Before Watergate Scandal
As mentioned earlier, the leaking of the Pentagon Papers caused great shock to many. These paper exposed things about the Vietnam war that were unexpected. Secrets and unwanted information were exposed to the public. If it were not for Daniel Ellsberg, the secrets would have possibly continued for much longer.
The Pentagon Papers only opened the doors for more secrets to be revealed. "Nixon seems to have found his personal fears and insecurities rising almost to the level of paranoia when he reached the White House." The release of Pentagon papers just made Nixon mistrust the people that worked for government even more. The abnormal amount of distrust he had towards people led him to create an investigation group. This investgation group was not something approved by congress. Instead it was a team of investigators, known as the "plumbers", that he created to spy on Daniel Ellsberg. The plumbers raided Ellsberg's psychiatrist office.
The Pentagon Papers only opened the doors for more secrets to be revealed. "Nixon seems to have found his personal fears and insecurities rising almost to the level of paranoia when he reached the White House." The release of Pentagon papers just made Nixon mistrust the people that worked for government even more. The abnormal amount of distrust he had towards people led him to create an investigation group. This investgation group was not something approved by congress. Instead it was a team of investigators, known as the "plumbers", that he created to spy on Daniel Ellsberg. The plumbers raided Ellsberg's psychiatrist office.
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate apartment complex, located in Washington D.C, held the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. This was a very important place for Nixon because that was the place where all the "secrets" were held. The first Watergate breaking in was on May 27, 1972. During this break in the Plumbers did not get caught. They succeeded in installing wire taps to listen to phone conversations made by the Democratic National Committee chairmans, Larry O'Brien and R. Spencer Oliver.
Later, on June 17, 1972, the five men were arrested for their second break in. The second break in was attempted to try and fix the wire taps that were not installed correctly the first time. They also attempted to take picture of documents. The Watergate scandal was high publicized and therefore impacts the way president Nixon is viewed today. It deeply wounded his image. Today, many aspects of the President's life are highly publicized and the way the media portrays the President is the way many American's think of him.
Later, on June 17, 1972, the five men were arrested for their second break in. The second break in was attempted to try and fix the wire taps that were not installed correctly the first time. They also attempted to take picture of documents. The Watergate scandal was high publicized and therefore impacts the way president Nixon is viewed today. It deeply wounded his image. Today, many aspects of the President's life are highly publicized and the way the media portrays the President is the way many American's think of him.
The Cover up
Nixon tries to stop the FBI from Investigating the Watergate Scandal
There were many things done in order to cover up for the watergate scandal. It was not until 2005 that the former deputy director of the FBI admitted to have leaked information to the Washington Post newspaper. This information stated that a member of the CIA, Edward Howard Hunt, was possibly involved in the watergate scandal. On June 17, 1972, the day of the break in, the FBI found Howard Hunt's and The White House's telephone number in two of the burglars' address books. A couple of days after Howard Hunt disappeared.
This obviously made Hunt a major suspect of involvement. The president was also involved in this burglary. The White House Chief of Staff, Harry Robbins Haldeman, encouraged President Nixon to use the CIA to cover up the scandal. They would come up with a plan to lie the FBI and tell them that the Watergate scandal was a part of a CIA operation. Since President Nixon had an accomplice in the CIA, Howard Hunt, it was not going to be difficult to try and trick the FBI. The Richard Nixon Library quotes Nixon's conversation about getting the FBI to stop the investigation: "If the CIA could deflect the FBI from Hunt, they would thereby protect us from the vulnerabillity involving […] not the break-in, but the political activities Hunt had undertaken […]." Haldeman also suggested that they try to get Hunt out of the country.
This obviously made Hunt a major suspect of involvement. The president was also involved in this burglary. The White House Chief of Staff, Harry Robbins Haldeman, encouraged President Nixon to use the CIA to cover up the scandal. They would come up with a plan to lie the FBI and tell them that the Watergate scandal was a part of a CIA operation. Since President Nixon had an accomplice in the CIA, Howard Hunt, it was not going to be difficult to try and trick the FBI. The Richard Nixon Library quotes Nixon's conversation about getting the FBI to stop the investigation: "If the CIA could deflect the FBI from Hunt, they would thereby protect us from the vulnerabillity involving […] not the break-in, but the political activities Hunt had undertaken […]." Haldeman also suggested that they try to get Hunt out of the country.
The Burglars Payment
The Plumbers could have not possibly gone through so much trouble to just help out President NIxon. They got paid to keep quite and do the dirty work. This type of work did not come cheap. The burglars got paid $217,000 from June 29 until September 19 and also got big private donations. The money came from Nixon's fundraising administration, Committee for the Re-Election of the President. Instead of using this money to campaign, Nixon allowed some of the money to be used to keep secrets and do dirty work. At this point, the scandal no longer had to do with just the burglars and their crime, but also involved political figures. The money that NIxon's campaign raised was not used properly. In a way, he stole money from his fundraiser to provide his needs. His needs consisted of selfishly and illegally obtaining information that he would have not have had access to if he did not steal money from his fundraising administration.
Missing Gaps in the Tapes
President Nixon had a taping system installed in the oval office of the White House. The tapes contained at least 3,700 hours of recorded conversation and phone calls. Not many people knew about this taping system. If they did know about it, to was because they knew about Nixon's investigation. On a particular recording, the President start to discuss the Watergate break-in. Right before Nixon starts talking about the Watergate break in, the tape cuts off. Suspiciously enough, the tape have several gaps. Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, claimed that five minutes of the gap were accidentally deleted by her. Until this day, the deleted gaps have not been recovered.
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Nixon's presidency exposed the flaws of the President's power. Before his abuse of power, the American people did not suspect such secrets to be kept from them. Today, Nixon is mostly remembered for what he did wrong rather than what he did right. These wrong doings overpower his enforcement of environmental policies in America and the peace he established with China.
References
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- Gage, Beverly. "Deep Throat, Watergate, and the Bureaucratic Politics of the FBI." Journal of Policy History, 24.2 (2012): 157-183.
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- Pierotti, John. "Watergate Scandal, 1973." Cartoon. 14 May, 1973. New York Post. Web. 04 May, 2014
- "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
- Taping System in Nixon White House Revealed. NBC News. N.p., 16 July 1973. Web. 04 May 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/52810437#52810437>.
- The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. “Watergate.” 18 Apr. 2014
- Time Magazine. "File: Time Magazine Pentagon Papers." Illustration. n.d. Time Magazine. Web. 04 May,2014.