United States v. Nixon

The Cover-up

1. Regardless of the outcome, should the President of the United States have a right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office tapes? Explain.

Yes I believe that the president should have the right to privacy, but the tapes should have been handed over to the public because there needs to be evidence either in favor of Nixon, or against him in regards to watergate. The public needs to know if he is abusing his power in anyway and the tapes prove the outcome. But on the other hand these tapes were Nixon's personal effects, almost like his journal. By taking them it would be an act against his personal rights in regards to property.


2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.

No Nixon was not justified when he fired Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox because he was doing it to save himself. By firing Cox Nixon would have a better chance of being seen as innocent. Even though Nixon was the president of the USA he has no right telling the man who pretty much determines the outcome of the case to be fired, it is the equivalent of a criminal being allowed to pick who he wanted for a judge.


3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.

Yes Nixon was creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand over the tapes because they were his property so he had the right under the constitution not to hand them over, but at the same time they should have been handed over because they were seen as evidenced in the case. The public probably saw this as the government trying to take away Nixon's constitutional rights making them see Nixon as innocent.


Closure

4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?
I think that the American public was so outraged by Watergate because it showed that the candidate's in the election were fake, and deceiving. And when they were caught they tried to cover everything up making an even bigger mess.

5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.

If i were in his position and about to be impeached i probably would have resigned in order to avoid the humiliation of being the 2nd president to be impeached. But no I think that he should have stayed president as long as he could to insure that the nation remained secure and let no room in for a change in government (dictators and such.)

6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.

I believe that he should have been prosecuted as long as there was enough evidence to convict him even if he had the best lawyers ever. The government would look foolish and weak if the case didn't hold up due to lack of evidence, therefore I believe that yes Nixon should have been tried because what he did was wrong and illegal, but there needs to be enough proof for him to be convicted.

Watergate: Nixon's Downfall

1. How are the "plumbers" connected to President Nixon?

Plumbers were the people who broke into watergate to help save Nixon, these men were used to stop leaks from getting to the public. They are connected to president Nixon because they worked for him.

2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?

The judge was John Sirica and he handed out maxium sentences because he was informed in a letter that the bulgars had not acted alone and that they had lied under oath. The letter also hinted that powerful men in Nixons administration were involved in watergate. he couldnt decide who was lying and he wanted people to be scared of what was going to happen so that they would tell the truth.

3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?

John Mitchell was Nixons former attorney, and dean was Nixons presidential counsel, but dean was also the man who told the court that Nizon had been deeply involved in watergate.

4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?

Haldenman was Nixons chief of Staff, and John Ehrilchman was Nixons Cheif Domestic Advisor.

5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?

a. Dean- Told Nixon was deeply involved in the coverup, He talked about a meeting where Nixon and some of his advisers talked about how they were going to continue the deceit.

b. Butterfield- He told the court that Nixon had taped all of his meetings so that he would be able to write his memoir.

6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?

Fired- Cox, and Attorney General Richardson because he refused to fire Cox.

general robert bork was the one who finally fired Cox

7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?

The investagators were upest becuase Nixon gave them the edited tapes of Watergate, and they demanded for the unedited ones.

8. What did the tapes reveal?

The tapes revealed that there was not enough evidence to impeach president Nixon.

9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?

Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because in 1973 he was under investigation of extortion, tax fraud, bribery, and conspiracy; but later that year he was formally charged with accepting bribes of more than $100,000. It was agreed that if he paid $29,500 (his income) and he resigned as the vice president he would not have to go to jail.

10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?

The House Judiciary Committee charged President Nixon with three forms of impeachment. Charging him with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress for refusing to obey a congressional subpoena (releasing the tapes).