"Impeachment: Now More Than Ever"
____________________________________________________
Now it is up to the Congress to act, supported by the mighty voice of the
people and the editorial page anger of the free press. It is not just a death
struggle against the bullying, lying, thieving Nixon; we are in a more
profound confrontation.
There is enough evidence now out in the open for the Congress to vote
impeachment next Monday morning. This is less and less unlikely as every day
passes. But impeachment alone is not enough. There must also be a trial by
the United States Senate -- presided over, according to the Constitution, by
Chief Justice Warren Burger -- seeking the conviction of Richard Nixon.
What looks most likely now, this seventh day of May, is that Nixon will soon
resign. Despite everything in his own personal and political history to the
contrary, if he can get a few conservative columnists to write about how he
did it "for the greater good of the country," he _will_ resign. Every major
figure in his own party, except Connally, and all but a handful of the
thousands of lesser Republican officeholders and leaders know that they can
only benefit by such a move.
We urge the Congress to vote impeachment proceedings before Nixon can escape
through resignation. And, in either event, we then want a trial to determine
innocence or a conviction.
And that is just the first step.
- Rolling Stone
May, 1973
____________________________________________________
I think it is not excessive to say we have been put through too much. Either
the Congress, or the President by his own decision, should relieve us of a
burden too heavy to carry any longer.
- Howard K. Smith
ABC-TV
October 31, 1973
____________________________________________________
The time has come for President Nixon to offer his resignation, conditional
upon prompt congressional confirmation of his chosen Vice President.
- Joseph Alsop
Washington Post
November 2, 1973
____________________________________________________
If Mr. Nixon becomes convinced -- and by a few more months at most it will be
sure, one way or another -- that he has irretrievably lost the support and
trust of a solid majority of the people, it will then be his duty to resign
his office as the only act able to heal the grievous wound. This would be,
under the circumstances, the highest act of loyalty and patriotism on his
part, and we therefore feel that Richard Nixon, facing the reality, would see
resignation as his duty; and if he did not, it would become the duty of his
closest friends and associates to persuade him so to see it.
- National Review
November 2, 1973
____________________________________________________
This one last great service that Mr. Nixon can now perform for his country is
to resign. He has been trying to "tough it out" for too long at too great a
cost to the nation. As long as he clings to office, he keeps the presidency
swamped in a sea of scandal and the American public in a morass of concern
and confusion. The state of the union requires nothing less than a change in
the sorry state of the presidency.
- New York Times
November 4, 1973
____________________________________________________
The nightmare of uncertainty must be ended. A fresh start must be made. Some
at home and abroad might see the President's resignation a sign of American
weakness and failure. It would be a sign of the very opposite. It would show
strength and health. It would show the ability of a badly infected political
system to cleanse itself. It would show the true power of popular government
under law in America.
- Time
November 6, 1973
____________________________________________________
The time has come to proceed with the impeachment and trial of Richard Nixon.
Nothing else will clear the air and restore a sense of domestic tranquility.
- James J. Kilpatrick
November 7, 1973
____________________________________________________
###
"A Watergate Primer"
With its burgulars, bugs and dirty tricks, Watergate was a graver time. A
primer on Nixon's fall.
By David M. Alpern
WASHINGTON -- Five men were arrested Saturday as they attempted
to break into the headquarters of the Democratic National
Committee, police reported.
Police described the men as "a professional ring" and said nothing
was stolen. The police said they were at a loss of why the men
would pick such a target unless they were searching for documents.
Seized with them were an assortment of lock picks and other
burgulary tools.
The five being held for a U.S. magistrate's hearing later in the
day were identified tentatively as residents of Miami, Fla. Police
listed them as Raul Godoy, Gene Valdez, Edward Martin, Edward
Hamilton and Frank Carter.
Police said a security guard heard noises near the locked
Democratic headquarters at 1:30 a.m. and called police to a swank
apartment complex next to the Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts.
Police arrested the five and a complaint was filed by Stanley L.
Greigg, 40, a former Iowa congressman who is now assistant
chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
A security guard at the building said the burgulary evidently was
preplanned. He said a tape had been placed over a lock to keep a
door accessible to the stairwell that leads directly to the
headquarters.
- The first AP story on the Watergate break-in, transmitted on
June 17, 1972.
It was obviously never just the "third-rate burglary attempt" that Richard
Nixon's White House first maintained. Within days evidence tied the burglars
arrested on June 17, 1972, at Democratic headquarters in Washington's
Watergate complex both to the Committee for the Reelection of the President
(CRP) and to the White House. One of those captured was CIA veteran James
McCord Jr., head of CRP security. Two phone lists found by police included a
White House office number. There was even a country-club bill signed by
another CIA veteran, E. Howard Hunt -- the man whose White House number was
on the list. Yet as Nixon aide Bob Haldeman noted in a White House tape
released years later: "The great thing about it is that the whole thing is
so totally f----d up so badly done that nobody believes --" Nixon finishes
the thought: "--that we could have done it."
But they did. After Nixon's November 1972 landslide, investigations by
prosecutors, reporters and a Senate committee headed by North Carolina's
canny Sam Ervin produced one shock after another. Financing for the break-in
was traced to the CRP; McCord told a judge about hush money and a cover-up
that implicated Nixon campaign manager John Mitchell, the former attorney
general. Mitchell's resignation was a clear sign of big trouble, as were the
subsequent departures of his successor, Richard Kleindienst, top Nixon aides
Haldeman and John Erlichman, and White House counsel John Dean. By the
beginning of May 1973, Nixon's Gallup rating had tumbled to 45 percent. And
it fell further with exposure of darker secrets he'd tried to keep: that
some of those involved in Watergate were linked to earlier off-the-books
White House espionage operations, illegal wiretaps and break-ins (one at the
office of Vietnam critic Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist). There were also
reports of an "enemies list" and Nixon's highly questionable tax returns
($792 in 1970, $878 in 1971).
On the defensive, Nixon agreed to a special prosecutor, Harvard Law's
Archibald Cox. This was the president's undoing. Cox's campaign for Nixon's
secret White House tapes prompted the "Saturday Night Massacre" of October
1973. Nixon demanded that Cox be fired, but Attorney General Elliot
Richardson and his deputy left rather than follow the president's orders.
Nixon's approval rating fell to 27 percent -- and House leaders launched an
impeachment probe.
Judiciary chairman Peter Rodino slowly and secretly assembled a case against
the president. The beginning of the end came on July 24, 1974, as the
Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that Nixon must surrender key tapes -- and televised
impeachment hearings began. Ultimately, several brave Republicans swung to
support impeachment for obstruction of justice (Article I, the cover-up),
abuse of power (Article II, the White House "horrors") and contempt of
Congress (Article III, withholding subpoenaed tapes). The committee wisely
dropped more divisive articles based on Nixon's secret bombing of Cambodia
and his tax returns. Release of the "smoking gun" tape, in which Nixon
blessed a plan to have the CIA block FBI investigation of Watergate on
fraudulent "national security" grounds, ended the game abruptly. "Once this
tape gets out, it's over," Nixon was warned by his chief of staff, Alexander
Haig. Soon no committee Republicans were supporting Nixon. His Gallup rating
sank to 24 percent and conviction by the Senate seemed inevitable. A week
later, the president resigned and flew west.
- Newsweek, 10/19/98.
###
"A Watergate Quiz"
Here's a chance to show how much you know about the most damaging, and most
intriguing, political scandal in American history.
There is no scoring system. But if you get them all correct (you can check
your answers at the bottom of this page) Deep Throat, we've found you!
* * *
The scandal in 60 seconds
On June 17, 1972, Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate office
building in Washington, D.C., were entered by burglars wearing (1)__________
gloves. Their pockets were stuffed with (2)__________ bills. They were
arrested, and subsequently identified with President Nixon's re-election
commettee, known by the acronym CREEP, which stood for (3)__________.
The president's press secretary called it a (4)__________ burgulary attempt.
But two reporters for (5)__________ dug around and established a link between
the burgulars and the White House.
Six days after the burglary, the president agreed with a plan to cover up
the White House involvement. Seven men pleaded guilty or were convicted of
the burglary and one of them, (6)__________, made demands of the White House
for hush money.
Nixon was told it could cost (7)__________. Some of the participants in the
cover-up became afraid and talked to (8)__________. A Senate committee began
an investigation, and it was revealed that Nixon secretly recorded all his
conversations in the White House.
Thus began a legal tug-of-war involving the White House, the Senate and the
courts for the tapes. When Prosecutor Archibald Cox pressed too hard, Nixon
ordered him (9)__________ in what became known as the (10)__________.
Finally, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to yield the tapes. A House
committee recommended that he be (11)__________ and it looked like that
would happen when Nixon (12)__________. He flew off to his villa in
(13)__________ California.
(14)__________ became president and later pardoned Nixon.
(15)__________ testified "I will let the answer stand - whatever it was."
(16) The only known hobby of __________ was taking and showing home movies
of President Nixon.
(17)__________ allegedly manhandled Martha Mitchell and held her down while a
doctor gave her an injection to keep her from talking.
(18) Before gaining an important position in the Nixon administration, __________
owned gambling casinos in Las Vegas.
(19) President Nixon called __________ a "candy-ass."
(20) President Nixon called __________ an "asshole, "a little nuts," and "just isn't
well-screwed on."
(21)__________ put forth the "sinister force theory" theory to explain the eighteen-
and-a-half-minute gap on the tape.
* * *
Watergate Dates
The true Watergate connoisseur needs only a date to recall a significant
event. The Watergate break-in was on June 17, 1972. Richard Nixon was
pardoned Sept. 8, 1974. Now it's up to you to arrange the following events
in chronological order and then pair them with the dates on which they
occurred.
EVENTS DATES
1. Nixon resigns after announcing his decision A. June 20, 1972
the night before.
2. The Saturday Night Massacre B. Sept. 15, 1972
3. Testimony before the Senate Watergate
Committee reveals that all of Nixon's White C. April 30, 1973
House conversations were taped.
4. Nixon aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. D. July 16, 1973
Ehrlichman resign. Presidential cousel John
Dean is fired. E. Oct. 20, 1973
5. Seven men are indicted for the Watergate
break-in. F. July 24, 1974
6. The Supreme Court rules Nixon must give up
tapes that are needed as evidence in the G. July 27, 1974
trial of his aides.
7. Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss Watergate. H. Aug. 9, 1974
Later, prosecutors find an 18 1/2-minute gap
in the tape of that conversation.
8. The Committee on the Judiciary in the House
of Representatives votes 27 to 11 to
recommend Nixon's impeachment.
* * *
Watergate verities: True or False?
_____ 1. Nixon was named as a Watergate conspirator by a grand jury but was
not indicted.
_____ 2. John Dean borrowed mony from a White House safe to pay for his
honeymoon.
_____ 3. Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president because of his involvement
in Watergate.
_____ 4. Nixon and Henry Kissinger knelt in prayer together after the
president decided to resign.
_____ 5. G. Gordon Liddy offered to have himself shot to take the Watergate
heat off the White House.
_____ 6. One of the Watergate burglars was on a CIA retainer when he was
arrested.
_____ 7. Herbert Kalmback and Richard Kleindienst were lawyers for the Nixon
re-election committee.
_____ 8. The "milk fund" was used to pay off the Watergate burglars.
_____ 9. Nixon never publicly discussed Watergate until the night he
resigned.
_____10. Nixon was the first president to resign his office.
_____11. As part of his effort to cover up the traces of the Watergate burglary,
G. Gordon Liddy shredded $100 bills.
_____12. Among the assignments given "Sedan Chair I" was stealing shoes
of opposition workers when they were left in the hotel halls to be polished.
_____13. During the course of an investigation, G. Gordon Liddy once locked
himself in the trunk of an automobile.
_____ 14. President Nixon had an intense dislike of ice cubes with holes in them.
_____ 15. Tony Ulasewicz secretly investigated the Smothers Brothers.
_____ 16. Chuck Colson commissioned a firm to design a ray gun that could
erase the presidential tapes even as they lay in their vaults.
_____ 17. President Nixon used to have the air-conditioning in the White House
turned up to full capacity so he could have fires in the fireplace in the
summer.
_____ 18. G. Gordon Liddy's method of insuring that in attempted burglary of
George McGovern's headquarters would not be noticed by passersby was
to fire a bullet thorugh a light in a nearby alley-way.
_____ 19. After the capture of the Watergate burglars, E. Howard Hunt ordered
Alfred Baldwin to remove the monitoring equipment from the Howard
Johnson's motel across the street from the Watergate and "take it
anywhere but to Mr. McCord's house." Baldwin then took the equipment to
McCord's home.
_____ 20. During one year of his administration, Richard Nixon met only once with
his Secretary of Defense, Elliot Richardson, but held two personal, private
meetings with a veterinarian when his dog, King Timahoe, had mange.
* * *
ANSWERS:
The scandal in 60 seconds
1. surgical
2. $100
3. Committee for the Re-election of the President, often referred to as
Committee to Re-elect the President
4. third-rate
5. The Washington Post
6. E. Howard Hunt
7. $1 million
8. federal prosecutors
9. fired
10. Saturday Night Massacre
11. Impeached
12. resigned
13. San Clemente
14. Gerald R. Ford
15. Richard Moore
16. H.R. Haldeman
17. Steve King
18. Fred Larue
19. George Shultz
20. G. Gordon Liddy
21. Alexander Haig
* * *
Watergate Dates
1. H 3. D 5. B 7. A
2. E 4. C 6. F 8. G
* * *
Watergate verities: True or False?
1. TRUE. The president was one of 18 unindicted co-conspirators.
2. TRUE. He borrowed $4,850 and paid it back.
3. FALSE. He resigned Oct. 10, 1973, rather than contest charges that he
took payoffs while governor of Maryland and as vice president.
4. TRUE. In his memoirs, Nixon said, "I asked him to pray with me... and we
knelt."
5. TRUE. It was one of the reasons Nixon and others in the White House
considered him to be irrational.
6. TRUE. Eugenio Martinez, an anti-Castro Cuban, was receiving checks
regularly.
7. FALSE. Kalmback was Nixon's personal lawyer and fund-raiser; Kleindienst
followed John Mitchell as attorney general.
8. FALSE. It was made up of contributions from the dairy industry to Nixon's
re-election campaign.
9. FALSE. The subject came up at many press conferences and in his public
addresses, beginning with a news conference five days after the burglary.
10. TRUE. The first and only.
11. TRUE.
12. TRUE.
13. TRUE.
14. TRUE.
15. TRUE.
16. TRUE.
17. TRUE.
18. TRUE.
19. TRUE.
20. TRUE.
- Quiz compiled by The Associated Press
###
|
No comments so far, be the first to comment. |
Reader's Comments
