FREE ESSAY ON WATERGATE SCANDAL

WATERGATE SCANDAL

George McGovern, the Democratic presidential nominee the year of 1973, called it ''the
mother of all White House scandals.'' Watergate was in fact the name of the biggest
political scandal in United States history. It involved illegal activities such as
burglary, wire-tapping and espionage. All designed to help Richard Milhous Nixon to win
re-election in 1972 But, instead it resulted in the resignation of president Nixon.
On June 17, 1972 five men were caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic
National Committee. The headquarters were in a large apartment building complex called
Watergate. The men had intended to photograph documents and to place wire taps on the
telephones. The group's leader was James McCord who was on the committee to reelect the
President and was also handling Nixon's campaign. Papers found in the pocket of one of
the burglars led to White House staff members. Which meant that there were more people
involved then just the original seven.
The cover-up started to begin. The Nixon administration hid and shredded any and all
documents, which could lead to any, connected between the white house and the burglars.
Weeks later the seven Watergate defendants were indicted and were paid money for their
silence. Throughout 1972 little was said about the Watergate scandal. A poll showed that
most Americans had not even heard of it. In November, Nixon was overwhelming reelected
and in 1973 the trial of Watergate seven was held. All defendants pleaded guilty or were
convicted and it seemed as if the whole mess was over. 
Then on March 23, 1973 Judge John Sirica who presided over the trial of Watergate
received a letter from James McCord. In the letter McCord admitted that he had lied under
oath. He also said that there was more people involved the scandal then just the original
seven. And that "political pressure" had made the defendants plead guilty and remain
silent. Within days he had named John dean, counsel to the president as well as two
others.
The Watergate committee was now starting to unravel the whole mystery. James dean was
called to testify in front of a grand jury but this time he didn't keep his mouth shut.
Dean said, in his opening statement, that he had discussed the cover-up with president
Nixon in several meetings. On one occasion he told the president how he and other members
of the White House had handled the cover-up so far. He also claimed that president Nixon
agreed that $1 million should be raised to silence the burglars of Watergate.
For the first time in this intriguing scandal the president himself had been accused. But
the committee had no hardcore evidence; it was James Dean's word against President
Nixon's. The committee then made a shocking discovery, one that would seal Nixon's fate.
The white house had been equipped with a recording system. If Nixon was lying about the
whole scandal The Committee would soon find out through the tape recordings. They decided
to subpoena the tapes that afternoon. This was the first time anyone had ever subpoenaed
the president of the United States. This started a powerful struggle between the
president and the committee. The president refused to hand over the tapes saying,
"congress had no right to demand evidence from an executive branch." This tug of war
between the president and congress went on for a while. Slowly but surely Nixon started
to lose his power in congress, he had no other choice but to hand over the tapes. As the
committee reviewed the tapes they wasted no time in recommending that Nixon be impeached
on three charges: obstruction of Justice, abuse of presidential power, and trying to
impede the impeachment process by defying committee subpoenas." With the impeachment vote
against him Nixon made his last speech as president on august 8, 1974. The next morning
he boarded a helicopter and left for home.
I believe that president Nixon should have resigned from the presidency because he
committed treason against the United States of America, proving himself to be unloyal as
a citizen, a poor leader, and most certainly an unfit example of a role model. President
Nixon took advantage of the presidential pardon given to him by vice president Agnew
showing that he had no remorse for what he had done. Nixon was not given due process and
was exempt from the justice system on which the United States foundation was built upon.