Name: ______Class Period: ______Date: ______

Watergate Scandal

A Burglary, a Scandal, and a President It was a normal work night for Frank Willis. He was a security guard at a large complex in Washington, D.C. This complex had buildings that people lived in. It had a hotel. It also had buildings with offices. Frank Willis was guarding a building that housed the office of the Democratic National Committee. On one of his rounds, Willis noticed that someone had placed a piece of tape over the lock in a door. The tape kept the lock from working properly. Cleaning people often used this to keep from having to unlock a door each time they went in or out. Willis removed the tape thinking that a cleaning crew must have forgotten to remove it. Later that night, Willis discovered that a new piece of tape had been placed on the lock. He realized that something was wrong and contacted the Washington police department. What the police discovered in the Watergate building would set in motion the largest scandal Washington had known. When they entered the building, the police found and arrested five men who had broken into the Democratic Committee offices. It was later discovered that this was their second break-in of the offices. During their first break-in, they had planted wiretap equipment. It was used to listen in on what the Democrats were doing. The second break-in was to replace some of the wiretaps that were not working. You might want to ask these questions: Who would want to break into a political party office? What would they steal? The answers were fairly simple in the minds of the police. Their attention immediately went to the Republican Party. They were the ones who would benefit from information that would be found in this office. It was June of 1972. Richard Nixon, a Republican, was the President of the United States. He was in the middle of a campaign to be re-elected to the presidency. Any bit of information the Republicans could secure to keep the Democrats from defeating Nixon was important. The police took their time and did an extensive investigation. They soon discovered that this was no simple burglary. What they needed to find out was just how far into the White House the law breaking went. As the investigation continued, names close to the president started to be heard. Aides close to the president were involved in the planning of the burglary. The burglary was just a small part of the plan. A committee was formed by the Senate to do a government investigation. By April of 1973, President Nixon was forced to ask for the resignations of two of his most influential aides, Robert Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. He fired a White House lawyer named John Dean. Dean had testified before the Senate telling them about the involvement of White House personnel in the illegal acts. Nixon reacted by naming Elliot Richardson as Attorney General. He wanted him to appoint a special lawyer to conduct yet another investigation. Richardson appointed Archibald Cox as the special counsel. During one of the investigations, it was discovered that the president had made tape recordings of everything that went on in the Oval Office of the White House. Very few people knew that these tapes even existed. Now everyone wanted to know just how deeply involved the president himself was in the illegal activities. Archibald Cox subpoenaed the tapes. A subpoena is an order written by the court to produce something. President Nixon refused to turn over the tapes. Instead, he demanded that Cox drop the subpoena. Cox refused. October, 20, 1973, became known as the "Saturday night massacre" in history. Nixon made Elliott Richardson and his deputy, William Ruckelshaus, resign. He wanted someone in office who would follow his orders. Robert Bork was finally named to replace Richardson. He did as Nixon commanded and fired Cox. After these events, Nixon's popularity with the people plummeted. People stood on the street in front of the White House holding signs that said "Honk to Impeach." The noise of the horns honking became almost deafening. Nixon continued to proclaim his innocence. He maintained that he had no knowledge of what members of his re-election committee were doing. His words "I am not a crook" were published across America. Nixon eventually agreed to release edited forms of the tapes. He maintained that some of the material contained on the tapes was best kept secret. He said it was sensitive material important to the security of the nation. Many historians agree that most of the deleted passages were words and statements that would not reflect well on Nixon. One of these tapes had eighteen and a half minutes that had been erased. The blame for this blank space was put on the president's secretary, Rose Mary Woods. She said it was an accident. Investigators didn't agree. On July 24, 1974, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the president must surrender all tapes to the new special counsel, Leon Jaworski. The tapes were released on July 30, 1974.

Questions 1. Richard Nixon was the President of the United States in 1973. A. true B. false

2. Who discovered the Watergate burglary? A. a security guard B. a senator C. an aide D. a Democratic committeeman

3. What was the intent of the Watergate break-ins? ______

4. Why did President Nixon say he wouldn't hand over the original tapes of conversations in his office? ______

5. How many burglars were arrested? A. two B. three C. four D. five

6. Whom did Nixon want his Attorney General to fire? A. a cabinet member B. a special counsel C. an aide D. a senator

7. Who was blamed for erasing parts of the White House tapes? A. the president's secretary B. the president's aide C. the burglars D. the president

If you were the President of the United States, would you have to follow the same laws that everyone else has to follow? Why? Why not? ______

Fallout From Watergate

When an official in the United States government is accused of doing something wrong, it is called impeachment. Impeachment hearings are held in front of Congress. If the charges are proved, the official can be removed from office. Up until 1974, only one president had faced impeachment. His name was Andrew Johnson. He became president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The charges against Johnson could not be proved, so Johnson remained in office. The investigation into the Watergate break-in continued to turn up the involvement of more and more people in the Nixon White House. More people began to talk of impeachment proceedings against the president. Could it be proved that the president had knowledge of plans for illegal acts against the Democratic Party? Had he helped make the plans? If this was true, he could be removed from office. Seven of Nixon's former aides were indicted by the court in March of 1974. That means that they were ordered to appear in court to answer charges against them. Most of them were charged with lying or withholding evidence from the investigators. In August of that year, the most incriminating White House tape of all was found. It was called by many the "smoking gun." This tape proved that Nixon knew what was going on. He supported the plans. Investigators heard for themselves the president and his aide, Bob Haldeman, discussing plans to keep investigators from finding out the truth. Nixon could see the end coming. He did not wish to face impeachment proceedings. On August 8, 1974, he appeared on national television. He still proclaimed his innocence. But he said he wanted to save the country from any more investigations or hearings. He announced his resignation from the presidency of the United States. It would become effective at noon the very next day. By doing this, Richard Nixon became the first President of the United States to resign. Television cameras recorded the events the next day as Nixon and his wife, Pat, walked out of the White House and onto a presidential helicopter. They flew from the lawn of the White House into political history. Vice President Gerald Ford was now President Ford. Leaving office did not mean that Nixon could not face federal charges. That possibility was erased just one month later. On September 8, 1974, President Ford signed a formal pardon. This pardon stated that although former President Nixon should have acted quicker and more decisively in the Watergate situation, he should not be punished for his part in the action. Other members of the Nixon administration were not so lucky. John Ehrlichman entered prison in 1976. Bob Haldeman and John Mitchell entered prison the following year. Other members of the administration had to serve jail time for their varying roles in the burglary itself and the cover up. Following the Watergate scandal, changes were made in how the government was run. A limit was placed on how much money could be donated to political campaigns. Activities among government officials that might in the past have been overlooked were now brought out into the open for all the people to see. One powerful congressman had to resign from office when his arrest for drunken driving was brought to public attention. Before Watergate it might have been ignored. Regulations were written for lawyers as to just how much they could manipulate the law. The Watergate scandal left a lasting impression on how people viewed the government. Any scandal for years to come had the suffix "-gate" attached to it. President Clinton had to deal with "Whitewatergate." The Olympics had its "Skategate." President Nixon went from being a popular president to an icon for bad government. Perhaps the whole situation helped to straighten out a crooked system.

Questions 1. Andrew Johnson was the first U.S. president to face impeachment. A. true B. false

2. What piece of evidence sealed President Nixon's fate? A. a picture B. a note C. a confession D. an audio tape

3. What does impeachment mean? ______

4. What did Richard Nixon do that no other President of the United States has done? ______

5. Who became President of the United States after Nixon? A. Andrew Johnson B. Gerald Ford C. John F. Kennedy D. Lyndon Johnson

6. Why didn't Nixon have to face the charges brought against him? ______

7. What was the final White House tape called? A. the verdict B. the final straw C. the smoking gun D. the indictment

8. How did campaign donations change after Watergate? A. They limit was placed on how much could be given. B. They were no longer allowed. C. They were to be put into one account. D. They were only allowed for certain elections.

Can you think of any reason why it might be all right to break a law? ______