Obedience to Authority Nixon and Watergate

June 17, 1972 , is a date that will always be remembered as the beginning of one of the most controversial political scandals in American history. This scandal was heavily publicized in the media worldwide and it would demonstrate that no one was above the law, not even the President of The United States and Commander-In-Chief himself. It began when five men were apprehended during their attempt to burglarize and bug the offices of the Democratic National Committee headquarters located at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. Suspects Virgilio Gonzalez, Bernard Barker, James McCord, Eugenio Mart?­nez, and Frank Sturgis were found carrying approximately three-thousand and five-hundred dollars ($3,500) in cash and high-end surveillance and electronic equipment (U.S. Senate). According to U.S. Senate.gov, the FBI launched an investigation while the burglars awaited their arraignment in the federal district court. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, journalists who worked for the Washington Post, wrote articles that suggested a connection between President Nixon's re-election campaign and the accused who were awaiting trial. The White House immediately denied any connection and involvement with the crime. Woodward and Bernstein, who are said to have devoted resources to the investigation and continued to pursue leads, brought and kept the attention of citizens who lived in Washington and across the nation. In Tom Van Der Voort's article WATERGATE: THE COVER-UP Threats, lies, and audio tape (Chapter 2) he explained that not only did Woodward and Bernstein reveal that a twenty-five thousand dollar ($25,000) check made out by the Nixon campaign had been placed into one of the burglars bank accounts, but also before the election, they reported on widespread intelligence-gathering and sabotage operations directed towards political opponents. They received this information from an anonymous source with the alias Deep Throat who would be identified years later as FBI special agent and Associate Director Mark Felt. Although President Richard M. Nixon was facing public backlash, he went on to win the reelection by a landslide in November of 1972 and in January of the following year, Nixon was preparing to begin his second term as The President of the United States. While on January 30, 1973, two of Nixon's former aides G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord Jr. who had been overseeing the burglary, were charged with conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping in the Watergate incident along with the other five suspects who plead guilty. The involvement of G. Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt was what steered the Watergate trace back to the White House, all seven men were associated with the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP) later given the nickname CREEP, was an organization that supported the re-election of President Nixon for another term. This connection was proven through the money that was given to the burglars, along with Hunt and Liddy through the CRP secret funds. Since the connection has been discovered, John W. Dean III an American attorney who served as the White House counsel, became wary of the situation and notified the president. It was obvious that the president was not fully aware of the possible consequences of the situation. The Senate Watergate Committee decided to hold televised trials for the world to witness, and on June 3, 1973 John W. Dean III testified to Watergate investigators about knowing and discussing the Watergate cover up with Nixon at least 35 times (What was Watergate? Here are 14 facts that explain everything). During the trials Alexander Butterfield, former presidential appointments secretary, revealed in his testimony that calls and conversations were fully documented on tapes since 1971. With this information known to the public, Nixon had the tapes immediately disconnected and refused to comply to the committee's subpoena for him to release the tapes invoking his presidential privilege (What was Watergate? Here are 14 facts that explain everything). He went on to say This principle of confidentiality of presidential conversations is at stake in the question of these tapes. I must and I shall oppose any efforts to destroy this principle, which is so vital to the conduct of this great office. The struggle for the tapes continued because Nixon feared the information on the tapes would ruin the public's perception of him. President Nixon took drastic steps to avoid turning over the tapes, he fired Archibald Cox after General Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckleshaus decided to retire than to go through with his order, this became known as the Saturday Night Massacre. In the months following the Saturday Night Massacre, a newly selected special prosecutor Leon Jaworski issued a subpoena for 64 recordings, but instead of submitting the actual audio tapes, the White House released more than 1,250 pages of edited transcripts of Nixon's conversations. Nixon eventually complied and released the tapes in June of 1974, it revealed several conversations held in the White House including conversations with his former lawyer John Dean. But, it became apparent that there had been an 18-minute section of the tapes erased. Rose Mary Woods Nixon's personal assistant, mentioned that it was accidental, she claimed that she pushed the wrong foot pedal.

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