In the Watergate Scandal, Richard Nixon was the prime focus of most people, but though he was important, he was not the only one. In fact, the people who brought all of the gritty details of the scandal into the light were journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
Bernstein and Woodward
Bob Woodward was hired by the Washington Post as a full-time investigative reporter in 1971, Bernstein in 1966. Both Woodward and fellow Post journalist Bernstein were reporting on the re-election campaign of Richard Nixon. Because of these reports that talked about dirty tricks Nixon used, the Nixon campaign, Republican leaders and even the White House continually denounced the writers. Despite these objections, Bernstein and Woodward continued to investigate Nixon and the Watergate scandal, finally uncovering the truth. Woodward had an inside Watergate informant during the scandal known as "Deep Throat" whose identity was secret for most of his life. With the help of the information Deep Throat provided, Bernstein and Woodward published their first book, "All the President's Men" which became a best-seller almost instantly. The book detailed the Watergate scandal and Nixon's involvement, citing many of the duo's previous articles for the Post, with the sources names. After "All the President's Men" was a hit and, eventually, a movie, Bernstein and Woodward published another book "The Final Days" about the time from November 1973 to August 1974 when Nixon resigned from his post as President. Both Woodward and Bernstein earned a Pulitzer prize for their writing and helped the Washington Post earn a Pulitzer for Public Service in 1973.
-Sierra H.
Bernstein and Woodward
Bob Woodward was hired by the Washington Post as a full-time investigative reporter in 1971, Bernstein in 1966. Both Woodward and fellow Post journalist Bernstein were reporting on the re-election campaign of Richard Nixon. Because of these reports that talked about dirty tricks Nixon used, the Nixon campaign, Republican leaders and even the White House continually denounced the writers. Despite these objections, Bernstein and Woodward continued to investigate Nixon and the Watergate scandal, finally uncovering the truth. Woodward had an inside Watergate informant during the scandal known as "Deep Throat" whose identity was secret for most of his life. With the help of the information Deep Throat provided, Bernstein and Woodward published their first book, "All the President's Men" which became a best-seller almost instantly. The book detailed the Watergate scandal and Nixon's involvement, citing many of the duo's previous articles for the Post, with the sources names. After "All the President's Men" was a hit and, eventually, a movie, Bernstein and Woodward published another book "The Final Days" about the time from November 1973 to August 1974 when Nixon resigned from his post as President. Both Woodward and Bernstein earned a Pulitzer prize for their writing and helped the Washington Post earn a Pulitzer for Public Service in 1973.
-Sierra H.
The President's Men
There were many people involved in the Watergate Scandal, as is to be expected. Such a huge crime could not go off without help from many different sources, but the most famous of these were refferred to as the President's Men. The men were John Dean, John Ehrlichman, H.R. Haldeman, Richard Kleindienst, and Jeb Stuart Magruder. John Dean started off as a council to President Nixon, but was the first White House Official to accuse Nixon of covering up Watergate. In these accusations he revealed his suspicions of other White House officials in the cover-up, including himself. Because of this, Dean spent four months in prison for obstruction of justice. John Ehrlichman was another who worked for President Nixon, as his assistant for domestic affairs. Ehrlichman was very aggressive, even going so far as to use illegal tactics to ruin Nixon's enemies and hire burglars to break into buildings. Nixon forced Ehrlichman to resign on April 30, 1973. He was later convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice and perjury in the Watergate case and of conspiracy in the Ellsberg case and spent 18 months in prison. President Nixon also forced Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman to resign with Ehrlichman in 1973. Haldeman was very important in the cover-up, having a recorded conversation with Nixon about making the CIA veer the FBI's investigation off course. This recording was released by the White House on June 23, 1972, and Haldeman was convicted later that year of conspiracy and obstruction to justice. Attorney general for this case, Richard Kleindienst, was the only President's Man who did not work in the White House. Kleindienst was a Republican lawyer who, despite his oaths to the job, chose his loyalty to Nixon over the law and justice. He resigned shortly after, on the same day Nixon forced Ehrlichman and Haldeman to resign. Because of Kleindienst's friendship with Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the Chief decided not to be a judge on the Watergate case, fearing he may have been biased. Finally, Jeb Stuart Magruder is the last man to be famous. Magruder was an aide to Haldeman and deputy director for the Committee to Re-elect the President. He was also the one who ordered the first break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in May 1972. As the forerunner in the Watergate scandal, he was most definitely going to spend time in jail, but because he started to help the FBI and pleaded guilty, he only had to spend seven months in jail. These were some of the main operators of the scandal, apart from President Nixon. Most of them worked for the government, which shows that no matter what office a person holds, their political agenda changes everything.
-Sierra H.
-Sierra H.