Watergate Affair the Term "Watergate" Is Generally

Watergate Affair The term "Watergate" is generally used to explain an intricate maze of political scandals that popped up between 1972 and 1974. The word refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. In particular. In fact, the Watergate is a series of scandals that involve the government of President Richard M. Nixon and more distinctively includes the robbing of the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C. that was the national headquarters of the Democratic Party (Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom & Armitage, 2009).

In June 1972, 5 men were taken into custody by the police due to their attempts to burglarize and wiretap the offices of the Democratic Party offices. In Jan., 1973, these men were put on trial and found guilty along with two other co-conspirators. It was found that all the 7 convicted men were the employees of the reelection committee of President Nixon. This fact led a lot of people to the conclusion that higher-echelon government officials were involved in the conspiracy.

James McCord, one of the guilty intruders, wrote a letter to Sirica in March in which he charged a considerable plot of the aggravated burglary. Due to this letter, the whole affair was transformed into a political gossip of extraordinary magnitude ("Watergate Affair," 2012). The investigations of the Watergate scandal politically began in February 1973 after the establishment of a Committee by the Senate. The Committee was successful in uncovering the reality of the secret White House tape recordings.

This discovery sparked a major political and official battle between the Congress and Nixon, the then President. Nixon was charged "with obstruction of justice in the investigation of the break-in at the Democratic national headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex; abuse of power through misuse of the Internal Revenue Service for political purposes, illegal wiretapping, establishment of a private investigative unit that engaged in unlawful activities, and interference with the lawful activities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency, the Dept.

Of Justice, and other government bodies; and failure to comply with subpoenas issued by the House Judiciary Committee" ("Nixon, Richard Milhous," 2012). After increasing pressure, the transcripts of the 3 recorded conversations were publicized by Nixon who also acknowledged that he had been aware of the Watergate scheme shortly after the burglary took place. He also admitted that he had made an effort to stop the inquiries of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These revelations by Nixon incited extensive calls for his resignation.

Thus, Nixon resigned on August 09, 1973 becoming the first President of the United States of America ever to do so. However, he was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford (Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom & Armitage, 2009). There were profound effects of Watergate on the United States of America. The aftermath of Watergate brought in changes in campaign investment reorganization and a more insistent attitude by the media.

The Watergate affair not only resulted in a governmental turmoil and mayhem but it also aggravated pervasive loss of confidence in communal representatives and had a tendency to foster a general distrust of agencies administered by the government. The Clinton Impeachment of 1998-99 also was influenced by the Watergate (Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom & Armitage, 2009). To cut a long story.