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Richard Nixon Watergate Scandal Essay

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The Event That Started the American Publics’ Distrust in the Government The Watergate scandal, which took place during the presidency of Richard Nixon, has become one of the most infamous political scandals in American history. The scandal involved a series of illegal activities carried out by the Nixon administration, including wiretapping, burglary, and the cover-up of these activities. The scandal ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974. One primary source that provides valuable insights into the Watergate scandal is the "White House Tapes," which consists of conversations between Nixon and his aides. These tapes and other evidence have been used to support the argument that the Watergate scandal has shaped and justified the public's …show more content…

Haldeman(White House Chief of Staff) discuss the need to find a fall guy, including the “CIA” and the “Cubans”. Haldeman tells Nixon they will have an associate from the CIA “call” Pat Gray(Director of FBI) to “stay the hell out of this” and “we don't want you going any further”, which directly contradicts Nixon’s prior statements, that he did not interfere with FBI investigations. This conversation demonstrates that the Nixon administration was willing to use the CIA as a scapegoat to cover up their involvement in the Watergate scandal. The Nixon administration made "hush money" payments to the burglars involved in the break-in at Watergate. These payments aimed to buy the burglars' silence and conceal the Nixon administration's level of involvement in the scandal. Furthermore, Nixon also paid his "White House aids" to maintain their silence. In essence, the Watergate scandal was not just about the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, but also about the Nixon administration's efforts to cover up its involvement and silence those who could reveal the truth. The payments served as a means to ensure the burglars' silence, and Nixon's attempts to shift blame and pay off his aides demonstrated his desperation to conceal his administration's

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Richard Nixon, our 37th president of the United States, is best remembered for his involvement in the Watergate scandal in the 1970’s. The Watergate scandal is mainly known for the break in at the Watergate building which is where the Democratic National Committee is located at in Washington, D.C. The break in consisted the undertaking of wiretapping of phones and the act of stealing confidential documents. After time had passed by, the FBI started growing suspicious about Nixon’s role in the scandal especially when he tried covering up the issue by providing hush money for the people who were involved in the break in. He also tried stopping the FBI from doing their job by not allowing to investigate the break in and as well as firing any disobedient

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