The Watergate Scandal
Who: Richard Nixon was President at the time of the scandal. Members of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) were behind the break in. Nixon immediately denied any involvement, but as time went on, it became clear he was being dishonest. The Washington Post writers Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward began to examine the situation, and broke the conspiracy to the media, essentially making their careers.
Where: The five men broke into Watergate headquarters. The building is located in Washington, D.C. Specifically, they were attempting to go into the Democratic National Committee Office.
When: The CRP burglars broke into the Watergate building on May in 1972. The group returned on June 17 to fix their wiretaps. They were caught and arrested that same day. Members of the CRP were convicted in January 1973. Nixon forced many of his Justice Department officials to quit on October 20, 1973. This is known as the Saturday Night Massacre. After enough evidence built up against Nixon, he ended up resigning in August of 1974 before he was placed on an impeachment trial. His successor, Gerald Ford, excused Nixon of any crime six weeks after he became president.
What: The first break in of the office involved the men bugging the phones inside the Democratic office. Finding an issue with the wiretaps they installed, the men returned a month later to fix them. That day, a security guard notified the police and the men were arrested. As Bernstein and Woodward continued to investigate, an anonymous source who went by the name Deep Throat assisted them. Their reporting got the Senate involved. Soon after, it came to light that Nixon had been taping all White House conversations. The prosecution demanded that Nixon hand over the tapes, and Nixon refused, saying under his "executive privilege", he didn't have to. Eventually, the Supreme Court got involved and forced Nixon to turn the tapes in. The tapes had evidence of Nixon discussing the Watergate break in, and more importantly, the cover up. Inevitably, this would lead to an impeachment trial, so Nixon resigned before that could occur. Gerald Ford took office after him.
Why: Essentially, the men, who were working towards Nixon's reelection, broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. They did so in an attempt to spy on the Democratic party, who was running against Nixon. If they could've acquired enough information, Nixon might've had a better chance against them when he ran. Unfortunately, the men were arrested and Nixon, with enough evidence against him to prove his involvement, ended up resigning. This scandal resulted in a turn over of the excuse "executive privilege", as was Nixon's. He believed that since he was the President, could overrule anything other government officials asked of him. Since the Supreme Court got involved, his "executive privilege" was overruled, proving that presidents do not have unlimited power.
Where: The five men broke into Watergate headquarters. The building is located in Washington, D.C. Specifically, they were attempting to go into the Democratic National Committee Office.
When: The CRP burglars broke into the Watergate building on May in 1972. The group returned on June 17 to fix their wiretaps. They were caught and arrested that same day. Members of the CRP were convicted in January 1973. Nixon forced many of his Justice Department officials to quit on October 20, 1973. This is known as the Saturday Night Massacre. After enough evidence built up against Nixon, he ended up resigning in August of 1974 before he was placed on an impeachment trial. His successor, Gerald Ford, excused Nixon of any crime six weeks after he became president.
What: The first break in of the office involved the men bugging the phones inside the Democratic office. Finding an issue with the wiretaps they installed, the men returned a month later to fix them. That day, a security guard notified the police and the men were arrested. As Bernstein and Woodward continued to investigate, an anonymous source who went by the name Deep Throat assisted them. Their reporting got the Senate involved. Soon after, it came to light that Nixon had been taping all White House conversations. The prosecution demanded that Nixon hand over the tapes, and Nixon refused, saying under his "executive privilege", he didn't have to. Eventually, the Supreme Court got involved and forced Nixon to turn the tapes in. The tapes had evidence of Nixon discussing the Watergate break in, and more importantly, the cover up. Inevitably, this would lead to an impeachment trial, so Nixon resigned before that could occur. Gerald Ford took office after him.
Why: Essentially, the men, who were working towards Nixon's reelection, broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. They did so in an attempt to spy on the Democratic party, who was running against Nixon. If they could've acquired enough information, Nixon might've had a better chance against them when he ran. Unfortunately, the men were arrested and Nixon, with enough evidence against him to prove his involvement, ended up resigning. This scandal resulted in a turn over of the excuse "executive privilege", as was Nixon's. He believed that since he was the President, could overrule anything other government officials asked of him. Since the Supreme Court got involved, his "executive privilege" was overruled, proving that presidents do not have unlimited power.