Watergate Flashcards
(48 cards)
When did Nixon become president
20th January 1969
Give a weakness of Nixon
He was very paranoid - resenting those who he as as against him and rewarding those he saw as loyal to him
What were the White House plumbers
A group who prevented leaks of sensitive information.
What was CREEP
The campaign to re-elect the president (Nixon)
What did creep do secretly
Some of the budget was used to spy on and damage Nixon’s potential opponents in the 1972 election, paying the White House plumbers
This worked, such as on Edmund Muskie, a democrat candidate. Stories about his wife were published that made him break down into tears, making him lose the democrat election
What happened on 17th June 1972
5 men were arrested for breaking into offices in the national democratic committee in the watergate complex in Washington. They were trying to repair bugging devices that had been installed in a break in on 28th may
When were the 5 men arrested for the watergate breaking
17th June 1972
Which journalists were key in showing watergate
Bob Woodward and carl Bernstein
Did CREEP and the White House admit to the watergate scandal straight away
No
What did the FBI discover about watergate (2)
- Two of the White House plumbers were involved in planning (Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy)
- It was funded by CREEP
What did Nixon say immediately after watergate and did people believe him
He said no one in the White House was involved and people believed him
Did Nixon win in 1972 and was this surprising
Yes he won - not surprising
Was Nixon a good president pre 1972
Yes - he was widely seen as effective, so it was no surprise when he won in 1972
What happened on 19th march 1973
James McCord, one of the burglars of watergate, sent a letter to the court claiming that the White House officials told the burglars to lie in their trial
Who first accused Nixon of being involved
John Dean, a White House lawyer who Nixon had previously sacked due to his role in covering up watergate (Nixon was also involved in the coverup)
Did nixon plan watergate
No - as of right now we have no evidence that states that Nixon knew it was going to happen, although he was undoubtedly involved in the coverup
What discovery was made to do with recordings
All conversations and phone calls had been recorded in Nixon’s office since 1971
What happened after people found out about the existence of the White House recordings
- Nixon refused to hand them over on grounds of national security (there were other conversations that weren’t just watergate)
- Eventually under the pressure of Cox, he gave some edited scripts in October 1973.
- In April 1974, he gave some unedited scripts
What was the reaction of the people to the unedited scripts (2)
- They were shocked about what was discussed
- They were shocked at how much swearing there was
Who was Archibald Cox
The special prosecutor for the White House.
He was employed by Nixon!
He was the one who battled to get the recordings
When was Nixon made to hand over all the recordings (not transcripts) and by whom
24th July 1974 by the supreme court
What happened when Nixon handed over all the recordings
There was enough evidence to show that Nixon blocked the initial investigation of the watergate breakin, abused his power and failed to obey the laws requiring him to allow access to evidence
When was the key recording and what was in it
The “Smoking Gun” tape
- 23rd June 1972 -
he tried to stop the FBI investigating the break-in at Watergate. This proved that he had tried to cover up watergate from the very beginning.
