Nixon's Unlawful Plans: A Study In Presidential Power Abuse

The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon, which began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974. It revolved around members of a group associated with Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign breaking into and planting listening devices in the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Following the arrest of the burglars, both the press and the Department of Justice connected the money found on those involved to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President.

Nixon's involvement in the scandal was revealed when it was discovered that he had installed a voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office. His administration refused to grant investigators access to the tapes, leading to a constitutional crisis. The tapes were eventually released, revealing that Nixon had participated in a cover-up of the burglary as early as June 23, 1972, just days after it occurred.

Nixon's resignation marked the first such act by a President in U.S. history. It confirmed that no individual, regardless of rank or station, was above the law, and that there were real consequences for those who violated the law willfully.

The Watergate Scandal

The Break-In

On June 17, 1972, five burglars were arrested inside the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. The burglars were employed by the Committee to Re-elect President Nixon, and were caught planting listening devices and stealing documents.

The Cover-Up

Following the arrests, both the press and the Department of Justice linked the money found on the burglars to Nixon's campaign. Journalists from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, pursued leads and uncovered a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage directed by White House officials and funded by donor contributions.

Nixon denied the accusations and went on to win the election in November 1972. However, further investigations and revelations from the burglars' trial led the Senate to establish a special Watergate Committee in February 1973. The burglars received lengthy prison sentences, but were told these would be reduced if they cooperated, which led to a flood of testimony from witnesses.

The Tapes

In April 1973, Nixon appeared on television to deny any wrongdoing and to announce the resignation of several aides. It was then revealed that Nixon had installed a voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office, and his administration refused to grant investigators access to the tapes, leading to a constitutional crisis.

The Saturday Night Massacre

In May 1973, Attorney General Elliot Richardson appointed Archibald Cox as a special prosecutor for Watergate. Cox obtained a subpoena for the tapes, but Nixon continued to resist. This culminated in the "Saturday Night Massacre" in October 1973, when Nixon ordered Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refused and resigned, as did his deputy, William Ruckelshaus. Solicitor General Robert Bork carried out the order.

The Smoking Gun

In July 1974, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to release the tapes, and the House Judiciary Committee recommended that he be impeached for obstructing justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. One of the tapes, later known as "the smoking gun", revealed that Nixon had ordered aides to tell the FBI to halt its investigation into the Watergate break-in.

Nixon's Resignation

Faced with impeachment, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974, becoming the only U.S. president to do so. In all, 48 people were found guilty of Watergate-related crimes, but Nixon was pardoned by his vice president and successor, Gerald Ford, on September 8.

Nixon's resignation

On the evening of August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon announced his intention to resign in a televised address to the nation. The Watergate scandal, which began in 1972, had led to Nixon's resignation. It involved the break-in and installation of listening devices at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., by a group associated with Nixon's re-election campaign.

The following morning, on August 9, Nixon submitted his signed letter of resignation to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, becoming the only U.S. president to resign from office. Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon as president and issued a full pardon to Nixon on September 8, 1974, for any offenses he "has committed or may have committed."

The 'Saturday Night Massacre'

The "Saturday Night Massacre" was a series of resignations over the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox that took place in the United States Department of Justice during the Watergate scandal in 1973.

On the evening of Saturday, October 20, 1973, President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox, who had refused to drop a subpoena for the Nixon White House tapes. Richardson refused to carry out the order and resigned immediately. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox, but Ruckelshaus also refused and resigned. The role of attorney general then fell to Solicitor General Robert Bork, who complied with Nixon's request. Bork later claimed he believed the order to be valid and appropriate, but he considered resigning to avoid being seen as a "man who did the President's bidding to save my job".

The "massacre" stemmed from an inquiry into the notorious June 1972 break-in at the Watergate complex, in which five Nixon operatives were caught trying to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Cox had been tapped to investigate the incident in May 1973 and soon clashed with the White House over Nixon's refusal to release over 10 hours of secret Oval Office recordings, some of which implicated Nixon in the break-in.

The political and public reactions to Nixon's actions were negative and highly damaging to the president. More than 50,000 concerned citizens sent telegrams to Washington, and 21 members of Congress introduced resolutions calling for Nixon's impeachment. The impeachment process against Nixon began ten days later, on October 30, 1973.

On November 14, 1973, federal district judge Gerhard Gesell ruled that the dismissal of Cox had been illegal. The Saturday Night Massacre marked a turning point in the Watergate scandal, as the public, already uncertain about Nixon's actions, was incensed by his attempt to end the Watergate probe. Congress, which had previously taken a wait-and-see policy, quickly turned on Nixon and initiated impeachment proceedings that would ultimately lead to his resignation.

The 'smoking gun' tape

The "smoking gun" tape was a recording of a conversation between President Richard Nixon and his Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman, in the Oval Office on June 23, 1972, six days after the Watergate break-in. The tape was released on August 5, 1974, and it proved that Nixon had ordered a cover-up of the Watergate burglary.

In the recording, Haldeman tells Nixon that the FBI's investigation is leading in some "productive areas" and that they have been able to trace the money used in the burglary to the bank and its sources. Haldeman suggests that the only way to solve this is to have the CIA ask the FBI to halt their investigation by claiming that it is a national security operation. Nixon agrees to the plan, not realizing that it would eventually cost him the presidency.

Nixon and Haldeman discuss how to approach CIA Deputy Director Vernon Walters and FBI Acting Director L. Patrick Gray to get them to stop the FBI's investigation. They also discuss the possibility of the investigation uncovering the involvement of Nixon's reelection campaign and the potential fallout from that. Nixon expresses concern that the investigation could reveal a lot of "hanky-panky" that they want to keep hidden.

The release of the "smoking gun" tape led directly to Nixon's resignation on August 8, 1974. It provided clear evidence that Nixon had obstructed justice and was complicit in the Watergate cover-up. Before the tape's release, 11 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee had voted against impeachment charges, but after hearing the tape, they changed their votes. It became clear that Nixon would be impeached and convicted in the Senate, leaving him with no choice but to resign.

The Supreme Court rules against Nixon

The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling against Nixon in United States v. Nixon on July 24, 1974, was a landmark decision that limited the power of any US president to claim executive privilege. The ruling ordered President Nixon to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials related to the Watergate scandal to a federal district court.

The case arose from the Watergate scandal, which began during the 1972 presidential campaign between Nixon and his Democratic challenger, Senator George McGovern. On June 17, 1972, about five months before the election, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. These men were later found to have ties with the Nixon administration.

In May 1973, Attorney General Elliot Richardson appointed Archibald Cox as a special prosecutor to investigate the break-in. In October of that year, Nixon ordered Cox to be fired, leading to the infamous "Saturday Night Massacre" where Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resigned. This incident fuelled public belief that Nixon had something to hide. Nixon then appointed Leon Jaworski as the new special prosecutor.

In April 1974, Jaworski obtained a subpoena ordering Nixon to release certain tapes and papers related to specific meetings between the President and those indicted by the grand jury. Nixon turned over edited transcripts of 43 conversations, including portions of 20 conversations demanded by the subpoena. Nixon's attorney, James D. St. Clair, then requested Judge John Sirica of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to quash the subpoena, arguing that Nixon was "as powerful a monarch as Louis XIV" and not subject to the judicial process.

Sirica denied Nixon's motion and ordered him to turn over the tapes by May 31. Both Nixon and Jaworski appealed directly to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments on July 8. Nixon's attorney argued that the matter was an intra-branch dispute that should be resolved by the executive branch itself and that Jaworski had not proven the requested materials were necessary for the trial. Additionally, he claimed Nixon had an absolute executive privilege to protect communications between high-ranking government officials.

The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Warren Burger, rejected Nixon's claim of absolute executive privilege. The Court acknowledged the existence of executive privilege but held that it could not override the needs of the judicial process in a criminal trial. The Court concluded that Nixon's generalized interest in confidentiality could not outweigh the fundamental demands of due process and the fair administration of criminal justice.

The ruling stated:

> "We conclude that when the ground for asserting privilege as to subpoenaed materials sought for use in a criminal trial is based only on the generalized interest in confidentiality, it cannot prevail over the fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of criminal justice. The generalized assertion of privilege must yield to the demonstrated, specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial."

The Court ordered Nixon to deliver the subpoenaed materials to the District Court. Nixon resigned sixteen days later, on August 9, 1974, becoming the only US president to do so.

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