Watergate began on an early Saturday morning in 1972 when five men were arrested for breaking into the offices of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate office complex. At first it had the hallmarks of a simple run of the mill break in until it was noted the advance listening equipment or bugs that they were on them at the time and the fact that one of the men had the phone number of a high level advisor to president Nixon in his pocket. With this information in mind Howard Bernstein and Robert Woodward of the Washington post knew that this was no run of the mill break in and proceeded to investigate further.
· In august 1972 Woodward and Bernstein found out that burglars were paid with Nixon campaign funds
· September 1972 Attorney General Mitchell was implicated in the break-ins when it was determined that several of his associates had control of the account used to fund the Watergate break in and were kept in a special account of the Nixon campaign committee also known as (C.R.E.E.P) The Committee to Reelect the President
· October 1972 Woodward and Bernstein whip out an October surprise reporting that Nixon’s entire re election strategy was based on dirty tricks and by trying to sabotage democratic opponents Watergate stemmed has an all out political assault spying and sabotaging democrats on behalf of president Nixon directed by Nixon’s white house inner circle.
· Mid October 1972 Dwight Chaplin was also linked to the break in as a contact in the spying and sabotage operation conducted on Nixon’s behalf.
· Late October 1972 H.R Haldeman president Nixon’s Chief of staff was linked to the break in has one of the five Nixon associates allowed to approve payments from a Nixon secret campaign fund thus showing how the Watergate burglary and dirty tricks campaign was financed.
These reports by woodward and bernstein began to unravel the truth behind watergate and that the white house may have been involved in the break in at the Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate. at this point in 1972 the white house continued to deny any involvement, but the Washington post the only newspaper that ran with the story felt they were getting close to the truth thanks to the actions taken by the white house.
It all began when a washignton post reproter was suddenly banned from covering and attending white house social functions, then Presdient Nixon orderd the Federal Communcations Commission (FCC) not to renew the broad cast license of 2 televsion stations in florida owend by the post company. by doing so post publisher Graham as well Woodward and Bernstein along with post editor Ben Bradlee. knew that watergate struck a nerve with someone in the white house and that it was only a matter of time before the truth comes out.
mean while the trial of the burglars was proceeding in dc district court were judge Sirica suspected that the burglars were coverning up another crime. that was related to the break in given that there was evidence that implicated white house staff memebers. one of the burglars in exhchange for a lighter sentence finally spilled the beans to invetigators his testimony implicated members of President Nixons Inner Circle. then a grand jury conveined and indicted president nixon as a co conspirator and G Gordon Liddy, Dwight Chapman, E Howard Hunt, John Mitchell, H.R Halderman and Senior Counsel Elrichman. for obstrstruction of justice charges.Judge Sirca asides from conveing a grand jury absed on the testimony of one of the burglars orderd presdient nixon to handover the taped conversations Nixon had of oval office conversations.
Nixon handed over the tapes and they were incriminating.
With woodward and Bernsteins reporting was the starting point of the investigation taht led to the exposure of the watergate scandal by having the greatest governement confidential source known as deep thorat who was a senior governemnt offcial within the Executive Branch who confrimed Woodward and Benrsteins inforamtion and subsuquently prevented them from pursuing dead ends, but in addition to the investigations in the courts and The lone reporting of the washington post The Legislative Branch or the second estate began running hearings looking into an investigation of possible articles of impeachment of Presdient Nixon these 70 day hearings in the house Judiciary Commitee turned the tables on the White House and blew the Scandal wide open and facing possible impeachment Nixon on August4th,1974 became the first President ever to resign from office.
Revealing the biggest corruption scandal in american history. the legacy of the watergate scandal is the reason we need a free press for they are the advocate of the people and they remind us the citizens again and again that we are a free society made up not of people, but of laws.
