The Scandal of Scandals

Watergate, a word virtually synonymous for corruption, is embedded in the pages of American history. The plot involving five men breaking into a democrats room at the Watergate hotel in the summer of 1972 may have never been completely uncovered if it had not been for the hard work of two journalists. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward were both working for the Washington Post and were teamed up to take on this story, little did they know at the time that their lives would change forever.



From the beginning the burglary seemed suspicious. Between the lock picks, door jimmies, and high tech recording equipment, there seemed to be something out of the ordinary; something more than what Press Secretary Ron Ziegler later referred to as a "third-rate burglary".

Woodward and Bernstein knew they were onto something big, and as Bernstein recalled, they were "not to let anything fall through the cracks." And they did just that. An early piece of evidence found was a cashier's check for $25,000 of president Nixon's campaign money that was deposited into one of the burglars bank accounts for him to use to purchase the expensive bugging equipment. Woodward sat in on the arraignment with one of the burglars who was asked by the judge what his occupation was. His answer, CIA. This was music to Woodward's ears. With all the ammunition Woodward and Bernstein had it was clear to them that this was far more than a burglary, but rather a plan to expose the Democrats in a very illegal way.



President Nixon began to get pressed on the issue until he made a press conference on the matter. Here you can see the infamous "I'm not a crook" speech.

Woodward and Bernstein were on the verge of making history. Their story and reluctant digging for more and more information into the Watergate scandal ultimately proved guilt on behalf of the Nixon administration. With more and more evidence seeming to pile up every month against Nixon and his administration, he was left with no choice but to resign.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxeFMHyOx3I&feature=related
http://www.curatormagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/WoosteinYoung.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Ronz.jpg
http://wikihistoria.wikispaces.com/file/view/watergate_hotel.jpg/67680571/watergate_hotel.jpg