"It's not the crime, it's the cover-up."
The Cover-Up
On March 23, 1973, the five burglars were trialed
and sentenced for their involvement in the Watergate break-in. One of the
five claimed that some members of the White House Staff pressured them to lie
and tried to cover-up any connection to Watergate . In addition,
John Dean, White House Counsel, also accused Nixon of being directly
linked to the burglars, but since there was no evidence, the accusation did not go
further until July of 1973.
On the 16th of July, a former White House staff
member named Alexander Butterfield testified saying there were secret recordings
of Nixon's conversations. Later on, Watergate prosecuter, Archibald Cox, and
the Senate Select Committee requested the tapes from Nixon, but he refused.
Nixon told Attorney General Eliot Richardson to fire Cox, but he refused and resigned as well as two
other important staff members, this was called the "Saturday Night Massacre".
Finally, on December 8, 1973, Nixon released 7 of the 9 tapes, one of them
having about an 18 1/2 minute gap in it. The content of these tapes supported
Nixon's involvement in the Scandal and other pressing national matters. As
evidence piled up against the president, pressure for Nixon's impeachment increased. On July
24, 1974 the Supreme Court made a unanimous decision ordering Nixon to hand in
the transcripts to all 9 tapes. This lead to the fulfillment of one of the three articles required for impeachment
to be passed by the House Judiciary Committee. Finally, on August 5, Nixon gave in
the transcripts, which proved him guilty of direct involvement in the Watergate
Scandal.
and sentenced for their involvement in the Watergate break-in. One of the
five claimed that some members of the White House Staff pressured them to lie
and tried to cover-up any connection to Watergate . In addition,
John Dean, White House Counsel, also accused Nixon of being directly
linked to the burglars, but since there was no evidence, the accusation did not go
further until July of 1973.
On the 16th of July, a former White House staff
member named Alexander Butterfield testified saying there were secret recordings
of Nixon's conversations. Later on, Watergate prosecuter, Archibald Cox, and
the Senate Select Committee requested the tapes from Nixon, but he refused.
Nixon told Attorney General Eliot Richardson to fire Cox, but he refused and resigned as well as two
other important staff members, this was called the "Saturday Night Massacre".
Finally, on December 8, 1973, Nixon released 7 of the 9 tapes, one of them
having about an 18 1/2 minute gap in it. The content of these tapes supported
Nixon's involvement in the Scandal and other pressing national matters. As
evidence piled up against the president, pressure for Nixon's impeachment increased. On July
24, 1974 the Supreme Court made a unanimous decision ordering Nixon to hand in
the transcripts to all 9 tapes. This lead to the fulfillment of one of the three articles required for impeachment
to be passed by the House Judiciary Committee. Finally, on August 5, Nixon gave in
the transcripts, which proved him guilty of direct involvement in the Watergate
Scandal.
|
"I am not a crook." |
"My own view is that taping of conversations for historical purposes was a bad
decision on the part of all the presidents. I don't think Kennedy should have
done it. I don't think Johnson should have done it, and I don't think we should have done it."
-Richard M. Nixon