1 / 14

Watergate Scandal: Nixon's Downfall in 1970s

Discover the largest scandal involving a U.S. president, resulting in Nixon's resignation amid a web of cover-ups and investigations in the 1970s. Learn about the break-in, burglars, tapes, and the infamous Saturday Night Massacre.

rhondah
Download Presentation

Watergate Scandal: Nixon's Downfall in 1970s

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Watergate

  2. Watergate • Largest investigated scandal involving a president of the U.S. that took place in the 1970s • Resulted in the President of the United States resigning • Watergate is an office-apartment complex in Washington D.C.

  3. The Break-in • On June 17, 1972 5 men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Complex • The men were trying to steal any sensitive campaign information & place wiretaps on the office phones • Larry O’Brien’s office was the one broken into that sparked Watergate

  4. The burglars • The burglars were Bernard L. Barker, Virgilio R. Gonzales, James W. McCord, Eugenio R. Martinez, Frank A. Sturgis • G. Gordon Liddy served the longest prison sentence for his involvement in organizing & directing the Watergate burglaries

  5. Nixon & Watergate • Nixon administration tried to cover up its involvement in the break-in • Evidence starting mounting against Nixon • It was discovered that one of the burglars was a member of the Committee for Re-election of the President (CRP) • Reports surfaced that the burglars had been paid by the CRP • Whitehouse destroyed incriminating evidence & gave false testimony

  6. The tapes • Alexander Butterfield’s testimony about the president taping all conversations in at the White House led to a subpoena for them as evidence • The recordings implicated Nixon & revealed he tried to cover up the break-in • Nixon refused to give the tapes to evidence citing executive privilege

  7. Watergate scandal • Nixon attempted to stop the investigation by ordering the firing of the special prosecutor, Archibald Cox • Nixon ordered the attorney general & deputy attorney general to fire Cox & both men resigned rather than fire Cox • The same day of the resignations, Cox was eventually fired • That day is known as the “Saturday Night Massacre”

  8. Spiro Agnew • To make matters worse, Nixon’s Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned amidst a bribery investigation • Agnew was formally charged with having accepted bribes totaling more than $100,000 while holding office • Agnew is the only Vice President in the United States to resign because of criminal charges

  9. Watergate scandal • Supreme Court ordered Nixon to hand over the tapes, which had an 18 minute gap • One of the tapes revealed Nixon ordered a cover up of the Watergate break-in just a few days after it happened • Impeachment charges Nixon could have faced: • Abuse of Power • Obstruction of justice • Violation of Congressional Subpoenas

  10. Nixon Resigns • Facing near-certain impeachment, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1972 • Never served any penalty for his involvement because he was pardoned by Ford

More Related