Today, the word Watergate carries more meaning than that of the hotel in Washington DC. The word also represents the political scandal that brought down Richard Nixon's presidency and caused him to resign. However, he did not resign on his own, he resigned following impeachment charges brought against him. This left many wondering whether Nixon could actually be impeached by Congress for his crimes. Impeachable offenses are outlined in the United States Constitution article 4 section 2. Under the US Constitution the allegations against Richard Nixon were enough to have him impeached. The president of the United States can be removed from office for "treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors" (Beeman 46). President Nixon was charged
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They noticed the money trail but were unsuccessful at follow following it back to the president due to the tangled web of bribes informants such as "Deep Throat" were crucial in their investigations (Killen 231). Nixon used a slush fund of illegal campaign funds to pay off burglars and lower level administration to prevent it from coming back to himself. Bribery is listed as an impeachable offense in the Constitution of the United States and Nixon would easily be removed from office if he was found guilty of it. In scripted tapes with the president, Chief of Staff, H. R. Haldeman discussed that some of the burglars were being paid by the administration as "raising money for defendants" but they failed to mention that the burglars are being paid to keep quiet (Ambrose 48). While raising money for defendants is not illegal, paying them to withhold evidence is. Nixon paid people below him to take the blame for crimes he orchestrated which is bribery. When Congress formed a committee to investigate the break-in, Nixon began to pay the convicted meant to not mention the administration's part (Great Events 1806). The bribery by Nixon's administration was used along with obstruction of justice to cover up the spying going on. Richard Nixon was accused of high crimes during the Watergate scandal. High crimes include obstruction of justice. Due to various reasons Nixon secretly recorded many …show more content…
The accusations against him raised questions as to what an impeachable offense is and how much power the president holds when it comes to resisting investigations into his activities. The Watergate scandal forever change politics in America, mainly in the way people look at the leadership of the president (history.com 1). There had never been an incident before this of such a large scale crime and cover-up committed by a present. People began to distress the president and want to limit the power he possessed (history.com 5). Transparency in government became more demanded that was reflected in the next presidential election. Following Richard Nixon, who has been called America's most trouble president, the people of the United States elected a man of high morals and strong faith. The act of electing a man polar opposite to Nixon reflected the distrust that the American people possessed following the scandal. Although Richard Nixon was never impeached for his involvement in the scandal, if he had not resigned he would have
They noticed the money trail but were unsuccessful at follow following it back to the president due to the tangled web of bribes informants such as "Deep Throat" were crucial in their investigations (Killen 231). Nixon used a slush fund of illegal campaign funds to pay off burglars and lower level administration to prevent it from coming back to himself. Bribery is listed as an impeachable offense in the Constitution of the United States and Nixon would easily be removed from office if he was found guilty of it. In scripted tapes with the president, Chief of Staff, H. R. Haldeman discussed that some of the burglars were being paid by the administration as "raising money for defendants" but they failed to mention that the burglars are being paid to keep quiet (Ambrose 48). While raising money for defendants is not illegal, paying them to withhold evidence is. Nixon paid people below him to take the blame for crimes he orchestrated which is bribery. When Congress formed a committee to investigate the break-in, Nixon began to pay the convicted meant to not mention the administration's part (Great Events 1806). The bribery by Nixon's administration was used along with obstruction of justice to cover up the spying going on. Richard Nixon was accused of high crimes during the Watergate scandal. High crimes include obstruction of justice. Due to various reasons Nixon secretly recorded many …show more content…
The accusations against him raised questions as to what an impeachable offense is and how much power the president holds when it comes to resisting investigations into his activities. The Watergate scandal forever change politics in America, mainly in the way people look at the leadership of the president (history.com 1). There had never been an incident before this of such a large scale crime and cover-up committed by a present. People began to distress the president and want to limit the power he possessed (history.com 5). Transparency in government became more demanded that was reflected in the next presidential election. Following Richard Nixon, who has been called America's most trouble president, the people of the United States elected a man of high morals and strong faith. The act of electing a man polar opposite to Nixon reflected the distrust that the American people possessed following the scandal. Although Richard Nixon was never impeached for his involvement in the scandal, if he had not resigned he would have