Watergate Scandal

Watergate Scandal

1. Major Political Scandal

2. United States 1970s

   • Result of:
     • the Watergate Burglars broke into the Democratic Party’s National Committee offices on June 17, 1972.

3. Brought down Nixon

4. Watergate

   • general term used to describe a complex web of political scandals between 1972 and 1974.
     • It refers to the Watergate hotel in Washington D.C.

5. The prowlers were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign

   • they had been caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents.
     • Nixon knew about the Watergate espionage operation before it happened
       • He raised “hush money” for the burglars

6. Attempts to delate evidences and stop FBI investigation

   • firing uncooperative staff members
     • Nixon administration's resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis

7. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

   • Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
     • Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

8. In August 1974, after his role in the Watergate conspiracy had finally come to light, the president resigned

9. His successor, Gerald Ford

   • pardoned Nixon for all the crimes he “committed or may have committed” while in office.

10. Nixon was never prosecuted

11. the Watergate scandal changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leadership and think more critically about the presidency.