The Watergate scandal has long been regarded as one of the United States’ most controversial bits of history. The questionable actions carried out between 1972 and 1974 shook the American public to its core, and the ambiguity surrounding former president Richard Nixon’s involvement still leaves many historians and politicians guessing. The suffix “-gate” has been affixed to the names of many subsequent scandals, such as Koreagate or Monicagate, as a nod to the event’s sheer impact. What with the Vietnam War blazing on at the time of Watergate’s occurrence, nationwide tension was nearing an all-time high. Nixon was left from the fiasco a unique reputation: he was the second US president of which impeachment was genuinely considered, and the very first to resign. While many intricacies of the scandal remain unclear, and while sentiments differ from one source to another, the general consensus maintains that he was a vital co-conspirator and a crooked opportunist. Nixon clandestinely captured every conversation he held in his office with tape recording system. A collection of these tape cassettes, seized and now preserved by the government, contain discussions he held with his officials about the scandal. Close examination of the words exchanged in these tapes has led to much discovery regarding Richard Nixon’s motives. There is no source of information more telling and reputable.

A primer of Richard Nixon, his mentality, and his history as a political figure is crucial to a better understanding of the plotting behind Watergate. Following his service as a Navy lieutenant commander in the second World War, Nixon sparked his career in politics as a senator for the state of California. With time, he ascended the rungs of the governmental ladder and fulfilled the position of vice president during both terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency. Looking to progress even further as a man of a political authority, Nixon launched his first presidential campaign in 1960. He ran against Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy and lost in a landslide verdict. Contending with such tremendous defeat was especially difficult for Nixon. He grew bitter, spiteful, and lashed out against the media with the premise that the Kennedy family was unfairly favored. These emotions remained strong within Nixon even up until his eventual victory in 1968, eight years later. Alas, even when at the vanguard of authority, Nixon was not a laudable figure. During his tenure, which was widely thought to have done more harm than good even before Watergate, Nixon habitually lamented and incited nationwide uproars. Elaborating further on this propensity of Nixon’s, journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein wrote that “during his five-and-a-half-years in power Nixon waged five overlapping wars – on the anti-war movement, the media, Democrats, the US justice system and history itself” (“What was Watergate?”). It can be sensibly inferred that, as a complacent and querulous man who felt he had been done a disservice by the American political system, he would fight tooth and nail to defend his long-awaited position of power, even if it had to be done in a way that was unethical or even illegal.

Through the use of a voice-activated taping system, Nixon recorded an astounding 3,700 hours of tape audio - both from phone calls and executive meetings - between February 1971 and July 1973 (“Nixon Tapes and Transcripts”). This constant recording was not a requirement of white house inhabitants; he simply fancied keeping a diary of sorts. It wasn’t customary of the president to do, but for whatever reason, whether it be casual chit-chat with a friend or an urgent political discussion, the man had it on tape. Unfortunately, this quirk of his was the final nail on the coffin, as it played an absolutely crucial role in the process of his prosecution. The country’s suspicion grew astronomically as word of the tapes began to spread during the peak of Watergate’s public exposure. Demand for answers increased, but Nixon remained disingenuous for the course of a year, defending his right to keep the tapes on the basis of confidentiality. His staunch refusal to turn over the recordings for examination both aroused suspicion and bolstered the confidence of many that he had a strong affiliation with the burglary. On July 24, 1974, the United States Supreme Court ordered that Nixon relinquish the tapes. While the analysis provided relief through the verdict that the president was indeed involved in the plotting, certain aspects of the recorded conversations spawned additional controversy. Now that a survey of Watergate has been established, closer inspection can be performed on these factors, namely the “Smoking Gun Tape” and a strange 18 ½ minute-long gap found in one of the recordings.

The term “smoking gun” is applicable to a situation in which there is conclusive evidence of a crime committed by a suspect. Recorded on June 23, 1972 between 10:04 and 11:39 AM, a single tape among the collection was aptly dubbed as such. Words exchanged by Nixon and political aide H. R. “Bob” Haldeman in this recording explicitly showed the president’s involvement in the cover-up and contributed primarily to the US government’s decision to impeach. The plan was to get the CIA to curtail the FBI’s investigation. Before this evidence came to light, many did claim that Nixon was guilty, but only by the discovery of this conversation were those accusations truly substantiated. John W. Dean, an author and former member of Nixon’s White House co expands on this in his book The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It:
“When revealed by order of the U.S. Supreme Court in late July 1974, this became known as the “smoking gun” conversation, because it was viewed as hard evidence, demonstrating beyond question, that Nixon’s final defense about the Watergate break-in in his April 30, 1973 speech, followed by his May 22nd statement, was bogus, which doomed the Nixon presidency.” (55-56).

When observing the transcript of the tape - the source audio of which can also be listened to if so desired - it’s plain to see that the concealment of the Watergate machinations had long been a topic of discussion between Haldeman and the President. The overall tone of the conversation is nonchalant and collected, suggesting that the stalling of FBI intervention is something Nixon felt he had “in the bag.” The language used throughout is relatively casual; the two may as well have been discussing the outcome of a recent sports game. One section of the tape illustrates this dynamic well:
HALDEMAN: That the way to handle this now is for us to have [Vernon] Walters call Pat Gray and just say, "Stay the hell out of this...this is ah, business here we don't want you to go any further on it." That's not an unusual development,... PRESIDENT: Um huh. HALDEMAN: ...and, uh, that would take care of it. (Watergate Trial Conversations).
Had these plans not been thwarted, an issue highlighting the government’s ability to manipulate major organizations  would have surfaced. It is comforting to know that, even for people at the forefront of jurisdiction, there is a ceiling to how much abuse can be done.

The second oddity surrounding the Watergate tapes is the 18 ½ minute-long silence. While the Smoking Gun Tape earned its significance through the clear-as-day evidence it provided, the air of mystery about the infamous gap that appeared in the afternoon recording of June 20, 1972 was its claim to fame. In fact, the strange silence is a question that, even upwards of four decades later, has not been met with an unequivocal answer. As if Watergate weren’t already foggy enough on the surface! The aforementioned John W. Dean claimed that the subject matter of the erasure was another conversation of Nixon’s with CREEP leader Bob Haldeman, the aide with whom he held discussion in the Smoking Gun Tape. (“The secret”).  Nixon’s secretary Rose Mary woods had the job of transcribing his tapes and purported during the Watergate hearing that she was responsible for the first five minutes of silence. (“The Missing 18 ½ minutes”). Her explanation, detailing a phone call she took amid her transcription and holding an awkward stretch for the duration of the call, failed to hold water and was promptly overlooked. After all, what would explain the remaining 13 ½ minutes? The US National Archives searched in 2001 for technology they believed could exhume some of the lost information, but to no avail. Despite this technological constraint, one analyst believes he may be on the right track to discovering the omitted discussion. Phil Mellinger, ex-NSA, identified in 2009 notes of Haldeman’s which may have been taken during the gap:
“Wow — I suddenly realised that at the top of page two, the discussion of Watergate was ending,” Mr Mellinger told The Times, “The first page of notes went right up to the time they started discussing Watergate. I believe page two was about the last minute of the 18-minute discussion.” (“Mystery of Watergate”).

Watergate is an infamous act of political sabotage outlined by crookedness, selfishness, and misuse of authority. This event is not unlike most negative ones, however, in that it boasts a silver lining and a timeless moral: it will forever stand as an example for what US politicians should not do.




Works Cited


O’Connell, Hugh. “What was Watergate? Here are 14 facts that explain everything.” The Journal. http://www.thejournal.ie/what-was-watergate-14-facts-richard-nixon-494970-Jun2012/. Accessed 20 November 2016.

Nichter, Luke A. Nixon Tapes and Transcripts, http://nixontapes.org/. Accessed 20 November 2016.

Dean, John W. The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It. Viking New York, 2014.

“Watergate Trial Conversations.” Nixon Library, https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forresearchers/find/tapes/watergate/trial/transcripts.php. Accessed 28 November 2016.

"The secret of Nixon tapes’ 18-minute gap revealed.” New York Post, http://nypost.com/2014/08/03/after-40-years-john-dean-re-examines-nixon-tapes-18-minute-gap/. Accessed 28 November 2016.

“The missing 18 ½ minutes: Presidential destruction of incriminating evidence.” The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/06/16/the-missing-18-12-minutes-presidential-destruction-of-incriminating-evidence/?utm_term=.6577ab205df6. Accessed 28 November 2016.

“Mystery of Watergate tape’s missing 18 minutes may finally be solved.” Red Ice, https://redice.tv/news/mystery-of-watergate-tape-s-missing-18-minutes-may-finally-be-solved. Accessed 28 November 2016.