#watergate scandal

[deadpresidents]

Are there any studies on how this country might've changed if Ford had not pardoned Nixon? Is it likely that the DOJ would've indicated Nixon and is it likely that Nixon would've been impeached and convicted?

Nixon 100% would have been impeached and convicted and removed from office. The House Judiciary Committee had already voted to impeach Nixon about a week-and-a-half before he resigned, so the next step would have been impeachment by the full House of Representatives. That would have triggered the trial in the Senate.

The reason Nixon resigned was because Senate Republican leaders like Barry Goldwater and Hugh Scott went to the White House and told him that he was finished and that even they would be voting to convict him once he was impeached.

Whether or not Nixon would have been indicted if Ford had not pardoned him is hard to know, but at the end of the chapter about President Ford's pardon of Nixon in Richard Norton Smith's recent book, An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO), Smith reveals:

Among Ford's privately stated reasons for pardoning Nixon was his desire to relieve Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski of responsibility for deciding the former President's legal fate. The irony of this position was revealed only after he left office. In June 1982, ABC News marked ten years since the Watergate break-in by assembling seven of the twenty-three grand jurors originally summoned to investigate the Nixon White House. As they told it, prosecutors answering to Jaworski had drawn up a four-count indictment charging Nixon with "bribery, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and obstruction of a criminal investigation." All it required for implementation was a formal jury vote and two signatures -- those of the jury foreman and the special prosecutor. The grand jurors were unanimously prepared to endorse such a course. Jaworski was not. Arguing that no precedent existed for indicting a sitting President, he had persuaded the grand jury to instead forward its evidence to the House Judiciary Committee for possible impeachment proceedings. With Nixon's August 1974 resignation, the issue of Presidential guilt resurfaced. Jaworski's deputy Philip Lacovara argued for an indictment of the now-former President, a view widely held among the prosecutorial staff and seconded by members of the grand jury. Jaworski thought he had suffered enough. In reality, Jaworski had never intended to put Nixon on trial if he could possibly avoid it. Ford's pardon saved him from publicly disclosing this reluctance, something he confided before his death in October 1982 to [former Defense Secretary] Mel Laird and Houston Congressman William Archer, both instrumental in his original appointment.

[fabianocolucci]

The Watergate Scandal from 1972 was such a controversial and important event that, half a century later, English speaking media still tends to nickname scandals and controversies as "(something key to the scandal)+gate".

It has become so common that, perhaps, many people don't even question it, like "well that's how journalists name scandals", thinking it could be just part of their slang.

However, one thing that makes it funny is that the reason why the Watergate Scandal is named this way is that the events started unfolding in the Watergate Complex, in Washington. It just so happens that the place has a name that looks like (something important)+gate.

As a result, due to how scandal naming works now, I bet there's some people who believe that the Watergate Scandal has something to do with water, and I find this rather amusing.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to immediately step in to decide whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution for his actions seeking to overturn the 2020 election.

"This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office," Smith wrote in the court filing.

Smith said it was "of imperative public importance" that the high court decide the question so that Trump's trial, currently scheduled for March, can move forward as quickly as possible.

The Supreme Court decides which cases it hears, so it is not required to take up the case.

In a brief order issued just hours after Smith's filing, the court asked Trump's legal team to respond by Dec. 20. The court also said it would consider on an expedited basis whether to hear the case, an indication that it takes Smith's request seriously.

The Trump campaign issued a statement saying that Smith was attempting to interfere in the 2024 election.

"As President Trump has said over and over again, this prosecution is completely politically motivated. There is absolutely no reason to rush this sham to trial except to injure President Trump and tens of millions of his supporters," the statement said.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the election interference case, denied Trump's motion to dismiss his indictment on presidential immunity and constitutional grounds, prompting Trump to appeal and ask for the case to be put on hold.

In order to prevent a delay, Smith is seeking to circumvent the appeals process by asking the Supreme Court to take up the case and decide the issue on an expedited basis.

Smith asked the court to order Trump to respond by Dec. 18 and then immediately act on his request. Under the timeline proposed by Smith, the court — if it decides to step in — could hear arguments and issue a ruling in a matter of weeks.

There is precedent for such an outcome, with Smith citing the 1974 U.S. v. Nixon case, in which the court ruled on an expedited basis that President Richard Nixon had to hand over tape recordings sought during the Watergate scandal probe. Nixon resigned soon after the ruling.

More recently, the court has on several occasions taken up cases at an early stage of litigation to decide issues of national importance, such as the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for businesses and its plan to forgive student loan debt. The Justices ruled against Biden in both cases.

The court has a 6-3 conservative majority that includes three Justices appointed by Trump. But since he left office in January 2021, the court has not been receptive to filings brought by the former president, including over his separate legal fight concerning presidential documents he stored at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

Trump’s lawyers argue that his role in questioning the result of the election was within the “outer perimeter” of his official responsibilities as president, a phrase that appears in a 1982 Supreme Court ruling, also involving Nixon, about presidential immunity. Therefore, under Supreme Court precedent, he is immune from prosecution, the lawyers say.

Smith disputes that argument, saying that the 1982 case, Nixon v. Fitzgerald, concerned only presidential immunity in a civil case. He also noted in the court filing that the long-held view of the Justice Department that the president cannot be prosecuted refers only to sitting presidents.

"Like other citizens, he is accountable for criminal conduct," Smith wrote.

In an effort to hedge in case the high court doesn't take the case, Smith also asked for an expedited appeal with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. The court asked for Trump to respond to Smith's motion by 10 a.m. Wednesday, and Smith's reply to their argument by 10 a.m. the next day.

A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Trump on four charges in August: conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction, and conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted. Trump pleaded not guilty at his arraignment hearing.

Prosecutors allege Trump used “dishonesty, fraud, and deceit” to subvert the 2020 election won by President Joe Biden with “pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud." Trump was indicted after a sprawling investigation that included testimony from dozens of White House aides and advisors ranging in seniority up to former Vice President Mike Pence.

In a separate filing in the criminal case Monday, Smith's office said it plans to call three expert witnesses to testify at trial. The three unnamed experts will testify on location data history for people who were in the crowd on Jan. 6, the use of that data in the government’s investigation and the use of Twitter on Trump’s phone on Jan. 6, Smith's office said.

Trump is facing three other criminal cases but remains the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

[westeroswisdom]

If someone says, 'Oh, you're in Game of Thrones', my youngest now says things like, 'What is Game of Thrones?' In fact, the other day she went, 'My mommy is in…' And I was like, 'You don't tell people!'

– Lena Headey quoted at People.

Lena Headey appears in a new HBO series about the Watergate scandal called White House Plumbers. She portrays the wife of E. Howard Hunt who was the mastermind of the Watergate break-in which ultimately led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon.

Game of Thrones was essentially about a political struggle – dragons and ice zombies notwithstanding. Watergate was the biggest political scandal in US history – unless you count the Trump administration as one extended scandal.

[makingdonalddrumpfagain]

[ljones41]

Movie and Television Productions About WATERGATE

June 17 marks the 50th anniversary of Watergate, probably the most famous political scandal in U.S. history.  Below are images from movie and television productions about Watergate:

1.  “All the President’s Men” (1976) - Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman starred in this adaptation of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s 1974 bestselling book about their investigation and exposure of the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post.  Alan J. Pakula directed.

2.  “Washington:  Behind Closed Doors” (1977) - Cliff Robertson and Jason Robards starred in this ABC six-part television adaptation of White House aide John Ehrlichman’s 1976 novel, “The Company”.  Gary Nelson directed.

3.  “Blind Ambition” (1979) - Martin Sheen starred in this CBS four-part television adaptation of White House counsel John Dean’s 1976 memoirs, “Blind Ambition:  The White House Years”.  George Schaefer directed.

4.  “Will:  G. Gordon Liddy” (1982) - Robert Conrad starred in this television movie adaptation of Watergate burglar/conspirator G. Gordon Liddy’s 1980 memoirs about the Watergate scandal.  Robert Liberman directed.

5.  “The Final Days” (1989) - Lane Smith starred as President Richard Nixon in this ABC television adaptation of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s 1976 book about the Nixon Administration following the revelation of the Watergate scandal.  Richard Pearce directed.

6.  “Nixon” (1995) - Oscar nominees Anthony Hopkins and Joan Allen starred in this biopic about Nixon’s political and personal life.   Oliver Stone co-wrote and directed this film.

7.  “Dick” (1999) - Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams starred in this comedic reimagining of the Watergate scandal as two Washington D.C. teenagers who exposes the scandal and brings down the Nixon administration.  Andrew Fleming co-wrote and directed the film.

8.  “Frost/Nixon” (2008) - Michael Sheen and Frank Langella starred in this adaptation of Peter Morgan’s 2006 play about the behind-the-scenes details of David Frost’s 1977 television interview with Nixon.  Ron Howard directed.

9.  “Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House” (2017) - Liam Neeson starred as adaptation of FBI agent Mark Felt’s 2006 autobiography about how he became “Deep Throat” for Bernstein and Woodward.  Peter Landesman directed.

 10.  “Gaslit” (2022) - Julia Roberts starred in STARZ’s eight-part television adaptation of Slow Burn’s 2017 podcast about the Watergate scandal.  Created by Robbie Pickering, Matt Ross directed.  

11.  “The White House Plumbers” (2022) - Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux star in HBO’s upcoming television adaptation of Egil Krogh and Matthew Krogh’s book about the Watergate scandal.  Created by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, David Manel directed.

[linusjf]

Pat Nixon: Sacrifice

Photo of First Lady Pat Nixon (Photo credit: Wikipedia) “I have sacrificed everything in my life that I consider precious in order to advance the political career of my husband. “ —Pat Nixon.

[playitagin]

1972-Haldeman comment

U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about illegally using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins.

[jimmypeeler]

In honor of it being an anniversary of the dumbest fucking things you can get caught doing, remember- don’t get caught breaking into the DNC Headquarters at the Watergate. Better yet, don’t do that in the first place. Especially when your re-election is a guaranteed landslide.

[todays-problematic-ship]

Ah, that's a common misconception, but Oceangate was the company. The incident is Oceangategate.

[mohammadgholami]

The Watergate Scandal: Plumbers and President Richard Nixon, The only resignation in US presidential history

Join me as we take a deep dive into one of the most infamous political scandals in American history - the Watergate scandal. From the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters to President Nixon's resignation, we'll explore all the details and players involved in this scandal that rocked the nation.

hi, this is mohammad qolami and welcome to my podcast. on the Watergate scandal. today we're going to take a closer look at this infamous political scandal that shook America to its core. So, let's start from the beginning. don't forget to subscribe me.

On June 17th, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. The men were caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents. At first, it seemed like a simple burglary case, but as more information came out, it became clear that there was more to this story than just a break-in.

The burglars were later found to be connected to President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign committee. This led to suspicions that Nixon and his administration were involved in some way.

So, what was Nixon's involvement? Well, it turns out that he had authorized a secret operation called "the plumbers" whose job was to stop leaks of classified information from within his administration. The plumbers were responsible for carrying out illegal activities such as wiretapping and breaking into offices of people they suspected of leaking information.

One of these targets was Daniel Ellsberg, who had leaked classified documents known as the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times. The plumbers broke into Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office looking for dirt on him but found nothing useful.

The Watergate break-in was also part of this larger effort by Nixon's administration to gather information on their political opponents ahead of the 1972 presidential election. The burglars were caught in the act, and the cover-up began.

Nixon and his top advisors tried to cover up their involvement in the break-in by obstructing justice, destroying evidence, and lying to investigators. This led to a series of investigations by Congress and the media that eventually uncovered the truth.

The scandal reached its peak when Nixon's own White House tapes were released, revealing that he had ordered a cover-up of the Watergate break-in. The tapes also showed that Nixon had used his power to try to silence his political opponents and obstruct justice.

In August 1974, facing impeachment and removal from office, Nixon resigned as President of the United States. He was succeeded by Vice President Gerald Ford.

The Watergate scandal had far-reaching consequences for American politics. It led to a loss of trust in government institutions and a greater emphasis on transparency and accountability. It also set a precedent for future investigations into presidential misconduct.

Join me for more fascinating stories from history. so...don't forget to subscribe me.

#WatergateScandal

#Scandal #Watergate

#RichardNixon #President

#Americanhistory

#Democratic #Washington

#plumbers #DanielEllsberg

#political #GeraldFord

#VicePresident

[historysisco]

I'm following up the Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal with @cbstv program Watergate: High Crimes In The White House.

The Nixon I knew was the one who was forgiven and was treated like an elder statesman up to the time of his death. The dichotomy of Nixob is really fascinating.

#RichardNixon #PresidentialHistory #POTUS #Watergate #WatergateScandal #WatergateHighCrimesInTheWhiteHouse #AmericanHistory #USHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfUcnFOOlRV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[pomegran-art]

if you and your buddies aren’t making silly historical self inserts then what are y’all doing!Edwin is by @ninetimesbluedemo and Irene is by me :)

[lymmirick]

you know it’s kind of a shame the deep sea creatures got to eat the rich before we did

[sporesgalaxy]

cant decide if a cold war america dash simulator post would be really funny or just evil. maybe when i have more energy