Nathan Weinreich
English, US History
February 25, 2003
Outline
Watergate Outline
Although it has not been proven Richard Nixon gave the order to break-in
to the Democratic Headquarters it is known that high-level White House officials
were involved.
Watergate
I. The Introduction
A. Pentagon Papers
B. Republicans wanted evidence of Castro-Democrat ties.
II. The Body
A. The Break-ins
B. The Cover-up
C. Consequences
III. The Conclusion
A. Re-iterate important historical aspects
B. Was the White House guilty of illegal activities?
C. Aftermath
IV. The Appendixes (if any)
V. The Works Cited
Watergate
The Watergate scandal had such a great effect on our nation because it involved
illegal activities stemming from the highest office in our nation: The President
of the United States. It all began in June of 1971 when the New York
Times began publishing the Pentagon Papers. These papers were the Defense
Department’s secret history of the Vietnam War. (6, 1025-1026.) Although
the information in the papers referred to the Kennedy and Johnson administrations,
President Nixon felt that it was not in the best interest of the nation to
be exposed to Top Secret governmental information about a war that was still
going on. In order to stop the future printing of these classified
documents Nixon ordered an injunction to stop the printing. This was
legal under the order of “Executive Privilege”. However, the Supreme
Court felt that the newspapers were at no fault and that the printing of
the documents could continue. Nixon was outraged at this decision and
at once his supporters began to find ways to stop the information from getting
out. One way to stop this information from leaking was to discredit
the man who originally leaked the materials. His name was Daniel Ellsberg.
Ellsberg, a former Defense Department aide, had around this time become adamantly
opposed to the war in Vietnam. For leaking the documents he was indicted
for stealing government property and violating the Espionage Act. (6, 1025-1026.)
To deal with this problem the Nixon administration created a clandestine
unit known as the “plumbers”. Their title comes from their job description,
which was to “plug” press leaks, including finding evidence that Fidel Castro
contributed funds to liberal George McGovern’s 1972 Presidential election
campaign. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.) Their first job set off a
series of break-ins that culminated in the now infamous Watergate scandal.
The plumbers unit consisted primarily of seven men; although countless
others were involved and knew about their missions. The seven were
Bernard L. Baker, Virgilio R. Gonzalez, Eugnio R. Martinez, James W. McCord,
Frank A. Sturgis, E. Howard Hunt, and G. Gordon Liddy. All these men
allegedly had been involved in covert government actions. G. Gordon
Liddy was an ex-FBI agent, pilot, weapons specialist, and former aide on
Ehrlichman’s staff, and had been hired by John Mitchell as a finance consultant
to the Committee To Re-Elect the President (better know as CREEP). (5, 98.)
E. Howard Hunt was a career CIA man and was hired in 1971 by Chuck Colson
as one of the White House plumbers. He also helped coordinate the Ellsberg
and Watergate break-ins. (5, 107.) Unbeknownst to most people, Mr.
Hunt was also known as Eduardo. He had used this cover name when he
commanded the Cubans in the Bay of Pigs invasion. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
James McCord was an electronics expert with the CIA and FBI. During
the missions McCord was in charge of all electronic matters. He was
also a security coordinator for the Republican National Committee and CREEP.
(10, Watergate.info/burglary.) Bernard L. Baker was a realtor from
Miami, Florida. He was also a former Central Intelligence Agency operative.
Barker was allegedly involved in the Bay of Pigs incident in 1962. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
Virgilio R. Gonzalez was a locksmith from Miami and was a refugee from Cuba,
following Castro’s take over of the country. During the break-ins Gonzalez
acted as the lock-picking expert. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
In order to carry out these covert operations the “plumbers” needed money
to finance them successfully. Before the break-ins Bernard L. Baker
was given $89,000 in checks from Mexican banks to cash for operational money.
It is also at this time that he recruited Frank Sturgis and Virgilio Gonzalez
to join the plumbers unit. (10. Watergate.info/burglary.) However,
some of the money came from cash contributions that were meant to support
Nixon’s re-election campaign. On September 29, 1972 The Washington
Post reported that John Mitchell, while serving as Attorney General, controlled
a secret Republican fund that was used to finance widespread intelligence-gathering
operations against the Democrats. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.) Many
unknowing Nixon supporters sent money to his campaign, but at some point,
their money was routed into the bank accounts of the White House plumbers.
A $25,000 cashiers check earmarked for the Nixon campaign, was deposited
in April into the bank account of Bernard L. Baker. (2, 44.)
Richard Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign was very important to him.
Throughout his political career he faced many disappointments, like his defeats
in his attempt at the California Governorship and his 1960 presidential campaign.
He was determined to get re-elected and to make his mark in history.
One question remains in regards to the Watergate incident.
It is, why would Nixon jeopardize his presidency in order to find out information
on George McGovern, who he was trouncing in the presidential race?
Nixon’s 1972 campaign was going so great that the plumber’s activities were
totally unnecessary. The Democrats were already spoiling their own
chances for victory. (6, 1052.) George McGovern was the Democratic
candidate for president and found it difficult to find votes. Many
voters associated McGovern’s campaign with the radical left, and feared that
if McGovern were elected, it might mean a return to the turmoil of the late
sixties. (6, 1052.) On Election Day when the last ballots were counted,
Nixon was by a landslide with 60.7% of the popular vote, carrying every state
in the union but one. (6, 1053.) This further proves the fact that
break-ins were not necessary for Nixon to get re-elected.
Now that the White House plumbers had the financial backing and support they
were ready to begin their missions to protect the Nixon administration.
The first job of the plumbers was to break into the Los Angeles office of
Dr. Fielding. Dr. Fielding was Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist. (10,
Watergate.info/chronology.) The reason the plumbers broke into the
Dr.’s office was to find information that would be able to discredit Ellsberg’s
sanity and thus could show that Ellsberg had made up the information he released
to the public. This first break-in was performed on September 9, 1971.
(10, Watergate.info/chronology.) Bernard Baker had bought deliverymen
outfits as a disguise and delivered photographic equipment to Dr. Fielding’s
office the day of the break-in. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.) At night
when the burglars were about to break-in they realized that the door was
locked and that they did not have the right equipment in order to open the
door. Eugenio Martinez took duct tape and placed it on the window and
then proceeded to break the glass with a crow bar. Martinez later revealed
that he had not worn surgical gloves at the break-in but had wiped his prints
from the office by using a handkerchief. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
After successfully breaking into the Dr.’s office the burglars were unable
to find any useful information about Ellsberg except his name in the Dr.’s
telephone book. Martinez photographed it just so they would have something
to bring back to Howard Hunt. They then took vitamin C pills out of
the Dr.’s briefcase and spread them on the floor to make the break-in look
like it was a search for drugs. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.) Even
though the burglars had not found any useful information Howard Hunt touted
their operation as a success. Eugenio Martinez had the feeling that
this break-in was training for more missions to come.
Martinez’s assumption was correct. Shortly after
the break-in at Dr. Fielding’s office, news of another operation reached
the plumbers. The plumbers were to move their operation to the Watergate
Hotel in Washington D.C. The burglars moved into the hotel and registered
as members of the Ameritus Corporation of Miami. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
On May 28, 1972 the burglars installed bugging equipment at the Democratic
National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel and office complex
in Washington D.C. Later on in the Watergate investigation it will
be discovered that this was not the first break-in committed by the plumbers.
(10.Watergate.info/chronology.) At the second break-in Frank Strugis
and Virgilio Gonzalez picked the locks and Eugenio Martinez took thirty or
forty photographs of lists of Democratic campaign contributors. While
the photographing was going on, James McCord worked on bugging the phones
in the offices. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.) Howard Hunt tried to
justify the reasoning behind the photographs of the campaign contributors.
He claimed that money coming from Fidel Castro of Cuba was supporting the
1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
Upon the completion of this mission the burglars returned
to Miami to relax and develop the pictures they had taken at Watergate.
In Miami, Bernard Baker had the Watergate photographs developed at Rich’s
Camera Shop. He tipped the developer around $20 or $30. The enlarged
photos showed the campaign contribution lists being held by a gloved hand.
The employee at the store later went to the FBI but there were no developments
in the case. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.) Later on, Howard Hunt notified
the plumbers that they should begin preparing for another operation.
He told the men to buy surgical gloves and forty rolls of film with 36 exposures
on each roll. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
In the early morning of June 17, 1972 the plumbers began their third break-in.
Just as they entered the Democratic offices a security guard saw the men
and immediately called the police and took action. When the burglars
realized they had been caught and there was no escape, James McCord told
the men, “Don’t give your names. Nothing. I know people. Don’t worry, someone
will come and everything will be all right. This thing will be solved.”
(10, Watergate.info/burglary.) At 2:30 a.m. on June 17, the five burglars
were arrested attempting to illegally gain access to the Democratic National
Headquarters. (10, Watergate.info/chronology.) When the five men were
arrested they had on business suits and all had worn Playtex rubber surgical
gloves. Police also seized a walkie-talkie, 40 rolls of unexposed film,
two 35-milimeter cameras, lock picks, pen size tear gas guns, and bugging
devices. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
The next day the five men were charged with attempted burglary and attempted
interception of telephone and other communications. (10, Watergate.info/burglary.)
Instantly, the Democratic National Chairman Lawrence O’Brien had a response
to the break-in. He called the break-in a “blatant act of political
espionage,” and announced that his party was filing a civil lawsuit against
CREEP. In addition to this, he called for an FBI investigation of the
break-in. (6, 1050.) The Judge that was in charge of the break-in trial
was Judge John Sirica. He had grown suspicious of a cover-up when the
five defendants all pleaded guilty. (6, 1054.) As the investigation
and trials were beginning to unfold Watergate burglar, James McCord said
he received an “unknown” phone call from someone who instructed him to plead
guilty and not accept immunity in exchange for his testimony. He was
told that “President himself” was aware of the arrangement. (6, 1056.)
Shortly after the break-in, on June 21, 1972 Richard Nixon and his aide Haldeman
found out that Howard Hunt was tied to the White House they discuss covering
up the situation. (8.) It is right after the break-in that the Nixon
White House begins to under-go the cover-up process that got them into so
much trouble. When the Watergate burglars were arrested, three of Nixon’s
top aides, H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and John Dean, took swift action
to cover-up White House involvement in the break-in. (6, 1052.) On
June 30 Richard Nixon claims that G. Gordon Liddy will take the blame for
the Watergate incident. The campaign cash that financed the break-in
will be tied to “embezzlement” at CREEP headquarters by Liddy. (8.)
At the same time that the White House was involved in the cover-up they were
strictly denying any involvement in the break-ins. On August 30, 1972
Nixon announced that White House Counsel John Dean had conducted an investigation
into the Watergate matter and found that no one from the White House was
involved. (10, Watergate.info/chronology.) Two weeks after this announcement
the five burglars were indicted by a Grand Jury, as were G. Gordon Liddy
and E. Howard Hunt. (10, Watergate.info/chronology.)
In January 1973, the Watergate burglars, along with Liddy and Hunt, go on
trial for the crimes they committed over the past two years. (6, 1054.)
In March of 1973 James McCord writes a letter to Judge John Sirica in which
he claims that the defendants had pleaded guilty under duress and saying
they committed perjury and that others were involved in the break-ins. (10,
Watergate.info/chronology.) A few months after the trial began, Nixon
learned that his trusted advisor, John Dean was jumping ship. (6, 1054)
John Dean feared that he would be used as a scapegoat in order to protect
the President. Rather than take the fall, he cooperated with Federal
Prosecutors. (6, 1054.)
With rumors of a White House cover-up circling America, on April 17, 1973
an official statement from the White House claimed that Richard Nixon had
no prior knowledge of the Watergate affair. (10, Watergate.info/chronology.)
However, these rumors were valid as proved by John Dean’s leaked testimonies
that were published in the Washington Post. With the mounting pressure
from the nation for Nixon to resign the House Judiciary Committee begins
impeachment hearings in May of 1973. (10, Watergate.info/chronology.)
On June 25, 1973 testifying before the senate Watergate Committee, John Dean
claimed that Nixon was involved in the cover-up just days after it took place.
(10, Watergate.info/chronology.) Dean’s testimony said that Ehrlichman
and Haldeman were involved in the cover-up. Due to public outcry Nixon
was forced to fire both and asked for their resignations. (6, 1054-1055.)
Amidst the national dissent, the Nixon administration endured even more problems.
On August 6, 1973 Vice President Spiro Agnew announced he was under investigation
for allegedly taking kickbacks from contractors, architects, and engineers
while he was the Governor of Maryland. These kickback payments continued
even while Agnew was Vice President. (6, 1056.) On October 10 Agnew
pleaded no contest to charges of tax evasion. He then resigned on December
6 and also on that day Gerald Ford was confirmed by the senate to become
the next Vice President. (6, 1057.)
One of the most important aspects of the Watergate investigation was the
content that was on Nixon’s secret tapes. Senate Committee and Special
Prosecutor Archibald Cox wanted to review the material that was on the tapes.
Nixon, however, refused to give up his tapes on the grounds of “executive
privilege”. (6, 1057.) The tapes were one thing that Nixon did not
want in the hands of his enemies. Cox refused to compromise on the
tapes controversy and Nixon wanted him fired. Attorney General Elliot
Richardson and Deputy AG William Ruckelhaus refused to fire Cox so they too
resigned. Finally, Solicitor General Robert Bork fired Cox. This
situation was known as the Saturday Night Massacre. (6, 1058.)
After few developments in the case, in April of 1974 the committee subpoenaed
40 conversations. The next day Nixon announced that he would turn over
the transcripts of the tapes. The White House ended up releasing a
1308 page volume to the committee and the public. (6, 1058.) On July
24, 1974 the end of the Nixon administration began. On this day Nixon
was forced to release more tapes. One included a conversation in which
Haldeman and Nixon discussed using the CIA to stop the FBI investigation
of Watergate. This information showed that the President was
involved in obstruction of justice. (6, 1059-1060.) On August 5, 1974
even more incriminating tapes were released. On this day Nixon released
the transcripts of three conversations he had with Haldeman six days after
the Watergate break-in. The June 23 tape reveals that Nixon ordered
the FBI to abandon its investigation of the break-in. (10 Watergate.info/chronology.)
With so much evidence against him Nixon felt that he had no choice but resign
the presidency. On August 8, 1974 Nixon appeared on television to announce
that, effective of noon the next day, he was resigning from the presidency.
(6, 1060.) Speaking to America Nixon said, “I have never been a quitter.
To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct
in my body. But as President I must put the interests of America first.
To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication
would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President
and Congress.” (6, 1060.) After Nixon’s resignation Gerald Ford assumed
the presidency and nominated the progressive Republican, Nelson Rockefeller,
for the Vice President position. On September 8 after only a month
in the White House, Gerald Ford grants a “full free and absolute” pardon
to Nixon for “all offenses against the United States” committed between January
20, 1969 and August 9, 1974. (10, Watergate.info/chronology.)
The entire Watergate scandal put a great strain on the American public.
Ever since the 1960’s a movement of distrust in the government swept over
America. This scandal only helped to fan the flames of dissent.
However, the Nixon White House was doing what it thought was in the best
interest of the nation. The Pentagon Papers contained classified information
that the public was probably not ready to experience. They contained
no information on Nixon’s involvement in Vietnam but it nonetheless contained
sensitive material about a war that was still going on. The means that
the plumbers undertook to complete their missions were in fact illegal and
they were rightly punished for what they did. The White House did cover-up
the fact that one of the seven put on trial was a White House consultant.
However, was the destruction of the Nixon presidency necessary? In
his case the means didn’t justify the ends. Nixon worked to help the
nation ease its suffering over Vietnam. He felt that the release of
the Pentagon Papers would only continue to hurt the American psyche.
However, the his people chose to end the release of the papers cost him his
presidency and his diginity.
Works Cited
1. All the President’s Men. Dir. Alan J. Pakula.
With Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Wild Wood Productions. 1976.
2. Bernstein, Carl, and Bob Woodward. All the President’s
Men. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1974.
3. Cronin, Thomas E. The State of the Presidency. Boston:
Little, Brown Co., 1975.
4. Kane, Joseph Nathan. Facts about the Presidents. New
York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1989.
5. Leibovitz, Annie. “Watergate.” Vanity Fair. June 1992:
p. 97-112.
6. McDonnell. America in the 20th Century 1970-1979. New
York, Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
7. Nixon. Dir. Oliver Stone. With Anthony Hopkins and Joan
Allen. Miramax Films, 1995.
8. Tim Weiner. “Transcripts of Nixon tapes Show Path to
Watergate.” The New York Times. 31 October, 1997. A1
9. “Watergate Chronology.” The Annals of America. Chicago:
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1977.
10. “Watergate.” Author Unknown. Watergate.info. 1995:
February 5, 2003. www.watergate.info.
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