1. It is August 9, 1974. Nixon has just resigned as president. You are a lawyer who has been asked to write a well-developed argument as to whether or not Nixon should be indicted and prosecuted as a civilian for crimes committed during the Watergate scandal. What is your opinion? Be sure to cite evidence from the two-page memorandum and appropriate clauses from the U.S. Constitution (over).
I strongly believe that President Nixon should be prosecuted as a civilian for the crimes he has committed during the Watergate scandal. Nixon is no different from any other civilian who has committed crimes such as Nixon. If we are to allow President Nixon to get away and not be prosecuted for his crimes, we are generally saying that he is different from any other man. In the constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 3 clause 7 it states that he is "liable and subjected to the Indictment, Trial, Judgement, and punishment, according to law." It is also mentioned in the Constitution that the president, in Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8, "before he enters on the Execution of his office, must take the following oath or affirmation that he will do the best of his ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution." Nixon lied to the public nation, obstructed justice, abused his power as president, and therefore tested the Constitution, he did nothing of the sort of protecting or defending the Constitution. Nixon is a perfect example of a president trying to stretch the power of the executive branch, so if we are to let Nixon get away with such crimes, we are not setting a good example as for the future presidencies. If Nixon were to have followed the orders of the Supreme Court and handed over the tapes, he good have ended this. But Nixon chose not to, and because of his poor decisions it is our role to prosecute Nixon.
2. It is September 8, 1974. Nixon has just been pardoned by President Gerald Ford. You are a lawyer who has been asked to write a well-developed argument as to whether or not Nixon should have been pardoned for any crimes committed while he was president. What is your opinion? Be sure to cite evidence from the two-page memorandum, appropriate clauses from the U.S. Constitution (over), and Ford’s pardon and explanation.
It is September 8, 1974 and our new president Gerald Ford has just pardoned President Nixon for his crimes during his presidency. I do not believe this was the correct way to handle Nixon's actions during his presidency. In my opinion, Ford had only pardoned Nixon because he knew that the spectacle of a president on trial for crimes such as obstructing justice does not look good for our nation, therefore to avoid the shame and embarrassment of prosecuting Nixon, Ford decided to pardon his actions. I strongly believe that if we pardon Nixon we are giving future presidents the impression that they can get away with such crimes, and can be pardoned for doing so too. Ford claims that, "Nixon had already suffered enormously." and that he didn't think "the country wanted to see an ex-president behind bars." Some people might agree with President Ford, but when one commits a crime they must be punished, and if not then there is no justice in the outcome.
3. Do you think Richard Nixon’s acceptance of Ford’s pardon was an admission of guilt? Explain.
No I do not believe that Nixon's acceptance of Ford's pardon was an admission of guilt. If Nixon had felt so guilty, then he should have had a trial and be fairly convicted. Also, he still tried to deny any involvement even when there was still hard evidence.
Showing posts with label Watergate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Watergate. Show all posts
Friday, June 4, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
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.
I believe that the President of the United States definitely should not have the right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office Tapes. This is because, regardless of the right of privacy, the tapes were an extreme significance to the Watergate Crisis and was an extremely valuable piece of evidence. If the president were to be committing illegal crimes, and such news like the evidence of the existence of the tapes were leaked, the President should not have the right to deny this evidence because it is his own privacy because it will help determine the justice that should be served in the case. And anyways, if the president is denying any access to a piece of evidence, it is probably because the evidence is not in their favor which just proves that the evidence should be leaked to find this justice.
2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.
I believe that President Nixon was not justified. At this point Nixon had been abusing his power in office. He basically was saying "I don't like the way this court case it going, so I'm just going to put an end to it by firing those associated with trying to force me into giving up the tapes." When he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox he had only done this because Cox had been trying to get him to release the evidence of the tapes and was determined on doing so. Therefore Nixon fired him and had intervened with justice that could have been served by releasing the tapes.
3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.
Yes he was. By refusing to hand-over the tapes to the Court he had basically been saying screw you to the judicial branch and acting as if the executive branch had more power over the judicial when it reality all the branches had equal power of course. Nixon's action's led Congress to question whether the President had the authority or right to keep the tapes.
Closure:
4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?
The American Public was so outraged by the Watergate Crisis most likely because the plumbers, the five men acting in the watergate robbery, were paid 25,000 dollars of the CREEP's fundraiser money that had been donated by the American public. Basically, the Watergate incident was funded by the money of the american public for illegal purposes. Another reason for the outrage of the American Public would be the fact that president Nixon had deliberately lied to the American Public by stating that he had no business in the Watergate business and denied any knowledge of the crime. However when the tapers were released, the government was able to discover what Nixon knew and when he knew it; Nixon had known about the Watergate incident two days before his announcement to the public stating he knew nothing of it. Therefore the public now knew the president was lying to them, outraging them.
5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.
I do think it was smart of President Nixon to resign before he could have been impeached. There was no way that Nixon was going to come out of the case winning, there was too much evidence against him. Therefore by resigning he is saving himself the embarrassment and shame of being impeached. Therefore by resigning he has saved himself some pride, compared to feeling the shame of being impeached.
6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.
I definitely do feel that President Nixon should have been prosecuted because of the illegal crimes he had been committing. Nixon had been committing these crimes for a long time during his presidency, the Watergate Crisis is only an example of one crime he committed that had finally gone wrong. Nixon knew about the Watergate break-in, however he continued to deny any involvement of himself or his administration. He had been lying to the Supreme Court and the American public, and therefore obstructing justice. Also throughout the crisis had had been obstructing crisis. For example he tried to force the CIA to get the FBI to stop the investigation, he fired Cox just because things in the case were not going his way and he did not want to give up the tapes that Cox had been so determined on obtaining, and he had refused to hand over the tapes and therefore had been abusing his power in office. Just because Nixon is president he should not be treated any differently in this case because he had been obstructing justice, and therefore should have been punished.
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.
I believe that the President of the United States definitely should not have the right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office Tapes. This is because, regardless of the right of privacy, the tapes were an extreme significance to the Watergate Crisis and was an extremely valuable piece of evidence. If the president were to be committing illegal crimes, and such news like the evidence of the existence of the tapes were leaked, the President should not have the right to deny this evidence because it is his own privacy because it will help determine the justice that should be served in the case. And anyways, if the president is denying any access to a piece of evidence, it is probably because the evidence is not in their favor which just proves that the evidence should be leaked to find this justice.
2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.
I believe that President Nixon was not justified. At this point Nixon had been abusing his power in office. He basically was saying "I don't like the way this court case it going, so I'm just going to put an end to it by firing those associated with trying to force me into giving up the tapes." When he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox he had only done this because Cox had been trying to get him to release the evidence of the tapes and was determined on doing so. Therefore Nixon fired him and had intervened with justice that could have been served by releasing the tapes.
3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.
Yes he was. By refusing to hand-over the tapes to the Court he had basically been saying screw you to the judicial branch and acting as if the executive branch had more power over the judicial when it reality all the branches had equal power of course. Nixon's action's led Congress to question whether the President had the authority or right to keep the tapes.
Closure:
4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?
The American Public was so outraged by the Watergate Crisis most likely because the plumbers, the five men acting in the watergate robbery, were paid 25,000 dollars of the CREEP's fundraiser money that had been donated by the American public. Basically, the Watergate incident was funded by the money of the american public for illegal purposes. Another reason for the outrage of the American Public would be the fact that president Nixon had deliberately lied to the American Public by stating that he had no business in the Watergate business and denied any knowledge of the crime. However when the tapers were released, the government was able to discover what Nixon knew and when he knew it; Nixon had known about the Watergate incident two days before his announcement to the public stating he knew nothing of it. Therefore the public now knew the president was lying to them, outraging them.
5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.
I do think it was smart of President Nixon to resign before he could have been impeached. There was no way that Nixon was going to come out of the case winning, there was too much evidence against him. Therefore by resigning he is saving himself the embarrassment and shame of being impeached. Therefore by resigning he has saved himself some pride, compared to feeling the shame of being impeached.
6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.
I definitely do feel that President Nixon should have been prosecuted because of the illegal crimes he had been committing. Nixon had been committing these crimes for a long time during his presidency, the Watergate Crisis is only an example of one crime he committed that had finally gone wrong. Nixon knew about the Watergate break-in, however he continued to deny any involvement of himself or his administration. He had been lying to the Supreme Court and the American public, and therefore obstructing justice. Also throughout the crisis had had been obstructing crisis. For example he tried to force the CIA to get the FBI to stop the investigation, he fired Cox just because things in the case were not going his way and he did not want to give up the tapes that Cox had been so determined on obtaining, and he had refused to hand over the tapes and therefore had been abusing his power in office. Just because Nixon is president he should not be treated any differently in this case because he had been obstructing justice, and therefore should have been punished.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Watergate: Nixon's Downfall
1. How were the "plumbers" connected to President Nixon?
The plumbers were connected to President Nixon because, they were the burglars hired by President Nixon to break into the DNC. The white house, with President Nixon's consent, tried everything to get rid of the evidence. They urged the FBI to stop the investigation into the burglary on the grounds of national security. In addition to that the CRP payed the "plumbers" 450,000 dollars to keep silent after they were indicted September of 1972.
2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
The judge was John Sirca. He handed out maximum sentences because he had believed that the burglars had not acted by themselves, he indicated that they had lied under oath.
3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Mitchell and Dean were connected to Nixon because Nixon had dissmissed White House counsel John Dean and and announced the resignations of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who had recently replaced John Mitchell. Nixon was seen as trying to cover-up the burglary.
4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
Haldeman and Erlichman were connected to Nixon because he had announced their resignation from the White House, which was seen as a cover-up made by President Nixon.
5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?
a. Dean: Dean stated that President Nixon had been deeply involved in the cover up. He had even said that he and Nixon, along with several advisers, discussed strategies for continuing the deceit.
b. Butterfield: Butterfield told the court that President Nixon had taped virtually all of the conversations in the White House. He claimed that the taping system was used by Nixon to "help Nixon write his memoirs." However for the Senate Committee that tape were key to revealing what Nixon knew, and when he knew.
6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
President Nixon had ordered Attorney General Richardson to fire Cox (who had appointed to investigate the case.) refused to fire Cox and resigned. Next, the deputy attorney general also refused the order by Nixon and was fired. And finally, Cox was fired by General Robert Bork.
7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
Investigators were satisfied with the transcripts because they demanded the unedited tapes, since Nixon had sent out ones edited rather than the untampered tapes.
8. What did the tapes reveal?
The tapes revealed that President Nixon had known about the role of administrators in the burglary and that he approved the plan to distract or take the investigation away from the FBI. It also revealed the eighteen minute conversation between Haldeman and Nixon which ended up disclosing the investigation completely.
9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because it was revealed that he took bribery from engineering firms while he was the governor of Maryland, and he thought that he'd be impeached because he thought he had no chance in winning the trial.
10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?
The House Judiciary Committee charged President Nixon with high crimes and misdameanors. They came to the conclusion that the president should be impeached because of the scandal, which the crimes and misdameanors of the scandal made the committee discuss and decide wheither or not President Nixon should be impeached. Also, they convicted him with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress for not obeying to release the tapes to Congress after they told him to.
11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
The Watergate scandal created a constitutional crisis because Congress had to revisit the constitution and fix how much power the President could have and fix the guidelines for the reasons why a president should be considered or should be impeached.
The plumbers were connected to President Nixon because, they were the burglars hired by President Nixon to break into the DNC. The white house, with President Nixon's consent, tried everything to get rid of the evidence. They urged the FBI to stop the investigation into the burglary on the grounds of national security. In addition to that the CRP payed the "plumbers" 450,000 dollars to keep silent after they were indicted September of 1972.
2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
The judge was John Sirca. He handed out maximum sentences because he had believed that the burglars had not acted by themselves, he indicated that they had lied under oath.
3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Mitchell and Dean were connected to Nixon because Nixon had dissmissed White House counsel John Dean and and announced the resignations of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who had recently replaced John Mitchell. Nixon was seen as trying to cover-up the burglary.
4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
Haldeman and Erlichman were connected to Nixon because he had announced their resignation from the White House, which was seen as a cover-up made by President Nixon.
5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?
a. Dean: Dean stated that President Nixon had been deeply involved in the cover up. He had even said that he and Nixon, along with several advisers, discussed strategies for continuing the deceit.
b. Butterfield: Butterfield told the court that President Nixon had taped virtually all of the conversations in the White House. He claimed that the taping system was used by Nixon to "help Nixon write his memoirs." However for the Senate Committee that tape were key to revealing what Nixon knew, and when he knew.
6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
President Nixon had ordered Attorney General Richardson to fire Cox (who had appointed to investigate the case.) refused to fire Cox and resigned. Next, the deputy attorney general also refused the order by Nixon and was fired. And finally, Cox was fired by General Robert Bork.
7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
Investigators were satisfied with the transcripts because they demanded the unedited tapes, since Nixon had sent out ones edited rather than the untampered tapes.
8. What did the tapes reveal?
The tapes revealed that President Nixon had known about the role of administrators in the burglary and that he approved the plan to distract or take the investigation away from the FBI. It also revealed the eighteen minute conversation between Haldeman and Nixon which ended up disclosing the investigation completely.
9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because it was revealed that he took bribery from engineering firms while he was the governor of Maryland, and he thought that he'd be impeached because he thought he had no chance in winning the trial.
10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?
The House Judiciary Committee charged President Nixon with high crimes and misdameanors. They came to the conclusion that the president should be impeached because of the scandal, which the crimes and misdameanors of the scandal made the committee discuss and decide wheither or not President Nixon should be impeached. Also, they convicted him with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress for not obeying to release the tapes to Congress after they told him to.
11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
The Watergate scandal created a constitutional crisis because Congress had to revisit the constitution and fix how much power the President could have and fix the guidelines for the reasons why a president should be considered or should be impeached.
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