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Watergate

2015-09-22T22:12:03Z

Reaganlover: Grammar

The '''Watergate Affair''' was a political scandal leading to [[President of the United States|President]] [[Richard Nixon|Richard M. Nixon's]] resignation. It began when members of the the Democratic Party who wanted to blame Nixon on the homosexual agenda, by framing his campaign for breaking into the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] National Committee headquarters in the [[Watergate Hotel]] looking for information on the the coverup of the [[Chappaquiddick]] incident involving Sen. [[Edward M. Kennedy]] and the death of a young woman.<ref>[http://www.rightwingnews.com/interviews/liddy.php G. Gordon Liddy Interview] by John Hawkins.</ref> President Nixon managed to not be blamed himself, but his subordinates still took the blame, but his loyalty to his subordinates led to Nixon consenting to cover up activities and transferring money from the Presidential election campaign fund to pay for the legal defense of those who were involved. Nixon resigned when it became clear he had lost support within his own party and [[Congress]], which had Democratic majorities in both branches, was likely to [[impeach]] him for [[obstruction of justice]].

==The Watergate Break-In==
On June 17, 1972, five men (James W. McCord Jr, Frank Sturgis, Virgilio Gonzales, Bernard Baker y Eugenio Martinez) were caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in [[Washington, D.C.]] The burglars included [[James W. McCord]], a former [[CIA]] employee, and several [[Cuba|Cuban]] expatriates with ties to the CIA. The subsequent investigation of the break-in revealed that the intruders were acting on behalf of the [[Committee to Reelect the President]] (also known as CRP or CREEP). They, along with accomplices [[E. Howard Hunt]] and [[G. Gordon Liddy]], were convicted of burglary and wiretapping in Jan. 1973.

==From Burglary to Political Scandal==
Evidence that emerged at the burglary trial suggested that the break-in had the approval of higher-level government officials who were attempting to cover up their involvement. This possibility was aggressively pursued by investigative reporters in the print [[media]], with [[Washington Post]] reporters [[Carl Bernstein]] and [[Bob Woodward]] playing particularly critical roles. Woodward and Bernstein, as well as others, discovered evidence that the break-in was only part of a wider effort of political "dirty tricks" designed to discredit Democratic candidates. They also uncovered the existence of a secret [[slush fund]] used to finance these activities<ref>Bernstein, Carl and Woodward, Bob. ''All The President's Men''</ref>.

== Deep Throat ==
Mark Felt (1913 - 2008) studied at the University of Idaho and the George Washington University Law School; he joined the FBI in 1942. In the 1970s Felt was second in the FBI hierarchy. In 1981, he was pardoned by President [[Ronald Reagan]] of the felony of violating civil rights in 1972 and 1973.

<blockquote>
On 19th October, 1972, White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman told Nixon a secret source had identified Mark Felt as someone who was leaking information about Watergate to the press. Nixon considered sacking Felt but Haldeman urged caution: "He knows everything that`s to be known in the FBI. He has access to absolutely everything... If we move on him, he'll go out and unload everything."
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
During the Watergate Scandal some people speculated that [[Mark Felt]] was Deep Throat. "It was not I and it is not I," Felt told Washingtonian magazine in 1974. In a press conference in August 1976 Felt denied once again being Deep Throat. He added that he would admit it if it was true as he thought it would have been his moral duty to remove a corrupt politician from power. However, he said, it was not possible to take credit for something he did not do.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
In May, 2005, Felt's lawyer, John O'Connor, went public with the news. Felt was quoted as saying: "I don’t think being Deep Throat was anything to be proud of. You should not leak information to anyone." However, he added: "If you know your government is engaging in illegal and/or immoral acts, then you have an obligation to speak out that overrides confidentiality agreements and secrecy laws. It's never wrong to inform on serious criminal acts no matter who is perpetrating them." <ref> [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKfeltM.htm Mark Felt: Biography] </ref>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Mark Felt, at age 91, is finally admitting to that historic, anonymous role. ''Vanity Fair'', 2005. <ref> [http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2005/07/deepthroat200507 "I'm the Guy They Called Deep Throat".] </ref>
</blockquote>

==Senate Investigation==
In April 1973, with a [[United States Senate|Senate]] investigation underway, several top Nixon aides, including [[H. R. Haldeman]] and [[John D. Ehrlichman]], resigned over the scandal, and White House counsel John Dean III was fired. Dean subsequently testified during televised hearings beginning in May, exposing Nixon's participation in the Watergate cover-up and massive illegalities in Republican fundraising in 1972.

The hearings also revealed that since 1971 Nixon had recorded conversations and telephone calls in his office. The president, however, refused to turn the tapes over to the Senate Watergate committee, citing executive privilege. In Oct. 1973 Nixon ordered [[Elliot Richardson]], the attorney general, to fire [[Archibald Cox]], the special prosecutor who had subpoenaed the tapes, but Richardson chose to resign instead. Richardson's assistant, William Ruckelshaus, also refused to fire Cox and was himself fired. Finally, it was the solicitor general, Robert Bork, who fired Cox. The incident, which became known as the "[[Saturday Night Massacre]]," led to widespread calls for Nixon's [[impeach|impeachment]].

The White House released edited transcripts of the tapes in April 1974, and eventually the tapes themselves, after the Supreme Court rejected Nixon's claim to executive privilege. But the damage was done; President Nixon's behavior—his cover-up of the burglary and refusal to turn over evidence—and the erosion of the public's confidence in his administration, led the House Judiciary Committee to issue three articles of impeachment on July 30, 1974. The document also indicted Nixon for illegal wiretapping, misuse of the CIA, perjury, bribery, obstruction of justice, and other abuses of executive power.

"In all of this," the articles of impeachment summarize, "Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States." Impeachment appeared inevitable, and Nixon resigned on [[Aug. 9, 1974]].

Nixon was succeeded in office the same day by [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] [[Gerald R. Ford]], who a month later issued a full pardon to Nixon for any crimes he might have committed in office, thus eliminating the possibility of future prosecution. A number of other administration officials served time in prison for their offenses, including former attorney general John Mitchell, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Dean, and [[G. Gordon Liddy]], a former FBI agent who helped plan the Watergate break-in.

==The Tapes==
The democrats created a fake tape that they replaced with Nixon's real tapes.Nixon was caught by the fake recording system whose installation was rigged by the liberals. It transpired during the course of the investigation that all conversations in the President's office had been secretly recorded for years for historic purposes.<ref>Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson also made secret recordings: [http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/News+and+Press/JFK+Library+and+Museum+to+Host+Presidential+Tapes+Conference+in+February.htm JFK Library and Museum to Host Presidential Tapes Conference], JFK Library, February, 2003</ref> During the investigation the White House was forced to release transcripts of Watergate-related tapes. These transcripts showed that at the very least Nixon was participating in near-daily, ongoing discussions of how to manage the spreading Watergate scandal. Many dubious actions, such as the payment of "hush money" to the defendants, were openly discussed and, seemingly, considered.

Tension was heightened when a tape with a key conversation, recorded a week after the burglary, turned out to have an eighteen-minute gap. To date the gap has not been explained, nor has anyone managed to recover the erased material. White House chief Alexander Haig provoked derision by a suggestion that the erasure had been caused by "some sinister force." Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods told the press that she could have erased the tape by accident while talking on the phone; when the press asked her to demonstrate, it became clear that this explanation was literally a long stretch.<ref>[http://www.ford.utexas.edu/museum/exhibits/watergate_files/content.php?section=3&page=a&zoom=2 Rosemary Woods demonstrating how she may have erased tape recordings].</ref> Later analysis by acoustics firm Bolt, Baranek and Newman concluded that the gap was the result of at least five separate erasures; since the tape recorder had a two-button interlock to prevent accidental erasure, the conclusion was that it must have been a deliberate action.<ref>[http://foi.missouri.edu/destructiondocs/natarchives.html National Archives Has Given Up on Filling the Nixon Tape Gap], New York Times, 2003</ref>

==David Frost interview==
In 1977, Nixon had an interview with British journalist David Frost. The event is recounted in Peter Morgan's play [[Frost/Nixon]]

==Notes and references==
<references/>

[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:United States Political Scandals]]
[[Category:Corruption]]
[[Category:Crime]]

Watergate

2015-09-22T18:11:44Z

Reaganlover: Showed real intent

The '''Watergate Affair''' was a political scandal leading to [[President of the United States|President]] [[Richard Nixon|Richard M. Nixon's]] resignation. It began when members of the the Democratic Party who wanted to blame Nixon on the homosexual agenda, by framing his campaign for breaking into the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] National Committee headquarters in the [[Watergate Hotel]] looking for information on the the coverup of the [[Chappaquiddick]] incident involving Sen. [[Edward M. Kennedy]] and the death of a young woman.<ref>[http://www.rightwingnews.com/interviews/liddy.php G. Gordon Liddy Interview] by John Hawkins.</ref> President Nixon managed to not be blamed himself, but his subordinates still took the blame, but his loyalty to his subordinates led to Nixon consenting to cover up activities and transferring money from the Presidential election campaign fund to pay for the legal defense of those who were involved. Nixon resigned when it became clear he had lost support within his own party and [[Congress]], which had Democratic majorities in both branches, was likely to [[impeach]] him for [[obstruction of justice]].

==The Watergate Break-In==
On June 17, 1972, five men (James W. McCord Jr, Frank Sturgis, Virgilio Gonzales, Bernard Baker y Eugenio Martinez) were caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in [[Washington, D.C.]] The burglars included [[James W. McCord]], a former [[CIA]] employee, and several [[Cuba|Cuban]] expatriates with ties to the CIA. The subsequent investigation of the break-in revealed that the intruders were acting on behalf of the [[Committee to Reelect the President]] (also known as CRP or CREEP). They, along with accomplices [[E. Howard Hunt]] and [[G. Gordon Liddy]], were convicted of burglary and wiretapping in Jan. 1973.

==From Burglary to Political Scandal==
Evidence that emerged at the burglary trial suggested that the break-in had the approval of higher-level government officials who were attempting to cover up their involvement. This possibility was aggressively pursued by investigative reporters in the print [[media]], with [[Washington Post]] reporters [[Carl Bernstein]] and [[Bob Woodward]] playing particularly critical roles. Woodward and Bernstein, as well as others, discovered evidence that the break-in was only part of a wider effort of political "dirty tricks" designed to discredit Democratic candidates. They also uncovered the existence of a secret [[slush fund]] used to finance these activities<ref>Bernstein, Carl and Woodward, Bob. ''All The President's Men''</ref>.

== Deep Throat ==
Mark Felt (1913 - 2008) studied at the University of Idaho and the George Washington University Law School; he joined the FBI in 1942. In the 1970s Felt was second in the FBI hierarchy. In 1981, he was pardoned by President [[Ronald Reagan]] of the felony of violating civil rights in 1972 and 1973.

<blockquote>
On 19th October, 1972, White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman told Nixon a secret source had identified Mark Felt as someone who was leaking information about Watergate to the press. Nixon considered sacking Felt but Haldeman urged caution: "He knows everything that`s to be known in the FBI. He has access to absolutely everything... If we move on him, he'll go out and unload everything."
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
During the Watergate Scandal some people speculated that [[Mark Felt]] was Deep Throat. "It was not I and it is not I," Felt told Washingtonian magazine in 1974. In a press conference in August 1976 Felt denied once again being Deep Throat. He added that he would admit it if it was true as he thought it would have been his moral duty to remove a corrupt politician from power. However, he said, it was not possible to take credit for something he did not do.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
In May, 2005, Felt's lawyer, John O'Connor, went public with the news. Felt was quoted as saying: "I don’t think being Deep Throat was anything to be proud of. You should not leak information to anyone." However, he added: "If you know your government is engaging in illegal and/or immoral acts, then you have an obligation to speak out that overrides confidentiality agreements and secrecy laws. It's never wrong to inform on serious criminal acts no matter who is perpetrating them." <ref> [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKfeltM.htm Mark Felt: Biography] </ref>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Mark Felt, at age 91, is finally admitting to that historic, anonymous role. ''Vanity Fair'', 2005. <ref> [http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2005/07/deepthroat200507 "I'm the Guy They Called Deep Throat".] </ref>
</blockquote>

==Senate Investigation==
In April 1973, with a [[United States Senate|Senate]] investigation underway, several top Nixon aides, including [[H. R. Haldeman]] and [[John D. Ehrlichman]], resigned over the scandal, and White House counsel John Dean III was fired. Dean subsequently testified during televised hearings beginning in May, exposing Nixon's participation in the Watergate cover-up and massive illegalities in Republican fundraising in 1972.

The hearings also revealed that since 1971 Nixon had recorded conversations and telephone calls in his office. The president, however, refused to turn the tapes over to the Senate Watergate committee, citing executive privilege. In Oct. 1973 Nixon ordered [[Elliot Richardson]], the attorney general, to fire [[Archibald Cox]], the special prosecutor who had subpoenaed the tapes, but Richardson chose to resign instead. Richardson's assistant, William Ruckelshaus, also refused to fire Cox and was himself fired. Finally, it was the solicitor general, Robert Bork, who fired Cox. The incident, which became known as the "[[Saturday Night Massacre]]," led to widespread calls for Nixon's [[impeach|impeachment]].

The White House released edited transcripts of the tapes in April 1974, and eventually the tapes themselves, after the Supreme Court rejected Nixon's claim to executive privilege. But the damage was done; President Nixon's behavior—his cover-up of the burglary and refusal to turn over evidence—and the erosion of the public's confidence in his administration, led the House Judiciary Committee to issue three articles of impeachment on July 30, 1974. The document also indicted Nixon for illegal wiretapping, misuse of the CIA, perjury, bribery, obstruction of justice, and other abuses of executive power.

"In all of this," the articles of impeachment summarize, "Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States." Impeachment appeared inevitable, and Nixon resigned on [[Aug. 9, 1974]].

Nixon was succeeded in office the same day by [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] [[Gerald R. Ford]], who a month later issued a full pardon to Nixon for any crimes he might have committed in office, thus eliminating the possibility of future prosecution. A number of other administration officials served time in prison for their offenses, including former attorney general John Mitchell, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Dean, and [[G. Gordon Liddy]], a former FBI agent who helped plan the Watergate break-in.

==The Tapes==
Nixon was caught by a recording system whose installation he had himself ordered. It transpired during the course of the investigation that all conversations in the President's office had been secretly recorded for years for historic purposes.<ref>Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson also made secret recordings: [http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/News+and+Press/JFK+Library+and+Museum+to+Host+Presidential+Tapes+Conference+in+February.htm JFK Library and Museum to Host Presidential Tapes Conference], JFK Library, February, 2003</ref> During the investigation the White House was forced to release transcripts of Watergate-related tapes. These transcripts showed that at the very least Nixon was participating in near-daily, ongoing discussions of how to manage the spreading Watergate scandal. Many dubious actions, such as the payment of "hush money" to the defendants, were openly discussed and, seemingly, considered.

Tension was heightened when a tape with a key conversation, recorded a week after the burglary, turned out to have an eighteen-minute gap. To date the gap has not been explained, nor has anyone managed to recover the erased material. White House chief Alexander Haig provoked derision by a suggestion that the erasure had been caused by "some sinister force." Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods told the press that she could have erased the tape by accident while talking on the phone; when the press asked her to demonstrate, it became clear that this explanation was literally a long stretch.<ref>[http://www.ford.utexas.edu/museum/exhibits/watergate_files/content.php?section=3&page=a&zoom=2 Rosemary Woods demonstrating how she may have erased tape recordings].</ref> Later analysis by acoustics firm Bolt, Baranek and Newman concluded that the gap was the result of at least five separate erasures; since the tape recorder had a two-button interlock to prevent accidental erasure, the conclusion was that it must have been a deliberate action.<ref>[http://foi.missouri.edu/destructiondocs/natarchives.html National Archives Has Given Up on Filling the Nixon Tape Gap], New York Times, 2003</ref>

==David Frost interview==
In 1977, Nixon had an interview with British journalist David Frost. The event is recounted in Peter Morgan's play [[Frost/Nixon]]

==Notes and references==
<references/>

[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:United States Political Scandals]]
[[Category:Corruption]]
[[Category:Crime]]