Watergate and Beyond Mr Carpenito

Watergate and Beyond

Mr CarpenitoChap 30.2

A. The Beginning of a Scandal 1. Watergate- political scandal named after burglarized building a. 6/17/1972 5 men broke into DNC headquarters b. 1 CRP (Committee to Reelect President), others former White House aides

c. Nixon denied any involvementd. Won reelection (72) over George McGoverne. Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein continued investigating 1) Found evidence that CRP hidden illegal campaign contributions 2) Began publishing stories in Washington Post

f. Convicted burglar James McCord wrote letter to Judge 1) He was told to plead guilty & keep silent 2) Also stated 5 not only ones involvedB. The Investigation 1. 2/1973 Senate began own investigation 2. Nixon tried to cut all ties back to himself

a. Forced Chief of Staff & chief advisor to resign b. Fired White House attorney John Dean3. Under Senate pressure, Nixon appointed independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox4. Millions watched Senate hearings on TV a. John Dean most damaging witness

b. Revealed that Nixon records most conversations 1) Senate asked for tapes 2) Nixon refused-executive privilege- presidents right to keep info secret to protect national securityc. Prosecutor Cox asked for a court order to get tapes

d. 10/20/73 Nixon ordered Attorney General to fire Cox 1) Instead he resigned 2) 2nd highest Justice Dept official also resigned 3) Finally Robert Bork named acting Attorney General fired Coxe. Resignations & firings became known as Saturday Night Massacre

Pics: 1 Elliot Richardson 2. Elliot Ruckelshaus 3. Robert Bork 4. Archibald Cox7f. Approval rating plummeted & talk of impeachmentg. Discovered VP Agnew failed to pay taxes & took bribes 1) Resigned 2) Nixon selected Minority Leader Gerald Ford new VP

C. Nixons Resignation 1. Formal process begun to impeach after massacre a. Nixon finally turned over few tapes & heavily edited transcripts of others b. 18 min segment of 1 tape erased c. New prosecutor asked for 64 more tapes

1) 7/74 SCOTUS ordered Pres to turn over all tapes 2) Conversations proved Nixon ordered cover-upd. Committee asked House to vote to impeache. Former supporters asked him to resignf. 8/8/74 Nixon announce resignation 1) Next day Ford becomes President

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