WATERGATE SCANDAL
Researched by: Christine Lee
What happened first...
- June 17, 1972, the "Watergate burglars broke into the Democratic Party's National Committee offices at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., and alerted security guard, Frank Wills. 5 men were arrested for trying to bug the offices, one whom said he used to work for the CIA.
- June 19, 1972, former attorney general, John Mitchell, the head of Nixon's reelection campaign, denies any affiliation.
Victims
Whistleblower(s)
-Mark Felt (revealed in 2005)
-FBI Associate Director
-Anonymous informant to Woodward and Bernstein
-Provided evidence that was instrumental to the success of the investigation
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
-Young journalists for The Washington Post
-Wrote the coverage story over a period of two years
-Communicated with and befriended Felt
Evidence
"Bug"
A listening device found in the DNC's offices at Watergate
Telephone book
Bernard L. Barker's telephone book that contained the number of E. Howard Hunt, whose name in this, and one other book, was accompanied by the inscriptions "W House" and "W.H." *Hunt was associated with President Nixon's reelection campaign.
In addition...
~On February 6, 1974, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution 803 by 410-4 to authorize the Judiciary Committee to consider impeachment proceedings against Nixon.
~In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommended Articles of Impeachment to the full House of Representatives.
~August 7, 1974, Nixon says he won't resign.
~Then on August 8, 1974, President Nixon makes his resignation speech at 9 PM, announcing that he would resign the presidency at noon the following day.
~August 9, 1974, President Nixon delivers his letter of resignation to Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, who initialed it at 11:35 AM.
~Gerald Ford becomes the first president never to have been elected by the people or the Electoral College.
~Bernstein and Woodward's work helped earn the Post a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1973.
~President Ford grants Nixon a "full, free, and absolute pardon" on September 8, 1974.
~During the 1974 midterm elections, the Republicans lose 43 seats in the House and three in the Senate.
~The 1974 book about the scandal written by Bernstein and Woodward, All the President's Men, became a No. 1 bestseller and was later turned into a movie in 1976, which turned the two men into celebrities and also led to the mystery of the identity of "Deep Throat."
~A second book, The Final Days, was published by Bernstein and Woodward in 1976 as a follow-up chronicling Nixon's last days in office.
~30 years later in 2005, it was claimed to Vanity Fair that Deep Throat was FBI Associate Director W. Mark Felt, later confirmed in Woodward's book The Secret Man.
Personally..
Works Cited
" The Pulitzer Prizes | Awards ." The Pulitzer Prizes | What's New . N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/1973>.
Black, Conrad. Richard M. Nixon: a life in full. New York: PublicAffairs, 2007. Print.
"Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon." Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://watergate.info/>.
(A LOT came from this website.)
"Watergate Exhibit Evidence." Nixon Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/themuseum/exhibits/2010/watergateexhibitbackground/watergateexhibitbackground.php>.
"Watergate Burglary Evidence (washingtonpost.com)." The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/photo/politics/G52119-2002Jun14.html>.