Trump's Weakness is
Himself
(In fact, he is real heel)
Trump says in NH that Clinton email
scandal is like Watergate all over again seen in this short clip:
Trump apparently does not know American history, the constitution for
sure, and for damn sure zero about Watergate … he speaks in riddles and sound
bites that have zero substance.
Flashback shall we?
A few days after the Watergate break-in,
President Richard M. Nixon arranged these two key elements to hide the crime:
1. He provided hundreds of
thousands of dollars in “hush money” to the DNC HQ burglars.
2. He and his aides hatched a
plan to instruct the CIA to impede the FBI’s investigation of the crime.
These things fell out along the way vis-à-vis
those two key events:
1. It became an abuse of
presidential power and a deliberate obstruction of justice.
2. Seven conspirators were
indicted on charges related to the Watergate affair.
3. At the urging of Nixon’s
aides, five pleaded guilty and avoided trial; the other two were convicted in
January 1973.
By that time, a growing handful of people — including Washington Post
reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein,
trial judge John J. Sirica, and members of a Senate investigating committee
— had begun to suspect that there was a larger scheme afoot.
At the same time, some of the conspirators began to crack under the
pressure of the cover-up.
Then some of Nixon’s aides, including White House counsel John Dean testified before a grand jury about
the president’s crimes.
Those aides also testified that Nixon had secretly taped every
conversation that took place in the Oval Office. If prosecutors could get their
hands on those tapes, they would have proof of the president’s guilt.
Nixon struggled to protect the tapes during the summer and fall of
1973. His personal lawyers argued that the president’s executive privilege
allowed him to keep the tapes to himself, but Judge Sirica, the Senate committee, and the Independent Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox, were all determined
to obtain the tapes.
When Cox refused to stop demanding the tapes, Nixon ordered that he be
fired, leading several Justice Department officials to resign in protest. These
two events, which took place on October 20, 1973, are known as the Saturday
Night Massacre.
Eventually, Nixon agreed to surrender some — but not all —of the tapes.
Then early in 1974, the cover-up began
to fall apart:
1. On March 1, a grand jury
appointed by a new special prosecutor indicted seven of Nixon’s former aides on
various charges related to the Watergate affair.
2. The jury, unsure if they
could indict a sitting president, called Nixon an “unindicted co-conspirator.”
3. In July, the U.S. Supreme
Court ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes.
4. While Nixon dragged his feet,
the House voted to impeach him for (1) obstruction of justice, (2) abuse of
power, (3) criminal cover-up, and (4) several violations of the Constitution.
On August 5, Nixon finally released the tapes, which provided
undeniable evidence of his role and complicity in the Watergate crimes.
In the face of certain impeachment by
the Senate, the president resigned on August 8, 1974.
Six weeks after the new president former Vice President Gerald Ford was
sworn in, he pardoned Nixon for any crimes he had committed while in office.
Some of Nixon’s aides were not so lucky (see list below).
They were convicted of very serious offenses and sent to federal
prison.
Nixon himself never admitted to any criminal wrongdoing, though he did
acknowledge using poor judgment.
His abuse of presidential power had a negative effect on American
political life, creating an atmosphere of cynicism and distrust.
While many Americans had been deeply dismayed by the outcomes of the
Vietnam War, Watergate added further disappointment in a national climate
already soured by the difficulties and losses of the past decade.
Results: The Watergate scandal resulted in 69 government
officials being charged and 48 being found guilty, including these close aides to Nixon:
- John N. Mitchell, Attorney General of the United States who resigned to become Director of Committee to Re-elect the President, convicted of perjury about his involvement in the Watergate break-in. Served 19 months of a one- to four-year sentence.
- Richard Kleindienst, Attorney General, convicted of “refusing to answer questions” (contempt of court); given one month in jail.
- Jeb Stuart Magruder, Deputy Director of Committee to Re-elect the President pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to the burglary, and was sentenced to 10 months to four years in prison, of which he served 7 months before being paroled.
- Frederick C. LaRue, Advisor to John Mitchell, convicted of obstruction of justice. He served four and a half months.
- H. R. Haldeman, Chief of Staff for Nixon, convicted of conspiracy to the burglary, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Served 18 months in prison.
- John Ehrlichman, Counsel to Nixon, convicted of conspiracy to the burglary, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Served 18 months in prison.
- Egil Krogh, aide to John Ehrlichman, sentenced to six months.
- John W. Dean III, counsel to Nixon, convicted of obstruction of justice, later reduced to felony offenses and sentenced to time already served, which totaled 4 months.
- Dwight L. Chapin, deputy assistant to Nixon, convicted of perjury.
- Herbert W. Kalmbach, personal attorney to Nixon, convicted of illegal campaigning.
- Charles W. Colson, special counsel to Nixon, convicted of obstruction of justice. Served 7 months in Federal Maxwell Prison.
- Herbert L. Porter, aide to the Committee to Re-elect the President. Convicted of perjury.
The Watergate Burglary team:
- G. Gordon Liddy, Special Investigations Group, convicted of masterminding the burglary, original sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Served 4½ years in federal prison.
- E. Howard Hunt, Security consultant, convicted of masterminding and overseeing the burglary, original sentence of up to 35 years in prison. Served 33 months in prison.
- James W. McCord Jr., convicted of six charges of burglary, conspiracy and wiretapping. Served 2 months in prison.
- Virgilio Gonzalez, convicted of burglary, original sentence of up to 40 years in prison. Served 13 months in prison.
- Bernard Barker, convicted of burglary, original sentence of up to 40 years in prison. Served 18 months in prison.
- Eugenio Martinez, convicted of burglary, original sentence of up to 40 years in prison. Served 15 months in prison.
- Frank Sturgis, convicted of burglary, original sentence of up to 40 years in prison. Served 10 months in prison.
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