The Watergate Scandal and Investigation

View each of the video clips and answer the associated questions.

VIDEO CLIP: The Watergate Break-In and the Role of the White House

● Explain what happened the night of the break-in at the Watergate complex.

Several people broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters they were discovered on-site

● How was the burglary at the Watergate tied to the White House?

A security man reconignes tape at the door that was used to keep it from locking and then he called the police

● Describe the actions that President Nixon took after the leak of the Pentagon Papers?

He became paranoid then he started seeking an injunction to help prevent publication

● According to Mr. Hughes, why did President Nixon engage in a cover up?

Because he was afraid of impeachment, president nixon began to try to cover-up his schemes.

● Describe the role that Washington Post reporters, Woodward and Bernstein played in the Watergate scandal.

They were called in to work on the story, and were charged to write and report the original story.

VIDEO CLIP: Obstruction of Justice and Taping of Conversations during the Watergate Scandal

● Why does President Nixon allow for the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor?

He did this to help avoid any further conflicts and facilitate subject matter

● How was John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman’s order to the FBI an example of obstruction of Justice?

They committed an act of obstruction of justice by helping Nixon tamper with evidence.

● How did the Senate Watergate Committee find out about Nixon’s secret tapes? Why were these tapes
significant? A man exposed Nixion’s tapes, who goes by the name Alexander Butterfield. They were important in
finding out proof of the burglary being in the hands of President Nixion, how it was orchestrated, and maybe
even why.

● What argument does President Nixon make to avoid handing over the tapes? He argued that handing over the
tapes goes over the constitutional principle of executive privilege and that they were vital to national security.

● What was the Saturday Night Massacre? Why was that important to the scandal? The SNM was President Nixon's
orders to fire the independent special prosecutor ArchiBald Cox. It was important to the Scandal because it
marked a turning pint of the Watergate scandal which caused people to reconsider the intentions of the
Watergate scandal.
VIDEO CLIP: Senate Watergate Committee Testimony of Alexander Butterfield about Secret Tapes

● Why were the listening devices installed in President Nixon’s offices?

They were installed in nixon's office to listen in to any meetings and conversations nixon was having

VIDEO CLIP: The Watergate Committee and the Nixon Tapes

● Why do members of the Watergate Committee staff believe that Nixon did not destroy the tapes? They believe
he didn't because the tapes did not help him in his aid and helped in his defense

VIDEO CLIP: The Republican Role in the Watergate Scandal

● What was the vote for creating the Senate Watergate Committee? Why was that important?

The vote was unanimously by the senate. It was important because it encouraged four democrats and three republicans
to spokane witness and materials.

● Explain Judge Sirica’s role in the Watergate scandal. He was over the Watergate trials, in search of the truth,
because of the lack of information he questioned the witnesses himself and instructed the jury to question not
only what happened but also why it happened, even though this tactic remains controversial.

● What happened at the Supreme Court in regards to the tapes? They ordered the tapes to be released as fast as
possible after the judge listened to them to see if they were relevant to trial of nixon's aids.

● How did Congressional Republicans impact Nixon’s eventual decision to resign? They were against the act at first
but eventually they let up as the evidence and votes of congress almost made it impossible to continue to defend
him

VIDEO CLIP: House Judiciary Committee and Articles of Impeachment for Nixon

● Why was it important for the articles of impeachment not to appear political? To keep the articles of
impeachment from being looked at as a debate. It is NOT up for debate or jokes when a president is impeached,
it is matter of the nation as a whole. Also they can’t hold office in the future, so it shouldn’t be debated if they
should come back.

● Why was it important for the House Judiciary Committee meetings to be televised? So they may be reviewed and
looked at as a nation so that the people may get a hearsay. (basically, no horseplay)

● How did the House Judiciary Committee frame their arguments against President Nixon? They framed him of
obstruction of justice for trying to impede the investigation of watergate, trying to protect those involved, trying
to conceal the existence of illegal activities, abuse of power, etc
VIDEO CLIP: Nixon White House Counsel John Dean on the Watergate Cover-Up

● What did former White House counsel say about President Nixon’s involvement in the cover-up? He allegedly
stated that”The president was deeply involved in the Cover-up, he not only knew but also tried to cover it up.”

VIDEO CLIP: President Nixon Resignation

● What are the reasons that President Nixon gives for resigning? Some reasons he gives were, he might nit have
support of the congress that he would consider necessary to back the difficult decisions and carry out the duties
of his office.

VIDEO CLIP: Legislative Reforms Post-Watergate

● Describe the transparency reforms that were put into place after Watergate. Providing ethical, transparent
government, combatting the corruption of government by money, protecting people against the abuse of
government, amd placing limits on presidency power.

● What were some of the ethic reforms that were implemented after Watergate? One ethos reform was to limit
the franking privileges that allow members to send mail to constitutes at taxpayers

After viewing each of the video clips, use the chart below to brainstorm a list of Nixon’s actions took that contributed to
his resignation. After summarizing these actions, rank these in order from most significant to least significant to his
eventual resignation. Explain your ranking in the space provided.

Brainstorm Actions that Summary of the Action Rank Its Explain Your Ranking
Contributed to Nixon’s Significance
Resignation

Obstruction of justice He hindered any law enforcement out of a Because it’s stopping the
officer level of advancement of justice
1-10 i
would say 8

He tried to protect those helping you I would say It’s bad I don’t see it super bad but
Aiding in a crime 6 it’s bad especially for a president
 He tried to hinder and conceal
Tampering with evidence
evidence
Given the power to demand and
being in an authority level ut using
Abuse Of power the power to do bad or unjustice acts
I would say This is bad because trying to
10 conceal and destroy evidence
especially on a federal level is
unruly
i would say For nixon, being in such a high
10 level, abuse of power is very
dangerous and can be terrible
especially with that much
authority