The Watergate Scandal- Politics in the 1970's

            In the high tide of the Vietnam War, Republican President, Richard Nixon was up for reelection. However, the nation was divided internally. In the midst of such a harsh political campaign, Nixon’s advisors (known as CREEP) felt the need to use forceful tactics, leading to the illegal espionage known as the Watergate scandal. Several unidentified burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) office, located in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. The burglars stole top-secret documents as well as proceeding to wire tap the phones.

On June 17, 1972, the wiretapped phones were malfunctioning, leading to another break in. However, this time a security guard noticed the locks on the doors being taped and called the police, who arrived in time to catch the burglars red handed inside the Watergate building. However, unfortunately to the credit of the President, this was no ordinary robbery. The burglars were caught in possession of top-secret documents and though it could not be directly linked to Nixon, suspicions were raised as they were in possession of the white houses campaign phone number.

In August of 1972, Nixon made a speech denying any knowledge of the scandal. Most voters believed Him, leading to his reelection in November. After the election, it still could not be proven that Nixon knew exactly about the events, which occurred. His actions in the aftermath may have been even more severe.

It is no secret that he did do what he could to try and cover up the scandal. First it came to light that he was attempting to raise millions of dollars in “hush money” for the burglars trying to cover up their actions. Secondly, and perhaps even more severe than the scandal itself, Nixon tried to initiate a plan for instructing the CIA to secretly impede the FBI’s progress of the investigation. This was an obvious abuse of presidential power as well as a clear obstruction to justice.

Nixon continued to be backed into a corner as many of his aids began to be arrested in the wake of the prosecutor’s pursuit of justice, with some even testifying to his guilt. It became known that Nixon taped every conversation held in the oval office. After it became clear that the president could no longer hide the tapes and keep his role in the scandal under wraps, he resigned. Following this, his successor Gerald Ford made a bold move by pardoning Nixon on all accounts. Nixon never actually admitted to his guilt, but his reputation was certainly tainted for the rest of history.