Events That Triggered The Watergate Scandal
On June 17, 1972, at 2:30 a.m., five men were caught by the police trespassing at the Democratic Party campaign headquarters, this scandal is now known as the Watergate Scandal. This crime that took place at the Watergate hotel-apartment-office complex in Washington, D.C. and was supposed to have resulted in the placement of wiretaps on the telephones of the Democratic campaign headquarters. The Committee to Reelect the President, also known as Richard Nixon, was the one who had pushed for this crime to take place. Nixon was particularly fond of wiretapping and had been using them since before 1972, claiming they were for the purpose of nation security.
In a way an event that triggered Watergate was President Nixon distancing himself from Congress. As Nixon took advantage of the power of the presidency and failed to pay attention to constitutional checks, he developed an air of imperial authority. This supreme position that he gave himself drove him away from Congress and towards a small, loyal group of advisers. The White House chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman; chief domestic adviser, John Ehrlichman; and Nixon’s former attorney, John Mitchell made up the inner circle that shared Nixon’s views and beliefs. The secrecy that these men all shared fueled the scandal of Watergate.
Richard Nixon constantly had the fear of losing elections hanging over his head, something that triggered the scandal that took place at Watergate. By the end of 1972, towards the end of the reelection campaign, Nixon and his group of advisers had long stopped following the rules. Instead of conducting the election with honesty and integrity, Nixon’s campaign team looked for advantages by any means possible, even if that meant breaking the law. Seeking advantaged in this way lead to an attempt to steal information from the Democratic campaign headquarters, an event we refer to as Watergate.
Erika R.
In a way an event that triggered Watergate was President Nixon distancing himself from Congress. As Nixon took advantage of the power of the presidency and failed to pay attention to constitutional checks, he developed an air of imperial authority. This supreme position that he gave himself drove him away from Congress and towards a small, loyal group of advisers. The White House chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman; chief domestic adviser, John Ehrlichman; and Nixon’s former attorney, John Mitchell made up the inner circle that shared Nixon’s views and beliefs. The secrecy that these men all shared fueled the scandal of Watergate.
Richard Nixon constantly had the fear of losing elections hanging over his head, something that triggered the scandal that took place at Watergate. By the end of 1972, towards the end of the reelection campaign, Nixon and his group of advisers had long stopped following the rules. Instead of conducting the election with honesty and integrity, Nixon’s campaign team looked for advantages by any means possible, even if that meant breaking the law. Seeking advantaged in this way lead to an attempt to steal information from the Democratic campaign headquarters, an event we refer to as Watergate.
Erika R.