Watergate Scandal

The Watergate scandal involved a series of political scandals during Richard Nixon’s presidency. It started with five men being arrested after breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel complex in 1972. The scandal was traced to the top levels of the government, and the cover-up ultimately led to Nixon’s resignation. Investigations of this crime resulted in a reveal of other crimes and abuses by Nixon and his staff, including campaign fraud, political espionage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping, and a secret slush fund in Mexico. The investigation lasted two years. It finally came to a close after a taping was discovered of Nixon which proved he had obstructed justice and attempted to cover up the break-in.

This is one of the most notorious political scandals in U.S. history. Clearly, the actions of Nixon and his staff were highly unethical and illegal. In my opinion, history has proven that the more power someone has, the more likely they are to commit ethical lapse. The most serious ethical offenses seem to occur within the highest levels of the government and corporate world. It may be also, however, that these are just more known to the public because of their prestige. I tried to find documents from the Watergate scandal, but most of what I found was legal documents from after the scandal, and during the time of conviction.