Professor Irving Friday 8 December 2017 The Watergate Scandal Shortly after midnight on the morning of 17 July 1972, a security guard at the Watergate complex noticed that the locks on some doors were covered with duct tape. Without a second thought, the guard removed the tape and continued his rounds. An hour later, the guard returned to find that the locks had been taped up again. It was at this point that he called the police. Thus began one of the most infamous political scandals in American history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The investigation into the Watergate scandal uncovered a conspiracy that showed abuse of power by President Richard Nixon's administration. Ultimately, this led to impeachment proceedings against the president and his eventual resignation. It all started with the arrest of five burglars for breaking into the Watergate complex in Washington DC. At the time, the Watergate complex housed the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The five men were captured at the DNC offices. The DNC offices were found to have been “bugged” with listening and recording devices. During the initial stages of the investigation, the FBI found the name of one E. Howard Hunt in the address books of two thieves. Hunt was a former CIA officer who, at the time, was working for the White House. This immediately raised further red flags in the investigation. The White House has sought to distance itself from the incident, claiming the break-in was a "third-rate burglary attempt." President Nixon stated that White House counsel John Dean had conducted an investigation and that "no one on the White House staff, no one in this administration, currently employed, was involved in this very bizarre incident." John Dean had not conducted, and would not conduct, any investigation. The FBI investigation revealed that a cashier's check intended for the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) was found in the bank account of one of the thieves. This led to the discovery of thousands of additional dollars in the thief's accounts, which may be linked to the CRP. This directly involved the CRP and the Nixon administration. On October 10, 1972, the FBI reported that the Watergate break-in was part of a major political conspiracy orchestrated by the Nixon administration. Despite this, President Nixon was re-elected and sworn in for his second term in November of that year. In January of the following year, the Watergate burglars went to trial after being indicted by a grand jury and all five pleaded guilty. Two others were also reported together with the thieves. They were G. Gordan Liddy, a CRP lawyer, and Hunt. It turned out that Liddy and Hunt were supervising the break-in from a room in the Watergate Hotel. However, two months after President Nixon was inaugurated for his second term, one of the thieves wrote a letter to the judge who had officiated at the trial. In the letter he claimed that he lied under pressure and that the break-in was not a CIA operation, as previously believed, but rather involved other high-level government officials. This led directly to the White House. The letter sparked renewed interest in the situation. Shortly thereafter, two White House aides, the attorney general and John Dean, resigned from their positions. This was a move to save and distance the presidency from accusations of “eavesdropping” on the DNC. The new attorney general has appointed a special counsel for the Watergate investigation; one that was independent of the Justice Department..