berstein?
7.
How was Congress involved in efforts to learn more about Watergate?
8.
What was the importance of the White House tape recordings?
9.
What were some of the impeachment charges passed by the House Judiciary Committee?
10. How did President Nixon react to the vote of the House Judiciary Committee?
11. Who became president after Nixon and what action did he take regarding Nixon?
12. Could another scandal as serious as the Watergate affair and the other crimes of President Nixon ever happen again in the
United States? What reasons do you have for your answer?
13. Do you think the American system of checks and balances in government offers a high degree of protection from any future
Watergate scandal?
The Watergate Tapes
At the height of the Watergate scandal, Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox subpoenaed Nixon's secret tapes
concerning the break-in and alleged cover-up. Nixon refused to give him the tapes, claiming national security
concerns. U.S. District Court Judge John Sirica then ordered the President to give Cox the tapes, and the U.S.
District court of Appeals upheld this order in October, 1973. Nixon countered by suggesting he give Cox only edited
summaries of the tapes. Cox refused, and Nixon attempted to fire him. The result was the so-called "Saturday Night
Massacre" in which Cox was fired but not before the leading Justice Department officials resigned rather than
agreeing with Nixon's order to fire him.
Analyze the following excerpts from the taped conversation of President Nixon and his aides. List and explain
evidence from the tape excerpts that suggest that President Nixon and his aides —his Chief of Staff H.R.
Haldeman and his lawyer John Dean--conspired to obstruct justice and committed illegal actions.
Transcripts of Recordings of White House Conversations (1972-1973)
June 23, 1972
HALDEMAN: Now, on the investigation, you know the Democratic break-in thing, we're back in the problem area because the
FBI is not under control, because [Director Patrick] Gray doesn't exactly know how to control it and they have—
their investigation is now leading into some productive areas. . . . They’ve been able to trace the money [used for
the break-in] — not through the money itself—but through the bank sources—the banker. And it goes in some
directions we don't want it to go. Ah, also there have been some [other] things—like an informant came off the street to
the FBI in Miami who was a photographer or has a friend who is a photographer who developed some films through
this guy [Bernard] Barker and the films had pictures of Democratic National Committee letterhead documents and
things. So it's things like that that are filtering in. . . . [John] Mitchell came up with yesterday, and John Dean
analyzed very carefully last night and concludes, concurs now with Mitchell's recommendation that the only way
to solve this . . . is for us to have [CIA Assistant Director Vernon] Walters call Pat Gray and just say, "Stay to hell
out of this—this is ah, [our] business here. We don't want you to go any further on it." That's not an unusual
development, and ah, that would take care of it.
PRESIDENT: What about Pat Gray—you mean Pat Gray doesn't want to?
HALDEMAN: Pat does want to. He doesn't know how to, and he doesn't have any basis for doing it. Given this, he will then
have the basis. He’ll call [FBI Assistant Director] Mark Felt in, and the two of them—and Mark Felt wants to
cooperate because he's ambitious—
PRESIDENT: Yeah.
HALDEMAN: He’ll
call him in and say, "We've got the signal from across the river to put the hold on this." And that will fit
rather well because the FBI agents who are working the case, at this point, feel that's what it is.
PRESIDENT: This is CIA? They’ve traced the money? Who'd they trace it to?
HALDEMAN : Well, they've traced it to a name, but they haven't gotten to the guy yet.
PRESIDENT: Would it be somebody here?
HALDEMAN:
Ken Dahlberg.
PRESIDENT:
Who the hell is Ken Dahlberg?
HALDEMAN : He gave $25,000 in Minnesota and, ah, the check went directly to this guy Barker.
PRESIDENT:
It isn't from the Committee [to Elect The President] though, from [Maurice) Stans?
HALDEMAN : Yeah. It is. It's directly traceable and there's some more through some Texas people that went to the
Mexican bank which can also be traced to the Mexican bank —they'll get their names today.
September 15, 1972
PRESIDENT : We are all in it together. This is a war. W e take a few shots and it will be over. We will give them a
few shots and it will be over. Don't worry. I wouldn't want to be on the other side right now. Would you?
DEAN : Along that line, one of the things I've tried to do, I have begun to keep notes on a lot of people who
are emerging as less than our friends because this will be over some day and we shouldn't forget the way
some of them have treated us.
PRESIDENT : I want the most comprehensive notes on all those who tried to do us in. They didn't have to do it. If
we had had a very close election and they were playing the other side I would understand this. No—
they were doing this quite deliberately and they are asking for it and they are going to get it. W e have not
used the power in this first four years, as you know. We have never used it. We have not used the
[Federal] Bureau [of Investigation], and we have not used the Justice Department, but things are going
to change now. And they are either going to do it right or go.
DEAN:
What an exciting prospect.
PRESIDENT : Thanks. It has to be done. We have been (adjective deleted) fools for us to come into this election
campaign and not do anything with regard to the Democratic Senators who are running, et cetera. And
who the hell are they after? They are after us. It is absolutely ridiculous. It is not going to be that way any
more.
NIXON RE-ELECTED NOVEMBER
1972
March 21, 1973
DEAN: So that is it. That is the extent of the knowledge. So where are the soft spots on this? Well, first of all, there is the
problem of the continued blackmail [by the Watergate burglars] which will not only go on now, but it will go on
while these people are in prison, and it will compound the obstruction of justice situation. It will cost money. It is
dangerous. People around here are not pros at this sort of thing. This is the sort of thing Mafia people can do:
washing money, getting clean money, and things like that. We just don't know about those things, because we
are not criminals and not used to dealing in that business.
PRESIDENT:
That's right.
DEAN:
It is a tough thing to know how to do.
PRESIDENT:
Maybe it takes a gang to do that.
DEAN: That's right. There is a real problem as to whether we could even do it. Plus there is a real problem in raising
money. Mitchell has been working on raising some money. He is one of the ones with the most to lose. But
there is no denying the fact that the White House, in [Chief Domestic Advisor John] Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and
Dean, are involved in some of the early money decisions.
PRESIDENT:
How much money do you need?
DEAN: I would say these people [the Watergate burglars] are going to cost a million dollars over the next two years.
PRESIDENT: We could get that. On the money, if you need the money you could get that. You could get a million dollars.
You could get it in cash. I know where it could be gotten. It is not easy, but it could be done. But the question is
who the hell would handle it? Any ideas on that?
DEAN:
That's right. Well, I think that is something that Mitchell ought to be charged with.
PRESIDENT: I would think so too.
Once you have finished reading the excerpts from the White House tapes, list evidence that President
Nixon conspired to obstruct justice and commit illegal actions.
WATERGATE CHRONOLOGY
1972
June 17: At the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C., five men are arrested during a bungled break-in at the offices of the Democratic
Party National Committee. The men are all carrying cash and documents that eventually show them to be employed by the Committee to Re-elect
the President (CREEP). The purpose of the burglary is to plant listening devices in the phones of the Democratic leaders and obtain political
documents regarding the Democrats' campaign strategy. The men arrested include former FBI and CIA agents with ties to the Republican Party.
The men are charged with break-in the Washington D.C. courtroom of John Sirica, but none admits any links between them, CREEP or the White
House.
November 7: After an October poll shows that less than half of the American people have even heard of the break-in, President Nixon defeats his
Democratic challenger, Senator George McGovern, in a landslide, capturing 60.8 percent of the popular vote and 520 of the 537 electoral votes.
McGovern carries only Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.
1973
February 7: Amid swirling rumors of widespread wrongdoing, corrupt financing, and political “dirty tricks” committed by CREEP, the Senate
establishes a Special Committee to investigate the Watergate affair, chaired by Democratic North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin.
April 30: Nixon's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, domestic affairs assistant John Erlichman, and chief presidential lawyer John Dean all resign
in an effort to assume blame for the growing scandal and deflect attention from Nixon. In a televised speech announcing the shake-up, President
Nixon denies any knowledge of a cover-up of White House involvement in the Watergate break-in.
July 16: In startling testimony, White House aide Alexander Butterfield tells the Ervin committee that President Nixon secretly recorded all Oval
Office conversations. This revelation provides the committee with the means to substantiate testimony implicating the President in the cover-up of
the Watergate burglary. It also sets off a constitutional crisis over the President's right to keep the tapes secret under the umbrella of "executive
privilege."
October 10: In an unrelated development that further damages White House credibility, Vice President Spiro Agnew, the chief voice for "law and
order" in the Nixon White House, resigns after pleading “no contest” to tax-evasion charges dating from his days as governor of Maryland. Two
days later, Nixon nominates Congressman Gerald Ford to succeed Agnew as Vice President.
October 20: "The Saturday Night Massacre." President Nixon orders his Attorney General to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox,
who has refused to accept the President's compromise offer to release a "synopsis" of the tapes. The attorney general and his assistant both refuse to
follow this order and are fired by Nixon. The firings raise a storm of protest in Congress, and the House actively begins to consider impeachment.
Leon Jaworski is later appointed the new special prosecutor to replace Archibald Cox.
October 30: After Nixon reluctantly agrees he will turn over the Oval Office tapes, investigators learn that two tapes are missing. Investigators also
learn that one of the tapes contains a mysterious eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap. The White House claims that Rosemary Woods, Nixon's
secretary, accidentally erased part of the tape while transcribing it.
1974
January 4: Claiming "executive privilege," President Nixon changes his mind and refuses to surrender hundreds of tapes and other documents
subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
April 29: In another nationally televised address, President Nixon offers a 1,200 page edited transcript of the tapes subpoenaed by the House
Judiciary Committee and Special Prosecutor Jaworski. Both Jaworski and the committee reject the transcripts. Later, the Supreme Court rules
unanimously that Nixon must turn over the tapes requested by the special prosecutor.
July 27: The House Judiciary Committee approves two articles of impeachment against Nixon, charging him with obstructing justice and
accusing him of repeatedly violating his oath of office. Three days later the committee will recommend a third charge of unconstitutional defiance
of committee subpoenas.
August 5: In another televised address, Nixon releases transcripts of a conversation with chief of staff Haldeman. The transcript shows that, six
days after the break-in, Nixon ordered a halt to the FBI investigation of the affair. Nixon concedes that he failed to include this information in
earlier statements, what he calls "a serious omission." This is the "smoking gun" that clearly links Nixon to a cover-up. Following the speech,
Nixon's remaining congressional support disappears; key Republican congressmen tell him he will probably be impeached and convicted.
August 9: President Nixon formally resigns and leaves for California. Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as President.