'I'm damn glad we have it, aren't you?' he crowed." (Carlson 1991) Despite his glee at having his secret taping system, the recordings eventually brought about Nixon's downfall
By the end of April 1973, the prosecutorial noose had sufficiently tightened around Haldeman and Ehrlichman so that the president was forced to accept their resignations, along with those of Dean and Kleindienst." (Garment 92) The Senate Watergate hearings began in May and former solicitor general Archibald Cox is named as the Justice Department's special prosecutor
Second, the tapes bring out the worst in Nixon's interlocutors as well." (Kissinger 65) The FBI determined through its investigations that the Watergate break-in was just the tip of the iceberg in a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage conducted on behalf of the Nixon re-election committee
Ellsberg's actual files could prove to be of immense value. (Liddy 218) The White House Plumbers, so named because they were hired to stop information leaks, included Liddy and Hunt
Watergate was discussed, although no tape of the conversation has ever been produced." (Summers 428) Nixon had ordered the installation of a concealed tape recording system in the Oval Office, the Executive Office Building, and Camp David
. This allowed the elites to unite with each other ("journalists frequently remarked on how congressmen rose to the sense of occasion, presenting themselves not as political representatives of particular interests but as embodiments of sacred civil documents and democratic mores" (Alexander, 199)
It reaffirms, among other things, the religious legitimation of the highest political authority." (Bellah, p
Eventually, however, White House Counsel John Dean took over the task of coordinating the cover-up. When called before a Congressional committee, Dean spoke the truth and reported extensive White House involvement in both the break-in and the cover-up (Rosen,-PAGE)
Americans came to understand that the scandal spread deep into a complex web of officials, agencies and establishments. Many believe that the impeachment of Nixon was not just to bring him to justice, but was about the need to "reaffirm the rule of law and regain the public's trust in government" (Genovese, 1999)
Most notably, Watergate impacted the way the media does their job, caused the American people to lose trust in their government and instigated ethical reforms in government. Alicia Shepard, a professor at American University, describes how Watergate dramatically changed the journalistic climate (Kenslea)
For instance, the scandal became a huge factor in passing the Freedom of Information Act in 1986, as well as laws requiring new financial disclosures by key government officials. Passed in 1974, the Freedom of Information Act has been hailed as one of our greatest democratic reforms because it allows ordinary citizens to hold the government accountable by requesting and scrutinizing public documents and records (Rosen, 2002)
The four men involved fired their attorney and changed their pleas to "guilty." (Bernstein and Woodward, p
To date, no one really knows what was contained in the missing taped segment, and, after failed attempts to restore the segment, the National Archives decided not to pursue a restoration of the audio, to prevent the possible destruction of the tape. (Clymer)
For example, he ordered White House staff to tap people's phone lines for personal and political reasons. (Congressional Quarterly, inc
He pled guilty to obstruction of justice, admitted paying hush money to the Watergate burglars, and was the first person to give those outside of the White House staff information about Nixon's enemies list. (Dean, p
To this date, no one really knows the purpose of the break-in, whether it was to find specific information or simply a fact-finding mission. (Greenberg)
John Kennedy had actually engaged in sexual relationship with a spy, Ellen Rometsch, and not faced any public scrutiny for his behavior. (Hamilton, p
In fact, some of Nixon's admissions in the White House Transcripts reveal that he may have been consulted about the burglary, but did not think it was a good idea. (Nixon)
Ford's judgment that it was the best way to stanch the open wound of Watergate." (Scott)
Nixon's tapes of his office and telephone conversations left an irrefutable historical record that the president abused government power for political purposes, obstructed justice, and ordered his aides to do so as well." (Woodward, p