Watergate
The Lasting Effect of the Watergate Scandal
When one thinks of what has been termed as the Watergate scandal many different issues can come to mind. Watergate is arguably, the largest, most widely known political scandal in American history. Watergate brought about a shift in the American public’s view of the presidency, causing many at that time to lose faith, and view the office in a way it had never been viewed before.
What has become known as Watergate is an all-encompassing term for a mixture of crimes and offenses involving over thirty U.S. Government officials ranging all the way up to the office of the president. The term was derived from a Washington, D.C. office-hotel-apartment complex named Watergate. This hotel was the scene of what was at the time referred to as a “third-rate burglary” that occurred on June 17, 1972. The burglary occurred at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee located inside the building. A security guard discovered a burglary in progress and called police. Subsequently police responded and arrested 5 men for the burglary.
Washington Post investigative reporter Bob Woodward was assigned to the story initially. On the surface there was nothing about the burglary that seemed unusual. In fact most media outlets that reported information on the break in initially described it as a minor local story of little significance. Woodward and a co-worker, Carl Bernstein became more involved in the story after each started to do some investigation into facts of the burglary. Eventually, from their own investigation and information they received from a secret informant identified at the time only as “Deep Throat,” Woodward and Bernstein played a pivotal role in uncovering all of the facts to Watergate.
Before the Watergate burglary there was a group known as the Committee to Re-Elect the President, also referred to as CREEP, which was controlled by former Attorney General John Mitchell. CREEP started a massive fund-raising
When one thinks of what has been termed as the Watergate scandal many different issues can come to mind. Watergate is arguably, the largest, most widely known political scandal in American history. Watergate brought about a shift in the American public’s view of the presidency, causing many at that time to lose faith, and view the office in a way it had never been viewed before.
What has become known as Watergate is an all-encompassing term for a mixture of crimes and offenses involving over thirty U.S. Government officials ranging all the way up to the office of the president. The term was derived from a Washington, D.C. office-hotel-apartment complex named Watergate. This hotel was the scene of what was at the time referred to as a “third-rate burglary” that occurred on June 17, 1972. The burglary occurred at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee located inside the building. A security guard discovered a burglary in progress and called police. Subsequently police responded and arrested 5 men for the burglary.
Washington Post investigative reporter Bob Woodward was assigned to the story initially. On the surface there was nothing about the burglary that seemed unusual. In fact most media outlets that reported information on the break in initially described it as a minor local story of little significance. Woodward and a co-worker, Carl Bernstein became more involved in the story after each started to do some investigation into facts of the burglary. Eventually, from their own investigation and information they received from a secret informant identified at the time only as “Deep Throat,” Woodward and Bernstein played a pivotal role in uncovering all of the facts to Watergate.
Before the Watergate burglary there was a group known as the Committee to Re-Elect the President, also referred to as CREEP, which was controlled by former Attorney General John Mitchell. CREEP started a massive fund-raising