The Crimes Of Watergate

“Watergate” is the term used to describe a complex web of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. Why did Watergate occur in the first place? Every poll showed that President Nixon had a huge lead over Senator McGovern, so why did it happen? Watergate was caused by Nixon’s paranoia which lead to a cover-up that destroyed his presidency. Understanding the personality of Richard Nixon makes understanding the crimes of Watergate possible. Most sources agree that Nixon was, in essence, two men. According to John Ehrlichman, “There was another side to him, like the flat, dark side of the moon.” David Frost, did research for the television interview series he did with Nixon and said he saw the same dual personality. He wrote, “One domestic
political advisor theorized that there were really two Nixons: the one who was fascinated with both great international issues and the mechanics of governing, and the frighteningly insecure political thug.” This “political thug” dominated most of Nixon’s career. Watergate can be better understood by looking at this side of him. When he first ran for Congress in 1946 his opponent was Jerry Voorhis, who had a good record in Congress. Nixon changes that in what became known as the “Pink Sheet” campaign. Voorhis’ votes on national issues were displayed on pink fliers, and Voorhis was politically destroyed. Throughout his political career, Nixon ruined his political opponents by calling them out on not their ability but their patriotism. (The Crimes of Watergate, Cook, Fred J.) Born poor in Yorba Linda, California, he had to fight his way to the top. He overcame overwhelming odds to be in the White House, yet he was still an insecure man. Others have faced similar problems but have been able to get past the insecurities that were once linked to them. Nixon could not. He always seemed to be in a desperate struggle. He felt the whole world was against him. Along the way he had grown defensive, secretive and resentful of his critics. In his mind, protesters were trying to bring down his administration. Nixon was so consumed with his opponents that he put together an “enemies list” filled with people, from politicians to people of the media, who he considered a threat to his presidency. (Appleby, Chapter 28, The Crimes of Watergate, Cook, Fred J.) Nixon had fought hard to become president. He battled many political defeats, including a loss to John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. Vice-president for two terms in the Eisenhower administration, Nixon was the Republican presidential candidate in 1960. He began with a lead over Senator John F. Kennedy, but as time went on, Kennedy defeated him by the narrowest of margins. ( The Crimes of Watergate, Cook, Fred J.) Richard Nixon had just taken the oath of office before he began the first in a series of steps that would lead to the crimes of Watergate.
Fund-raising affairs were held from 1969 to 1970 to “pay off the 1968 campaign debts.” What most Republican leaders didn’t know was that there wasn’t any debt. The Nixon forces had done a lot of secret fund-raising outside of what was normally done. Only four weeks after he took office, Nixon set another secret fund-raising job in motion. He planned on using these funds to put together a conservative alliance from “The Silent Majority.” Developing this alliance depended on the “Southern Strategy.” The states of the South resisted integration, as they had for centuries. Political campaigners with racist views pulled a lot of voters to the polls. The champion of the segregationist South was George Wallace. Nixon and his advisors felt that the five states Wallace had won over in 1968 would have voted for Nixon if Wallace had not been in the race. The solution to this was to eliminate Wallace as a threat in the 1972 campaign. The anti-Wallace effort was just the first in a series of actions that destroyed the strongest Democratic candidates of 1972 and left Nixon with exactly what he wanted, the weakest possible opponent. (The Crimes of Watergate, Cook, Fred
J.) When Nixon began his reelection campaign, his advisers were optimistic. Nixon had just finished successful trips to China and the Soviet Union. Former governor George Wallace, who had a strong campaign in 1968, had dropped out of the race after a bullet paralyzed him, and his Democratic opponent, South Dakota Senator George McGovern, was viewed by many as too liberal. But Nixon’s reelection was not guaranteed. Determined to win at all costs, Nixon’s staff began spying on rallies and spreading rumors about their opponents. As part of their efforts to help the president, Nixon’s advisers ordered five men to break into the Democratic Party’s headquarters at the Watergate complex and steal any sensitive campaign information. They also placed wiretaps on the office telephones. While the burglars were at work, a security guard who was making his rounds spotted a piece of tape holding a door lock. The guard ripped off the tape, but when he passed the door later, he noticed that it had been replaced. He quickly called the police, who arrived and arrested the men. (Appleby, Chapter 28, The Crimes of Watergate, Cook, Fred J.) The media discovered that one of the burglars, James McCord, was not only an ex-CIA official but also a member of the Committee for the Re-election of the President (CRP). Reports soon surfaced that the burglars had been paid to carry out a break-in from a secret CRP fund controlled by the White House. At this point, the cover-up began. White House officials destroyed documents and gave false statements to investigators. That’s when President Nixon stepped in. The president may not have ordered the break-in, but he did order a cover-up. With Nixon’s consent, administration officials asked the CIA to stop the FBI from investigating the source of the money paid to the burglars. The CIA told the FBI that the investigation threatened national security. Nixon’s press secretary said the incident was a “third-rate burglary attempt.” Nixon told the American public that, “The White House has had no involvement whatever in this particular incident.” Most Americans believed him, and few people paid much attention to the stories of Watergate because of the 1972 presidential campaign. Nixon won reelection by one of the largest margins in history with nearly 61 percent of the popular vote and 520 electoral votes. (Appleby, Chapter 28) In early 1973, the burglars of Watergate went on trial. “McCord’s testimony opened a floodgate of confessions, and a parade of White House and campaign officials exposed one illegality after another.” In June 1973 John Dean testified that former Attorney General John Mitchell had ordered the Watergate break-in and that Nixon had played an active role in attempting to cover up the White House’s involvement. The Nixon administration strongly denied the charges. But Dean had no evidence to support his testimony. The Senate committee tried for a month to determine if he was telling the truth, and on July 16 they had their answer. White House aide Alexander Butterfield testified that Nixon had ordered taping systems to be installed in the White House to record all conversations. At first Nixon refused to hand in the tapes, saying that White House conversations should remain confidential. Archibald Cox, a government lawyer pointed by the president to handle the Watergate cases, took Nixon to court to try to force him to give up the recordings. Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox, but Richardson refused to do so and then resigned. Nixon then ordered Richardson’s deputy to fire Cox, but the deputy resigned as well. His solicitor general, Robert Bork, finally fired Cox, but the incident, nicknamed the “Saturday Night Massacre”, damaged Nixon’s reputation with the public. (Appleby, Chapter 28) Several days later, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon.
The committee charged Nixon with obstructing justice in the Watergate cover-up, misusing federal agencies to violate the rights of citizens, and defying the authority of Congress by refusing to deliver tapes and other materials that were requested. Before the House of Representatives could vote on whether Nixon should be impeached, investigators found evidence against the president. One of the tapes revealed that just six days after the Watergate burglary Nixon had ordered the CIA to stop the FBI’s investigation. Before he could be impeached, Nixon resigned from office. (Appleby, Chapter
28) Less than a year before Nixon’s resignation, Spiro Agnew becomes the first U.S. vice president to resign in disgrace. President Nixon was instructed to fill the vacant office of the vice president by nominating a candidate who then had to be approved by both houses of Congress. Nixon’s appointed Representative Gerald Ford of Michigan and it was approved by Congress. On December 6 Ford was sworn in. He became the 38th president of the United States on August 9, 1974. Ford decided to give Nixon a full pardon for all offenses against the United States in order to put the scandal behind them. Ford’s decision to pardon Nixon was condemned by many and is thought to have contributed to Ford’s failure to win the 1976 election. (“President Ford Pardons Former President Nixon.”, “Vice President Agnew Resigns.”)