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1. WatergateScandal Presentation by Robert Martinez Primary Content Source: America’s History, Sixth Ed. Henretta, Brody and Dumenil. Images as cited. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00868/money-graphics-2008_868254a.jpg

2. WHERE IT’S GOING TO END

3. Main Idea and Objectives • Main Idea: President Richard Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal forced him to resign from office. • After we finish this section, we should be able to: • Explain how Richard Nixon’s approach to the Presidency led to the Watergate scandal • Describe how Nixon and high-ranking government officials worked to cover up the details of the break-in • Explain how these events led to impeachment proceedings and Nixon’s resignation

4. NIXON’S APPROACH • Nixon took an “imperial” approach to the presidency – the president was above the law, almost like a king • Previous presidents such as Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson had increased the power of the presidency • Nixon approached the presidency with this same attitude, and took it even further, often not considering the constitutional implications of what he was doing • Impounding of funds to stop certain Congressional programs from working • Nixon surrounded himself with and confided in a small, fiercely loyal group of advisers • H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, John Mitchell • This group helped develop the sense that they were above the law in their actions

5. On June 17, 1972, five men carrying wiretapping equipment were arrested breaking into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters located in the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. http://www.mustseewashingtondc.com/attractions/watergate-complex.jpg

6. Watergate Burglars http://www.peacebuttons.info/IMAGES/0617.1972_Watergate-burglar.jpg

7. Questioned by the press, the White House dismissed the incident as “a third-rate burglary attempt.” Pressed further, PresidentNixon himself denied any White House involvement. http://chnm.gmu.edu/7tah/workshops/ws1/images/tahwatergate.jpg

8. In fact, G. Gordon Liddy & E. Howard Hunt, were former FBI and CIA agents currently working for Nixon’s Committee to Re-elect the President. Their job was to protect the Nixon administration, anyway necessary, legal or not. They were called plumbers, making sure there were no leaks of information. Howard Hunt G. Gordon Liddy http://www.helmr.com/images/liddy.jpg http://media.keprtv.com/images/070124_Howard_Hunt.jpg

9. Hunt and Libby had arranged for the illegal wiretaps (listening devices) at the Democratic headquarters, part of their campaign of ‘dirty tricks’ against the rival Democratic party. http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/web/woodstein/post/images/oct10_detail.jpg

10. The Watergate incident was not an isolated incident. It was part of a pattern of illegality and misuse of power by a paranoid White House. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/images/s03472u.jpg

11. Nixon could have dissociated himself from the break-in by dismissing his guilty aides, but it was election time. Fearful of bad press, he arranged hush money for the burglars and instructedtheCIA to stop the FBI investigation. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/images/crook.jpg

12. http://www.mkbmemorial.com/FWHp/watergate-front-big.jpg

13. Ordering the CIA to stop the FBI from investigating the Watergate incident was an obstruction of justice, a criminal offense. http://msupress.msu.edu/imageDump/watergate%20nixon.jpg

14. Nixon managed to keep the lid on the incident until after his re-election, but eventually the lid blew off due to congressional investigations. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall06/Weiner/IMGS/whitehouseconnection.gif

15. In January 1973, the Watergate burglars were found guilty. One of them began to talk about his White House connections. http://www.historycommons.org/events-images/a999bernardbarker_arraignment_2050081722-21567.jpg

16. In the meantime, two reporters at the Washington Post, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, uncovered the Committee’s to Re-elects illegal “slush fund’ and its links to key White House aides. They had an informant whose identity was not revealed until 2005. http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Watergate/woodsteingraham.gif

17. The slush fund received its money illegally from the campaign contributions of the Republican party to finance “mischief” against anyone that posed a threat to the Nixon administration. http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Watergate/woodsteingraham.gif

18. In May, a Senate committee began holding nationally televised hearings, at which it was discovered that the Watergate break-in was linked to the White House. Attorney General John Mitchell, controlled secret “slush fund.” http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Watergate/woodsteingraham.gif

19. The guilty White House officials implicated President Nixon. During the testimony, it was discovered that Nixon had installed a secret taping system in the Oval office. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall06/Weiner/IMGS/nixonsmen.gif

20. http://www.magazine.org/ASSETS/11AAAD4DFD224BCCBDEB0C4AD7B43A83/33a.jpghttp://www.magazine.org/ASSETS/11AAAD4DFD224BCCBDEB0C4AD7B43A83/33a.jpg

21. Claiming executive privilege, Nixon refused to surrender the White House tapes. Under enormous pressure, he eventually released some of the tapes. One of the tapes was suspiciously missing 18-minutes of recording. http://watergate.info/images/740429address.jpg

22. “I Am Not A Crook”

23. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/images/hblock11.jpghttp://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/images/hblock11.jpg

24. Finally on June 23, 1974, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to releasethe unaltered tapes. Lawyers were shocked to find concrete evidence that the president had orderedthe cover-up of the Watergate break-in. http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/12/19/1229689270212/Gallery-deepthroat-dies---010.jpg

25. http://video.anews.eu/videos_clips/theway/img/watergate2.jpg

26. By then, the House of Representatives had began to consider articles of impeachment, to remove the president from office. http://www.utexas.edu/features/archive/2005/graphics/watergate3.jpg

27. Certain that he would be convicted by the Senate, on August 9, 1974, Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign from office. http://cafamilytree.com/past/1970/headline.jpg

28. Gerald Ford swears in as President of the United States. http://img.servihoo.com/kinews/AFP/SGE.DSI00.281206002935.photo00.quicklook.default-245x183.jpg

29. The next day, Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as president. Congressman Ford had replaced Vice President Spiro Agnew, who had himself resigned in 1973 for accepting “kickbacks” while governor of Maryland. http://www.globalgeografia.com/attualita/img/spiro_agnew.jpg

30. A month later, Ford stunned the nation by granting Nixon a “full, free, and absolute “pardon” for all offenses he had committed or might have committed during his presidency.” http://www.haisentito.it/img/_gerald-ford.jpg

31. President Ford took that action, he said, to spare the country the agony of Nixon’s criminal prosecution. He felt the country needed to move on. http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/speechgfx/ford-pardons.jpg

32. The Legacy of Watergate • After Nixon resigned, 25 members of the administration were convicted of crimes and served prison terms • Taken together with the effects of Vietnam, Watergate seemed to increase people’s distrust for government in the United States • Today, presidential or other high-ranking scandals often have the “-gate” suffix added to them • “Spy-gate” – Bill Belichick’s cover-up of spying efforts in the National Football League • Monicagate, Lewinskygate – Monica Lewinsky scandal with Bill Clinton

33. In Moscow, puzzled Soviets leaders could not understand, how a powerful president could be forced to resign, because of what they viewed as a minor offense. President Nixon shaking hands with Soviet Premier Brezhnev. http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/coldwar/images/H60s.jpg

34. Soviet history knew no parallel. That was one lesson of Watergate – that, in America, the rule of law prevailed.No one is above the law, not even the president. http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulhamby/2963265158/

35. A second lesson involved the constitutional separation of powers. As commander-in-chief, Nixon asserted unlimited authority, excusing his wiretapping. The president does not have absolute power due to checks & balances. http://video.anews.eu/videos_clips/theway/img/watergate11.gif

36. Congress pushed back against the abuses of the Nixon administration, passing the War Powers Act (1973), limiting the president’s ability to deploy U.S. forces without congressional approval. http://www.flickr.com/photos/92971534@N00/157448527/

37. Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act (1974), protecting privacy and access to federal records, and the Fair Campaign Practices Act (1974), limiting and regulating contributions in presidential campaigns. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/09/16/campaign.finance/campaign.finance.jpg

38. Lastly, Congress passed the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978), prohibiting domestic wiretapping without a warrant. http://www.illuminati-news.com/graphics/07-08/14/wiretapping.gif

39. Wrap-UP • Complete the sentences • Nixon’s approach to the Presidency can best be described as… • One way that Richard Nixon showed this approach to the presidency was… • One thing that Nixon and his advisers did to try to cover up the Watergate break-in was…