Source: Bruce J. Schulman. The Seventies - The Great Shift
in American Culture, Society, and Politics (2001)
in American Culture, Society, and Politics (2001)
One major difference between Nixon and Connelly was that Connally wanted his political enemies to know that he had vanquished them, while Nixon didn’t want his enemies to know, at least not directly. For Nixon, that was the most exquisite of triumphs, in that he wanted his enemies to keep guessing who did them in; that was Nixon’s default method of operating as President. Watergate fit the same pattern as the NEA and public housing, in that Nixon wanted to undermine/shrink the liberal Establishment and build a new conservative majority using foul means - Watergate was by fouler means. The Watergate Scandal was unique because it changed forever how Americans viewed politics, the Presidency, the way politics was discussed and reported, and the way public officials were viewed.
Nixon’s abuse of power predated the
17 June 1972 Watergate burglary, and extended far beyond that date. In effect, Nixon was the head of a Rogue Government, with Nixon and his administration authorizing and running extralegal/illegal activities. During June 1971, Nixon had his new secret taping system installed; it was completely automated, since Nixon was a tremendous klutz, and by his own admission would struggle in terms of operating the system. Among the first secretly taped conversations was between Nixon, H.R. Haldeman (Chief of Staff, the only other person that knew about the taping system), and Henry Kissinger. During that conversation in the Oval Office, Haldeman reminded Nixon that the Brookings Institute (a think tank) possessed classified files on Vietnam that would prove embarrassing to LBJ. Nixon wanted a break-in of the institute organized and carried out to steal the files, with Nixon saying “blow the safe and get it”. A few days later, in another regular conversation in the Oval Office, Nixon wanted undercover agents to infiltrate radical protest groups.
Nixon’s abuse of power predated the
17 June 1972 Watergate burglary, and extended far beyond that date. In effect, Nixon was the head of a Rogue Government, with Nixon and his administration authorizing and running extralegal/illegal activities. During June 1971, Nixon had his new secret taping system installed; it was completely automated, since Nixon was a tremendous klutz, and by his own admission would struggle in terms of operating the system. Among the first secretly taped conversations was between Nixon, H.R. Haldeman (Chief of Staff, the only other person that knew about the taping system), and Henry Kissinger. During that conversation in the Oval Office, Haldeman reminded Nixon that the Brookings Institute (a think tank) possessed classified files on Vietnam that would prove embarrassing to LBJ. Nixon wanted a break-in of the institute organized and carried out to steal the files, with Nixon saying “blow the safe and get it”. A few days later, in another regular conversation in the Oval Office, Nixon wanted undercover agents to infiltrate radical protest groups.
While it was true that Nixon didn’t order the Watergate break-in on 17 June 1972, or know any of the details ahead of time, he created the atmosphere where subordinates acted on their own, “knowing” it was okay to proceed. Nixon ordered wiretaps on among others Lawrence O’Brien, who was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee (who would later become the Commissioner of the NBA). Nixon kept going, authorizing wiretaps on large campaign contributors to the DNC for later punishment. Nixon authorized the “Gemstone Plan”, which was an umbrella organization in the administration under which Watergate and other illegal shenanigans operated. The burglary at the Watergate Hotel/Office Complex on 17 June 1972 hardly needed Nixon’s specific authorization.
The cover-up started immediately after the burglars were arrested, with Nixon ordering the CIA to interfere with the FBI’s investigation (that would be the “Smoking Gun” on a tape that sealed Nixon’s fate). Nixon authorized hush money to the five burglars to keep them quiet, so the administration would be insulated from any investigations. Nixon aides lied under oath, and most famously (and obviously), Nixon fired Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox for demanding the tapes on an evening the media dubbed “The Saturday Night Massacre” in October 1973.
The break-in that Nixon directly ordered was that of the psychologist of Daniel Ellsberg, who was the person that leaked the “Pentagon Papers” to the New York Times, and later to the Washington Post. Nixon’s goal was to steal Ellsberg’s files and show the nation that he was mentally unstable. The psychologist’s office was indeed broken into, and the file cabinet was damaged, but that was the extent of the break-in. One of the main reasons for the cover-up of the Watergate break-in was that Nixon didn’t want anyone to know about the break-in he specifically authorized to Ellsberg’s psychologist’s office.
The cover-up started immediately after the burglars were arrested, with Nixon ordering the CIA to interfere with the FBI’s investigation (that would be the “Smoking Gun” on a tape that sealed Nixon’s fate). Nixon authorized hush money to the five burglars to keep them quiet, so the administration would be insulated from any investigations. Nixon aides lied under oath, and most famously (and obviously), Nixon fired Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox for demanding the tapes on an evening the media dubbed “The Saturday Night Massacre” in October 1973.
The break-in that Nixon directly ordered was that of the psychologist of Daniel Ellsberg, who was the person that leaked the “Pentagon Papers” to the New York Times, and later to the Washington Post. Nixon’s goal was to steal Ellsberg’s files and show the nation that he was mentally unstable. The psychologist’s office was indeed broken into, and the file cabinet was damaged, but that was the extent of the break-in. One of the main reasons for the cover-up of the Watergate break-in was that Nixon didn’t want anyone to know about the break-in he specifically authorized to Ellsberg’s psychologist’s office.
CREEP (the Committee to Re-Elect the President) hired Donald Segretti, who was in charge of the “Dirty Tricks” operations, specializing in sabotaging Nixon’s opponents/enemies. Those dirty tricks included ordering hundreds of pizzas to be delivered to a Democratic rally, which forced the organizers to spend time trying to sort out the irritating development.. The Democrats often held morning campaign press briefings, and paid for the reporters to stay in a five star hotel the night before; it was the kind of hotel that if the reporters put their dress shoes in the hall in front of their door, the hotel would have them shined overnight. Segretti’s guys would steal the shoes, and the next morning’s briefing would be all about the stolen shoes, not the campaign.
The most famous of the dirty tricks occurred during the New Hampshire Primary in 1972, with the fabrication of the “Canuck Letter", which embarrassed Senator Edmund Muskie (D; ME), whom Nixon viewed as the most formidable of the Democratic candidates. At that time, Muskie was favored to not only win the primary, but to also win the nomination. The “Canuck Letter”, falsely attributed to Muskie by Segretti’s dirty tricksters, insulted New Hampshire’s large French-Canadian population. Segretti actually planted a spy on Senator George McGovern’s (D; SD) press plane detail with fake credentials, after failing to do so in McGovern’s Secret Service detail.
On Nixon’s end, he used the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service to harass enemies and to reward friends. Nixon ordered surveillance on Senator Ted Kennedy
(D; MA) to unearth additional dirty laundry, and he even ordered illegal wiretaps of some in his administration that he believed weren’t totally loyal. The Nixon-ordered cover-up worked well enough during the Presidential campaign in the Fall of 1972, with only Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post conducting the only high-profile public investigation. The FBI’s investigation was peeling off layer after layer, as Nixon well knew, but the FBI couldn’t publicly comment about what it was learning. Both “Woodstein” and the FBI were “following the money” spent by CREEP, and both discovered that CREEP laundered their campaign donations using Mexican banks for illicit uses.
The most famous of the dirty tricks occurred during the New Hampshire Primary in 1972, with the fabrication of the “Canuck Letter", which embarrassed Senator Edmund Muskie (D; ME), whom Nixon viewed as the most formidable of the Democratic candidates. At that time, Muskie was favored to not only win the primary, but to also win the nomination. The “Canuck Letter”, falsely attributed to Muskie by Segretti’s dirty tricksters, insulted New Hampshire’s large French-Canadian population. Segretti actually planted a spy on Senator George McGovern’s (D; SD) press plane detail with fake credentials, after failing to do so in McGovern’s Secret Service detail.
On Nixon’s end, he used the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service to harass enemies and to reward friends. Nixon ordered surveillance on Senator Ted Kennedy
(D; MA) to unearth additional dirty laundry, and he even ordered illegal wiretaps of some in his administration that he believed weren’t totally loyal. The Nixon-ordered cover-up worked well enough during the Presidential campaign in the Fall of 1972, with only Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post conducting the only high-profile public investigation. The FBI’s investigation was peeling off layer after layer, as Nixon well knew, but the FBI couldn’t publicly comment about what it was learning. Both “Woodstein” and the FBI were “following the money” spent by CREEP, and both discovered that CREEP laundered their campaign donations using Mexican banks for illicit uses.
By the Spring of 1973, the cover-up started to unravel along many threads. First was that the hush money proved to be insufficient to guarantee the silence of the Watergate burglars. James McCord, one of the burglars, wrote a letter to Judge Sirica stating that people far above his pay grade in the Nixon administration were pressuring him to stay silent. On 15 April 1973, White House counsel John Dean, who by then had been placed in charge of running the cover-up, advised Nixon that there was a “cancer” growing on the Presidency (Dean was unaware of the taping system). The two also discussed raising additional hush money, with Dean projecting a total of $1m; Nixon stated “we could get that”.
Bowing to public pressure, Nixon appointed Archibald Cox as Special Prosecutor in the Spring of 1973. Soon thereafter, Nixon threw his two most loyal and powerful advisors, Chief of Staff Haldeman and Domestic Advisor John Ehrlichmann, under the bus, demanding their resignations. Nixon hoped that by doing so he could end the various investigations on Watergate; in actuality, he cut loose the two men that would have taken a “political bullet” for him. Nixon was one of the most gifted and astute politicians of his era, but he had started to make huge political mistakes concerning the cover-up.
Then John Dean, in an effort to minimize, or even avoid, a prison sentence, testified on national television in front of the Senate Watergate Committee during the Summer of 1973. Dean was the first figure from a President’s inner circle to testify against the President of whom he served, at least on television. As riveting as Dean’s testimony was, it was still a case of “Dean-Said v. the President-Said”. That changed when Alexander Butterfield (a surprise witness), under questioning by minority counsel Fred Dalton Thompson (who would later become a movie/TV star), admitted that he ran the secret taping system for Nixon. Butterfield’s testimony was the turning point, in that now every investigation wanted the tapes in order to finally sort out what had really been going on with Watergate.
Bowing to public pressure, Nixon appointed Archibald Cox as Special Prosecutor in the Spring of 1973. Soon thereafter, Nixon threw his two most loyal and powerful advisors, Chief of Staff Haldeman and Domestic Advisor John Ehrlichmann, under the bus, demanding their resignations. Nixon hoped that by doing so he could end the various investigations on Watergate; in actuality, he cut loose the two men that would have taken a “political bullet” for him. Nixon was one of the most gifted and astute politicians of his era, but he had started to make huge political mistakes concerning the cover-up.
Then John Dean, in an effort to minimize, or even avoid, a prison sentence, testified on national television in front of the Senate Watergate Committee during the Summer of 1973. Dean was the first figure from a President’s inner circle to testify against the President of whom he served, at least on television. As riveting as Dean’s testimony was, it was still a case of “Dean-Said v. the President-Said”. That changed when Alexander Butterfield (a surprise witness), under questioning by minority counsel Fred Dalton Thompson (who would later become a movie/TV star), admitted that he ran the secret taping system for Nixon. Butterfield’s testimony was the turning point, in that now every investigation wanted the tapes in order to finally sort out what had really been going on with Watergate.
October 1973, “The Saturday Night Massacre”: Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliott Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, whom Nixon deemed out-of-control since he kept demanding that the tapes be turned over to him. AG Richardson refused to do so and resigned. Nixon then ordered Deputy AG Wiliam Ruckelshaus to fire Cox, he refused, and Nixon fired Ruckelshaus. Nixon then ordered Solicitor General Robert Bork to fire Cox, and Bork did so. Nixon also ordered the FBI to seal off the office of the Special Prosecutor and to confiscate all their files. Nixon’s actions, plus the resulting media frenzy, convinced millions of Americans that Nixon was hiding something; the first public calls for impeachment started to be heard among the populous.
Watergate had officially become a national obsession, with the media (it wasn’t just “Woodstein” anymore) chronicling Watergate like a criminal serial. During July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee considered, debated, and then voted to recommend articles of impeachment, which would then be forwarded to the House floor for a vote. However, before that vote could occur, Nixon resigned. In the end, Nixon lost the support of his own party after the “Smoking Gun” (ordering the CIA to interfere with the FBI) was discovered on one of the tapes. Nixon had to turn over the tapes after the Supreme Court ruled 8 - 0 that Executive Privilege didn’t apply in that specific instance.
Watergate had officially become a national obsession, with the media (it wasn’t just “Woodstein” anymore) chronicling Watergate like a criminal serial. During July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee considered, debated, and then voted to recommend articles of impeachment, which would then be forwarded to the House floor for a vote. However, before that vote could occur, Nixon resigned. In the end, Nixon lost the support of his own party after the “Smoking Gun” (ordering the CIA to interfere with the FBI) was discovered on one of the tapes. Nixon had to turn over the tapes after the Supreme Court ruled 8 - 0 that Executive Privilege didn’t apply in that specific instance.
Senator Barry Goldwater (R; AZ), the Republican candidate for President in 1964, went to the White House in late-July 1974 to inform Nixon that he no longer had the necessary Republican votes in the Senate to avoid removal. Nixon refused to allow his enemies to impeach/remove him, so he decided to deny them that pleasure by resigning. Nixon announced his resignation on 8 August 1974 (to take effect on noon the next day) on national television. On 8 September 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon on national television for all crimes associated with Watergate. Usually, a President uses the pardon after someone has been tried, convicted, and sentenced, but for the first time, Ford used the pardon beforehand. Doing so was the right thing historically, but the pardon would cost him and the Republican Party politically in the Election of 1976. Nixon never uttered a word of contrition or admitted guilt, which is customary after receiving a Presidential Pardon.
Watergate represented an effort by Nixon to subvert the democratic process, which may have occurred had it not been for the courage of such people as Judge Siricia, Woodward and Bernstein, Archibald Cox, etc. After Nixon’s resignation, Ford stated that the Constitution works, but most Americans after Watergate (and today) believed that the political system was corrupt. Additionally, Americans viewed politicians as at least untrustworthy, if not outright corrupt, further fueling the cynicism towards the federal government. Watergate represented the “last straw” piled on the US political system. A few years later, President Jimmy Carter would describe that cynicism as a “Crisis of Confidence”. In effect, Watergate represented a political dark hole in a widening political crater.
Watergate represented an effort by Nixon to subvert the democratic process, which may have occurred had it not been for the courage of such people as Judge Siricia, Woodward and Bernstein, Archibald Cox, etc. After Nixon’s resignation, Ford stated that the Constitution works, but most Americans after Watergate (and today) believed that the political system was corrupt. Additionally, Americans viewed politicians as at least untrustworthy, if not outright corrupt, further fueling the cynicism towards the federal government. Watergate represented the “last straw” piled on the US political system. A few years later, President Jimmy Carter would describe that cynicism as a “Crisis of Confidence”. In effect, Watergate represented a political dark hole in a widening political crater.
Watergate’s anti-government passion worked against the Democrats and in favor of conservative Republicans. Former Nixon Attorney General John Mitchell stated that in ten years the US would shift very far to the right; reporters shook their heads in disagreement/astonishment, but Mitchell was 100% correct in his prediction. During his Post-Presidency, Nixon would watch (and enjoy) seeing his enemies/opponents in disarray, discredited, and debased. In effect, Nixon had achieved his goal of creating a new conservative coalition, one that propelled Ronald Reagan to the White House in a landslide in 1980, and an even greater landslide in 1984.
The Fall of Saigon occurred on 30 April 1975, which in effect symbolized the end, and the futility, of the Vietnam War. There as a national sense that the US had entered into a period of decline along many fronts. No longer was the US able to lead the world, it seemed; the US couldn’t even solve problems at home. The Second Arab Oil Embargo of the late-1970s drove that point home, and “Stagflation” reached ever-worsening levels. It seemed that the “American Century” had ended forever. Watergate in no way started that decline. In 1970, a book was published titled “The End of an American Era”, which captured the already-sinking national mood. The book analyzed the “ungovernable nation” which had “200 million egos”, and that the US had reached its plateau, like other nations (e.g. Britain), which afterwards would feature nothing but gradual decline.
The Fall of Saigon occurred on 30 April 1975, which in effect symbolized the end, and the futility, of the Vietnam War. There as a national sense that the US had entered into a period of decline along many fronts. No longer was the US able to lead the world, it seemed; the US couldn’t even solve problems at home. The Second Arab Oil Embargo of the late-1970s drove that point home, and “Stagflation” reached ever-worsening levels. It seemed that the “American Century” had ended forever. Watergate in no way started that decline. In 1970, a book was published titled “The End of an American Era”, which captured the already-sinking national mood. The book analyzed the “ungovernable nation” which had “200 million egos”, and that the US had reached its plateau, like other nations (e.g. Britain), which afterwards would feature nothing but gradual decline.