Watergate

THE WATERGATE scandal generally refers to all offenses committed during the Richard Nixon administration. The unraveling of the Watergate incident originally pursued by investigative reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of the Washington Post led to the revelation of extensive illegal acts by members of the White House staff and others closely associated with, or employed by the Nixon administration. As a totality of all crimes by the Nixon administration, Watergate is better understood broken down into three phases.

The first includes illegal acts sanctioned by the White House prior to the break-in at Democratic National Campaign (DNC) headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C. Second is the Watergate burglary itself which was a failed attempt to tap the telephone lines of the DNC chairman on June 17, 1972. Third is the conspiracy to cover up the Watergate burglary and prevent any connection between it and the White House from being discovered.

The question was how much did Nixon know about the plan before its commission? The notion Nixon may have had prior knowledge of the burglary seems plausible by the fact that the Watergate burglary was not the only one associated with his administration. The burglary of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office preceded Watergate, and involved some of the same people who played subsequent roles in Watergate. (Moreover, in 2003, one of the indicted participants in the Watergate scandal, Jeb Stuart Magruder, told a Public Broadcasting Service reporter that Nixon, indeed, had authorized the plan for the Watergate break-in.)

As a Defense Department consultant who personally supported the War, Ellsberg was commissioned by the Rand Corporation to write a history of U.S. involvement in the conflict, The Pentagon Papers. The publication of the Papers infuriated Nixon because they could appear to imply he was not handling the war as promised. To identify the source of the Papers leak and to prevent others in the White House from leaking information, Nixon created a special investigative unit known as the Plumbers under the supervision of John Ehrlichman with Egil Krogh in charge. The Plumbers unit included G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt. They identified Ellsberg to be responsible for leaking the Papers to the press. Liddy and Hunt were put in charge of burglarizing Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office o obtain incriminating information.

Many other factors played a part leading up to the Watergate break-in that make an explanation of it much more complex than a simple order from the president. The overall mentality of the Nixon administration was a factor. Nixon's goal in anything he undertook was to win at all costs. This went so far as placing anyone who opposed him, or who was unfriendly, on the White House “enemies list.” In such an environment subordinates felt secure in doing just about anything to attain presidential goals, even if the actions were unethical or illegal.

The win-at-all-costs outlook, and certain amount of paranoia about leaks, certainly would shape the thinking and acts of Nixon's campaign officials. Unlike previous presidential incumbents up for re-election, Nixon did not leave his campaign to his party, but instead created the Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP). CREEP was devoted entirely to ensuring Nixon's re-election. John Mitchell, attorney general of the United States, was appointed to head CREEP with Magruder serving as deputy director. Mitchell reported to John Dean III, White House counsel, who in turn reported to H. R. “Bob” Haldeman the White House chief of staff. Rather than focusing on publicity and raising campaign contributions, CREEP set about to gather political intelligence.

...