The Watergate Scandal :: American History Papers

The Watergate ScandalThe Watergate Scandal was a series of crimes committed by the President andhis staff, who were found to spied on and harassed policy-making opponents,accepted illegal campaign contributions, and covered up their own misdeeds.On June 17, 1972, The Washington Post published a sm completely story. In thisstory the reporters express that five men had been arrested breaking intothe headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. The headquarters waslocated in a Washington, D.C., building complex called Watergate. Theseburglars were carrying enough equipment to wiretap telephones and begetpictures of papers.The Washington Post had two reporters who researched deep into the story.There names were Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, they discovered that oneof the suspects had an address book with the name and phone number of aWhite House official who could have been involved in the crime. Thereporters suspected that the break-in had been ordered by other White Houseof ficials.In a press conference on August in 1972, President Nixon said that nobodyon the White House Staff was involved in the crime. close of the publicaccepted Nixons word and dropped the questioning. But when the burglarswent to trial four months later, the story changed rapidly from a smallstory to a national scandal. It ended alone when Richard Nixon was forcedfrom office.Watergate was connected to Vietnam, it eventually exposed a long series ofillegal activities in the Nixon administration. Nixon and his staff werefound to have spied on and harassed political opponents, plannedcontributions to the campaign, and tried to cover-up their illegal acts.These crimes that they did were called the Watergate scandal, named afterthe building that it happened.For years Nixon was carrying on the crimes and they were not noticed untilnow. 1969 was the really date in which Watergate was really beginning. Itall started when the White House staff made up a list called enemies list.Nixon had enemies which include 200 liberal politicians, journalists andactors. Most of these people made a public speech against the Vietnam war.Nixons aides formed a conducts tax audits on these people that he thoughtwere enemies. He also had agents find out cryptic information that wouldharm them.Nixon was always worried about govt. Employees revealing secret info. Tothe news paper or any sort of press. The presidents agents helped him bywiretapping phone lines that belonged to reporters in order to find anyrevealing some material. Nixon was so worried that during the Cambodiabombing he had to wiretap his own staff members.On June in 1971, The sassy York Times formed work that was published about