The Watergate Scandal - Research Paper Example

Nixon effected the American breakthrough with China with his landmark visit. In Moscow, he signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and an Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty to slow the arms race. The Paris Peace Accord ended American military involvement in Vietnam. “American President: Richard Nixon (1890-1969).” However, Nixon is now largely remembered as the only President to resign from office. Richard Nixon’s legacy is centered on solely one issue: the Watergate scandal, with its connotations of abuse of power and impropriety.

The Watergate Scandal originated in June 1971, as a reaction to the publication of an intensive study of the Vietnam War by Daniel Ellsberg. Fearing that these ‘Pentagon Papers’ would reveal his own political secrets, Nixon established the Special Investigations Group (SIG): nicknamed ‘the plumbers’ because of their mandate to prevent any media leaks about the Nixon administration. In an attempt to discredit Ellsberg, G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt of the SIG organized the burglary of the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, to gather damaging evidence.

In 1972, the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP) allocated funds for Operation Gemstone, a campaign to gather information against Nixon’s political adversaries. . Nixon won a landslide election victory in November 1972, and began his second term as President. (“The Watergate Scandal”). At this juncture, the dam of the Watergate Scandal broke, and the deluge washed away his Presidency. The exposure of the Watergate Scandal gained momentum due to the reporting of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post.

Their informer, called ‘Deep Throat,’ was revealed in 2005 to be the former deputy director of the FBI, W. Mark Felt. (“Deep Throat Revealed.”) As Nixon attempted to cover his tracks over past political errors, the axiom that “the cover-up of the crime can be more damaging than the crime itself” (“American President: Richard Nixon (1890-1969)”) proved true. It became increasingly clear that the break-in was authorized by top White House officials, campaign funds were diverted for illegal SIG operations, and that the White House attempted to buy the silence of the arrested men.

It was proved that a $25,000 cheque from the campaign fund was paid to Bernard L. Barker and hush money was given to E. Howard Hunt to be distributed by his wife. In January, 1973, Frank Sturgis, E. Howard Hunt, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, Bernard L. Barker, G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord were convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. James W. McCord wrote to Judge James Sirica alleging that the defendants submitted to political pressure from John Dean, Counsel to the President, and John Mitchell, Director of CREEP, to remain silent and plead guilty.

Nixon persisted in maintaining his ignorance of the operations, but his defense began to wear thin. (“The Watergate Scandal”). As the net began to