United States v. Nixon

The Cover-up

1. Regardless of the outcome, should the President of the United States have a right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office tapes? Explain.

I feel that Nixon should've had no right to privacy in regard to these tapes, because he may have been abusing his power and doing things against his rights, so since these tapes were important evidence of his role, he didn't deserve privacy based on the situation.

2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.

President Nixon was NOT justified when he fired Archibald Cox because he did nothing wrong. Nixon only fired him because he was putting Nixon in the danger of being exposed for the corrupt politician he was, so he had no right to fire him. (When Nixon offered a summary of what was on the tapes, Cox said that it wasn't enough evidence, so he denied the compromise, and Nixon fired him)

3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.

Yes, because he created a sense of perplexity and confusion within the country by refusing to hand over the tapes, and if he had just handed them over, everything he had done would've been revealed and there would be no more confusion.

Closure

4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?

I think that the American public was so outraged by Watergate because the president is supposed to be a model to others, and doing what Nixon did was and still is unheard of in America, so it was shocking and outrageous that he would take part in such a scandal.

5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.

I think that Nixon made a bad decision to resign. Resigning showed that he felt intimidated by being impeached, and shows that he has no interest in taking responsibility for his actions. If he had not resigned and had just waited to be impeached, it would show that he was truly sorry for what he did and that he was being responsible, but resigning just adds to his duplicity.

6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.

Yes I think that Nixon should have been prosecuted, because he abused his power, misused presidential power to violate the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens, took part in an obstruction of justice, and defied Judiciary Committee subpoenas. All of these are serious crimes, and just because he resigned does not mean he should be relieved of such offenses.

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.