Chapter 20- The Watergate Affair and its aftermath Flashcards
(20 cards)
where did the Watergate affair take place?
It took place at the Watergate hotel, the location of the Democratic Party’s Washington DC Offices, they were preparing for the 1972 election
who was J Edgar Hoover?
he was the director of the FBI, he was fiercely anti-communist
what was the cause of the Watergate affair?
Nixon was alarmed by the release of the Pentagon papers in 1971 which revealed secrets of the Johnson and Kennedy administration, Nixon was fearful of what the papers could release about his own presidency. Nixon approached Hoover and he set up his own investigative team known as the “plumbers”, one of the jobs was to insight a smear campaign against Ellsberg, the writer of the PP. Ex-CIA agents Liddy and Hunt put together a team to burgle the office of the psychiatrist of Ellsberg, some of the team were Cuban expats who had been involved in the Bay of Pigs.
what was the significance of the pentagon papers?
they were released by Ellsberg in 1971, they showed that Johnson had lied to the public and Congress about the bombings in Cambodia and Laos, Ellsberg was initially charged with conspiracy, espionage and theft of Government property.
did Nixon know?
There is debate over how much Nixon knew about the scandal, a key white house aide said that he heard Nixon approving the bugging of the hotel as a way of gaining information. Nixon instructed Haldeman, to head off an FBI investigation by getting the CIA to argue that it might interfere with their work.
what were the consequences of the Watergate affair?
15 September- 5 arrested men with Liddy and Hunt were indicted for conspiracy, $500,000 in funds from the CRP were used to pay the legal expenses, this only created more suspicion. Liddy and Hunt had also been part of the CRP and Nixon was concerned about how this might lead to an investigation. Hunt would also go on record to say that there had been a number of illegal activities.
what took place a few days after Watergate?
23rd June- Nixon met with Haldeman to discuss how to prevent an investigation uncovering evidence of wrongdoing- this was recorded. Nixon decided to ask the CIA to tell the FBI to not push ahead with the investigation in order to prevent bringing up the Bay of Pigs affair, the White House managed to prevent political fallout from the 1972 election.
Woodward, a journalist, discovered that McCord, one of the five arrested, was responsible for the security of the CRP, there was also a link to the WH with the phone number of Hunt- Woodward began to receive classified information- became known as “deep throat”
political outcome of the event?
Nixon was still able to win a landslide in 1972, he was aided by the bugging- though the public were not aware of the scandal. It was revealed in February 1973 that Dean had given classified information about the investigation. This brought the investigation closer to Nixon, even when he did not allow Dean to testify.
what were the results of the 1972 election?
Nixon won 43.3% of the PV
and 538 of the EC
the legal events post-watergate
23rd March 1973 the intruders were due for sentencing, before sentencing the judge read out a letter from McCord as more evidence. Dean did decide to co-operate with the Senate investigation, in April there was the firing of Ehrlichman and the resignation of Haldeman
in may there was the televised senate hearings , there became clear evidence of corruption in the WH. The tapes were subpoenaed, this led the HR to move to impeach Nixon. In the SC case US vs Nixon the court upheld the 8-0 subpoena- 3500 Hours of conversations were to be released.
what was the role of Congress in the Watergate affair?
Edward Kennedy pushed for the Senate Committee to investigate Watergate, the parties nominate to the committee were balances- it soon became clear that Nixon did have knowledge of the break-in. There was the beginning the impeachment hearings, the Republican Party were able to distance themselves from the events.
what was the significance of the resignation of the president?
It became evident that Nixon would be impeached, Goldwater told the president that there was a maximum of 15 senators who might vote in favour of him- he resigned on 8th Aug, 1974. Ford deck eared that “our national nightmare is over”, one month later he pardoned Nixon.
what was the political legacy of Nixon?
- he was able to end the draft in 1973
- climate policy
- appointing 4 sc judges
- dedicating $100 million to the war on cancer
- preventing gender bias in colleges
- overseeing the peaceful segregation of southern schools
- moon landing
- extending the vote
his negative campaigning and skill with the media
what role did the media play in the Watergate scandal?
There were leaks
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein at the Washington post established links between McCord and the WH
1972- frost vs Nixon, nixon apologised for putting the American people through years of needless agony
what was the context of the Watergate scandal?
Nixon thinks that he can do whatever he wants, the power of the presidency vs ego. there is the key idea that Nixon is winning at all costs.
what is the short-term context?
early in his presidency Nixon deployed the ss to spy on his political enemies
spring 1971; there was the creation of the committee for the re-election of the president, involved ex-cia and ss members
13 June 1971- pentagon papers, revealed secrets of how the USA became involved in Vietnam. This was not about Nixon but he was concerned. The power of a political leak
Nixon made the attempt to discredit Ellsberg, former CIA operator Hunt was instructed to burgle the home of Ellsberg, looking for material to smear him.
The break in happened at the 1972 DNC, Nixon and creep wanted to bug the DNC. James Mccord, ex-cia and Martinez who was a cuban expat
Nixon didn’t want people who were high up in the establishment.
May- bugging
June- 5 are arrested, including Hunt
Aug- first cover-up Nixon suggest an investigation
Nov- landslide win, no-one has connected Nixon and Watergate.
Key context of the Watergate affair
Nixon had the power of the presidency, Nixon has established character and political methods. He is someone that wants to win at all costs.
what was the significance of creep?
key involvement of SS/CIA members to win, blue the lines between the office/party politics
what is the significance of the plumbers?
exploit the knowledge of key individuals to create a certain narrative
the events of Watergate and the role of congress
Jan 1973- Watergate burglars were indicted on criminal charges- mcCord wants to share what happened.
feb- senate establishes a committee for critical oversight to look into the 1972 election
April 1973- Dean, Haldeman and Ehrlichman resign
May 1973- televised hearings at senate begin
July 1973- Nixon refused to cooperate and does not comply with the supine for tapes
Supreme court ruling and move to impeachment by the house
February 1974: there is bipartisan support on the judiciary committee
July 1974- the sc upholds the subpoena
House of reps move to impeach nixon
5 aug- smoking gun tapes are handed over
9 aug- resignation.
