Zusammenfassung der Ressource
The Watergate Scandal
- Who?
- President Richard Nixon
- The burglars which included Bernard Baker, Virgilio
Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, Frank Sturgis, and James W
McCord Jr
- "The plumbers" who were to prevent any
leaks of information to leave the others who
were involved
- The team included John Erlichman,E.
Howard Hunt, and John Paisley.
- Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP)
- Dozens of other White House staff members
- Where?
- The Watergate Hotel
- What were the consequences?
- The scandal led to investigation headed by the CIA, FBI, and the IRS
- There was evidence found in the Oval Office of recorded conversations that the
President had taped with out the knowledge of those who were recorded.
- The American citizens were encouraging Congress
to impeach the President.
- Nixon had committed crimes against basic constitutional rights
- He also lied and was not willing to cooperate with the investigation by
withholding evidence and trying to fire government employees who
were part of the investigation.
- When?
- June 17, 1972
- Why was the President involved in the scandal?
- President Nixon was paranoid that the other
party was going to win over his re-election
come November.
- So he hired a team of five to wire-tap the phone lines of his Democratic
opponents campaign office within the Watergate Hotel.
- He was looking for any embarrassing or privileged information that he
could find that would act as his 'hole in one' for winning re-election.
- How were the burglars hired?
- Nixon hired the men, who were a mix of retired CIA agents and military operatives.
- The President paid the burglars with cash and his campaign
committee also created a slush fund account for them.
- A slush fund is a reserve of money that's used for
illicit purposes, including political bribery.
- Why was this important?
- For the first time in american history, the President became a figure synonymous for untrustworthy.