Watergate Scandal
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Watergate Scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revolved around members of a group associated with Nixon's Richard Nixon 1972 presidential campaign, 1972 re-election campaign, who broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972, where they planted listening devices, and Nixon's later attempts to conceal his administration's involvement in the burglary. Following the arrest of the Watergate burglars, media and the United States Department of Justice, Department of Justice connected money found with those involved in the Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP), the fundraising arm of Nixon's campaign. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodw ...
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Political Scandal
In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, Political party, party officials and Lobbying, lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, political corruption, corrupt, unethical or sex scandal, sexual practices. Politicians and officials who are embroiled in scandals are more likely to retire or get lower vote shares. Journalism Scandal sells, and broadsides, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and the electronic media have covered it in depth. The Muckraker movement in American journalism was a component of the Progressive Era in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Journalists have built their careers on exposure of corruption and political scandal, often acting on behalf of the opposition party. The political ideology of media owners plays a role—they prefer to target the opposition but will reluctantly cover their own side. Journalists have to frame t ...
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Mark Felt
William Mark Felt Sr. (August 17, 1913 – December 18, 2008) was an American law enforcement officer who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1942 to 1973 and was known for his role in the Watergate scandal. Felt was an FBI special agent who eventually rose to the position of Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Deputy Director, the Bureau's second-highest-ranking post. Felt worked in several FBI field offices prior to his promotion to the Bureau's headquarters. In 1980, he was convicted of having violated the civil rights of people thought to be associated with members of the Weather Underground, by ordering FBI agents to black bag operation, break into their homes and search the premises as part of an attempt to prevent bombings. He was ordered to pay a fine, but was Pardon#United States, pardoned by President Ronald Reagan during his appeal. In 2005, at age 91, Felt revealed to ''Vanity Fair (magazine), Vanity Fair'' magazine tha ...
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Saturday Night Massacre
The "Saturday Night Massacre" was a series of resignations over the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox that took place in the United States Department of Justice during the Watergate scandal in 1973. The events followed the refusal by Cox to drop a subpoena for the Nixon White House tapes at President Richard Nixon's request. During a single evening on Saturday, October 20, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned effective immediately. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox; Ruckelshaus refused, and also resigned. Nixon then ordered the third-most-senior official at the Justice Department, Solicitor General Robert Bork, to fire Cox. Bork carried out the dismissal as Nixon asked. Bork stated that he intended to resign afterward, but was persuaded by Richardson and Ruckelshaus to stay on for the good of the Justice Department. The political and public reactions to Ni ...
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Subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoenas: # '' subpoena ad testificandum'' orders a person to testify before the ordering authority or face punishment. The subpoena can also request that the testimony be given by phone or in person. # '' subpoena duces tecum'' orders a person or organization to bring physical evidence before the ordering authority or face punishment. This is often used for requests to mail copies of documents to a requesting party or directly to a court. Etymology The term ''subpoena'' is from the Middle English ''suppena'' and the Latin phrase ''sub poena'' meaning "under penalty". It is also spelled "subpena".See, e.g., ; ; ; and . The subpoena has its source in English common law and it is now used almost with universal application throughout the E ...
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Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox Jr. (May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004) was an American legal scholar who served as United States Solicitor General, U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was a pioneering expert on Labor law in the United States, labor law and was also an authority on constitutional law. ''The Journal of Legal Studies'' has identified Cox as one of the most cited legal scholars of the 20th century. Cox was Senator John F. Kennedy's labor advisor and in 1961, President Kennedy appointed him solicitor general, an office he held for four and a half years. Cox became famous when, under mounting pressure and charges of corruption against persons closely associated with Richard Nixon, Attorney General nominee Elliot Richardson appointed him as Special Prosecutor to oversee the federal criminal investigation into the Watergate burglary and other related crimes that became popularly known as the Wate ...
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Elliot Richardson
Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. As a member of the cabinets of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford between 1970 and 1977, Richardson is one of two men in United States history to hold four cabinet positions. As United States Attorney General, Richardson played a prominent role in the Watergate scandal when he resigned in protest against President Nixon's order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox. His resignation precipitated a crisis of confidence in Nixon which ultimately led to the president's resignation. Born in Boston, Richardson attended Harvard University. After graduating, he served in World War II as a combat medic and participated in the invasion of Normandy. He returned home, attended Harvard Law School, and clerked for Learned Hand and Felix Frankfurter before beginning his legal career at Ropes & Gray. Richardson began a long career in public office in 1959 when he was appointed by Presiden ...
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Constitutional Crisis
In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this definition. For instance, one describes it as the crisis that arises out of the failure, or at least a strong risk of failure, of a constitution to perform its central functions. The crisis may arise from a variety of possible causes. For example, a government may want to pass a law contrary to its constitution; the constitution may fail to provide a clear answer for a specific situation; the constitution may be clear, but it may be politically infeasible to follow it; the government institutions themselves may falter or fail to live up to what the law prescribes them to be; or officials in the government may justify avoiding dealing with a serious problem based on narrow interpretations of the law. Specific examples include th ...
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Nixon White House Tapes
Audio recordings of conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Nixon administration officials, Nixon family members, and White House staff surfaced during the Watergate scandal in 1973 and 1974, leading to Nixon's resignation. In February 1971, a sound-activated taping system was installed in the Oval Office, including in Nixon's Wilson desk, using Sony TC-800B open-reel tape recorders to capture audio transmitted by telephone taps and concealed microphones. The system was expanded to include other rooms within the White House and Camp David. The system was turned off on July 18, 1973, two days after it became public knowledge as a result of the U.S. Senate Watergate Committee hearings. Nixon was not the first president to record his White House conversations; some taping was done by every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt through Nixon, starting in 1940. The system was mentioned during the televised testimony of White House aide Alexander Butterfield before ...
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House Judiciary Committee
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, federal administrative agencies, and federal law enforcement entities. The Judiciary Committee is often involved in the impeachment process against federal officials. Because of the legal nature of its oversight, committee members usually have a legal background, but this is not required. In the 119th Congress, the chairman of the committee is Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio, and the ranking minority member is Democrat Jamie Raskin of Maryland. History The committee was created on June 3, 1813, for the purpose of considering legislation related to the judicial system. This committee approved impeachment resolutions/ articles of impeachment against presidents in four instances: against Andrew Johnson ( in 1867), Richard Nixon ( in ...
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United States Senate Watergate Committee
The Senate Watergate Committee, known officially as the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, was a special committee established by the United States Senate, , in 1973, to investigate the Watergate scandal, with the power to investigate the break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., and any subsequent cover-up of criminal activity, as well as "all other illegal, improper, or unethical conduct occurring during the controversial 1972 United States presidential election, 1972 presidential election, including political espionage and campaign finance practices". American print news media focused the nation's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The public broadcasting, public ...
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United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article One of the Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution to pass or defeat federal legislation. The Senate also has exclusive power to confirm President of the United States, U.S. presidential appointments, to approve or reject treaties, and to convict or exonerate Impeachment in the United States, impeachment cases brought by the House. The Senate and the House provide a Separation of powers under the United States Constitution, check and balance on the powers of the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive and Federal judiciary of the United States, judicial branches of government. The composition and powers of the Se ...
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