Watergate: Nixon's Downfall

1. How are the "plumbers" connected to President Nixon?

Worked for Nixon, and they were people who plugged leaks in the press in order to protect Nixon by keeping things from getting out of secrecy. They also made people look bad who opposed Nixon by digging up dirt about them.

2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?

The judge was John Sirica, and he handed out maximum sentences in order to intimidate people and get those who were involved in the scandal to talk.

3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?

Mitchell was Nixon's former attorney general and was the CRP's director, while Dean was White House counsel who was dismissed by Nixon on April 30, 1973.

4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?

Haldeman and Erlichman were men who had resigned, and Nixon had announced their resignations on April 30th.

5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?
a. Dean

He told the Senate about one meeting where him, Nixon, and other advisers discussed strategies to continue the deceit.

b. Butterfield

Butterfield revealed that Nixon had taped virtually all of his presidential conversations which were meant to be used for his memoirs, which were the key in exposing him.

6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?

Archibald Cox was fired in the "massacre".

7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?

Nixon had revealed 1,254 pages of edited transcripts, which didn't satisfy the investigators because they wanted the unedited transcripts.

8. What did the tapes reveal?

Nixon's tapes revealed many gaps, including an 18.5-minute gap, which Rose Mary Woods said to have accidentally erased.

9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?

Because it was revealed that he had accepted bribes from engineering firms while the governor of Maryland.

10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?

Nixon was charged with Obstruction of Justice, Abuse of Power, and contempt of Congress for refusing to obey a congressional subpoena to release the tapes.

11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?

The Watergate scandal created a constitutional crisis because the American public and the media developed a general cynicism about public officials that still exist today.