History Of The Watergate Scandal

The Watergate scandal is the name given to President Richard Nixon’s planned break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters and its attempted cover-up (Free Dictionary. 2014). The Watergate scandal hurt the President’s image and caused the American people to distrust the government. Although Nixon accomplished a lot of good during his presidency, it is out shadowed by the Watergate break-in and cover-up. On June 17, 1972, at 2:30 am, five men hired by Richard Nixon broke into the Democratic National Headquarters, the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C., and were arrested for attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications (“Brief Timeline of Events.” 2013). Along with these five men: Bernard L. Barker,
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Gordon Liddy and E Howard Hunt Jr (“Brief Timeline of Events.” 2013). Two days later on June 19, a GOP security aide was found with the Watergate burglars, according to the Washington Post (“Brief Timeline of Events.” 2013). John Mitchell, head of the Committee to Reelect the President, denied any link to the break-in also on this date (“Brief Timeline of Events.” 2013). On August 1, a check written for 25, 000 dollars reserved for Nixon’s reelect campaign ended up in the bank account of one of the burglars (“Brief Timeline of Events.” 2013). Two months later, it is reported that John Mitchell had controlled a private Republican fund used to buy intelligence-gathering equipment against the Democrats, while serving as the attorney general (“Brief Timeline of Events.” 2013). On October 10, 1972, the Federal Bureau of Investigation deemed that the Watergate break-in can be traced back to a huge campaign “of political spying and sabotage conducted on behalf of the Nixon reelection effort.” (“Brief Timeline of Events.” 2013). Throughout this whole time, President Nixon denied any connection
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Nixon was paranoid and feared any man who did not agree with him (“Watergate and the Cover-Up.” 1995). He also believed that, as President, he could take whatever measures necessary to protect himself from his enemies, even if that meant he broke the law (“Watergate and the Cover-Up.” 1995). During his presidency, he actually said, “When the President does it, that means it is not illegal.” (“Watergate and the Cover-Up.” 1995). In turn, he was his own worst enemy. Because of his paranoia and the secret tapes, he brought upon his own downfall (“Watergate and the Cover-Up.”