Gavin Howe
The Watergate scandal, which involved a break-in at the Democratic campaign headquarters and subsequent cover-up attempts, led to significant reforms and changes in laws and norms in the United States. In the years following President Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974, both Congress and the White House implemented novel measures to curb abuses of power and increase transparency. This included the passage of laws such as the Ethics in Government Act, the War Powers Act, the Federal Election Campaign Act, and the Freedom of Information Act, as well as reforms to increase the independence of the Justice Department from the White House. The scandal also resulted in 69 individuals being charged and 48 being found guilty, including high-ranking officials. The impact of the Watergate scandal extended beyond the legal realm, with many law schools introducing courses on professional responsibility and the American Bar Association revising its responsibility code.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of enactment | Late 1970s |
| Aim | To reform the presidency |
| Number of laws | A series of laws |
| Examples | Ethics in Government Act, War Powers Resolution, Right to Financial Privacy Act, Hughes Ryan Amendment, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act |
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What You'll Learn
The War Powers Resolution
Despite this resistance, the War Powers Resolution has been invoked in several instances. In 1993, the House used the resolution to call for the withdrawal of US forces from Somalia, and in 1999, it was invoked in relation to the bombing campaign in Kosovo. More recently, in 2018, Senators Bernie Sanders, Chris Murphy, and Mike Lee sponsored a bill to invoke the resolution and end US support for the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.
While the War Powers Resolution has been used to constrain presidential war powers, it has also faced legal challenges. There have been allegations of violations of the resolution, but no successful legal actions have been taken against a president. Members of Congress have also complained about a lack of timely notification and insufficient details regarding military engagements, highlighting ongoing tensions between the executive branch and Congress on matters of war powers.
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The Ethics in Government Act
In the years following President Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974, Congress and the White House implemented novel laws and norms aimed at preventing future crimes and abuses of power. One such law was the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which was passed in response to the Nixon Watergate scandal and the Saturday Night Massacre. This Act was designed to combat corruption in government and consisted of six titles.
While the Ethics in Government Act was a significant step towards improving government ethics, recent scandals and the wealth of President Trump's cabinet have highlighted its limitations, indicating a need for further reforms and updates to strengthen the federal ethics program.
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The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
FISA establishes procedures for the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence on domestic soil. The law requires federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to obtain authorization for gathering "foreign intelligence information" between foreign powers and "agents of foreign powers" suspected of espionage or terrorism.
FISA initially addressed only electronic surveillance but has since been amended to address the use of pen registers and trap-and-trace devices, physical searches, and business records. The act also established the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which approves or denies requests for search warrants. For targets that are U.S. persons, FISA requires heightened requirements in some instances, such as demonstrating probable cause to believe that the target is a foreign power or agent.
FISA has been significantly amended multiple times, including by the Intelligence Authorization Act of 1995 and 1999, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. These amendments have broadened the scope of the law to regulate various intelligence-gathering methods.
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The Right to Financial Privacy Act
In the wake of the Watergate scandal, Congress passed a series of laws in the late 1970s to reform the presidency and curb future abuses of power. One such law was the Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA), enacted in 1978.
The RFPA was created to restrict government agencies' ability to obtain personal financial information for improper purposes. It established a set of procedures that must be followed by both the government and financial institutions when seeking to access individuals' financial records. Specifically, the RFPA mandates that requests for financial information must be made formally, the individual involved must be notified, and transfers of financial records between agencies must follow prescribed procedures.
The Act has faced opposition from federal law enforcement officials, who argue that it hampers their ability to investigate and prosecute white-collar and organized crime. However, supporters of the RFPA counter that it still allows for the disclosure of financial information based on a weaker showing than the Fourth Amendment requirement of probable cause.
There are several classes of exceptions to the RFPA. For instance, it does not apply to requests for information by state and local government entities, nor does it prevent disclosures in connection with supervisory investigations of financial institutions or disclosures under tax privacy provisions. Additionally, the RFPA has been weakened over time, with amendments allowing for the postponement of notice to bank customers in investigations involving drug trafficking, espionage, and suspected terrorism.
Despite these exceptions and amendments, the RFPA has had a significant impact on financial privacy. It has reduced the willingness of financial institutions to cooperate in investigations and forced the use of compulsory processes to obtain records.
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The Hughes Ryan Amendment
The Hughes-Ryan Amendment was a response to the Watergate Scandal and the unpopular war in Southeast Asia, which brought an end to the era of minimal government oversight. The Amendment was enacted in 1974 as an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. It was named for its co-authors, Senator Harold E. Hughes and Representative Leo Ryan.
The Amendment addressed the question of CIA and Defense Department covert actions. It required the President of the United States to report all covert actions of the Central Intelligence Agency to one or more Congressional committees. This marked a shift in the relationship between the executive and legislative branches regarding intelligence matters. It also expanded the circle of "witting" persons in Congress, making it more difficult for covert operations to take place without Congressional knowledge.
The Hughes-Ryan Amendment established ultimate accountability for the President for all covert actions conducted by the CIA, removing any "plausible deniability" for the President regarding exposed covert actions. It prohibited the use of appropriated funds for covert actions unless the President issued an official "Finding" that each operation was important to national security and submitted this Finding to the appropriate Congressional committees.
The Amendment provided the foundation for modern intelligence oversight, allowing Congress to exert control over the CIA and requiring explicit approval by the President for each covert action. This represented a significant change in the way the U.S. Government approved covert actions. The Hughes-Ryan Amendment's provisions for Congressional oversight of covert actions were later scaled back by the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1981, also known as the Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980.
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Frequently asked questions
Many laws were created after the Watergate scandal, including the Ethics in Government Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Hughes Ryan Amendment, the War Powers Resolution, the Federal Election Campaign Act, and the Freedom of Information Act.
These laws were designed to reform the presidency and curb future crimes and abuses of power. Some were aimed specifically at preventing secret surveillance by the president and others.
In addition to the new laws, there were also executive branch reforms, such as increasing the Justice Department's independence from the White House and requiring the annual public release of presidential tax returns.
