They sought to restore faith in the U. While these reform efforts have not been uniformly successful, they reflect the resolve of the policymakers of that era, who had a broad understanding of the abuses that needed to be addressed and who were willing to take broad actions to address them. This era of reform demonstrates at least two important lessons that apply to current efforts to prepare the post-Trump policy response. First, the post-Trump moment will likely present opportunities for significant reform across a broad range of policy areas, allowing policymakers to tackle deeply rooted problems that have previously proven difficult to address.
Second, it is critical that policymakers begin planning now how to connect the wide-ranging scandals of the Trump administration to appropriate reforms. In less than two years, the Trump administration has created and exacerbated a broad range of problems. This report details some of the most significant post-Watergate reforms, providing an example for policymakers in the post-Trump era. Like their post-Watergate predecessors, policymakers must be ready to seize the opportunity to advocate for bold responses that do not just restore the prior status quo but also make fundamental positive changes.
In the absence of those changes, the country risks recurrences of this kind of administration, where a corrupt demagoguing president rigs the system for himself and his friends while seeking to misuse the levers of government in order to maintain power.
While contemporary coverage of former President Richard Nixon focuses on the Watergate burglary and cover-up that ultimately led to his resignation, the Nixon administration was rife with unethical and undemocratic conduct. Secret and potentially illegal use of military force, 7 illegal campaign contributions, 8 domestic spying, 9 outright bribery, 10 and the misuse of the machinery of government to attack political opponents 11 were just a few of the widespread abuses discovered by the Watergate investigators and subsequent congressional inquiries.
Unsurprisingly, an administration led by a dishonest and unethical chief executive—with little respect for the rule of law—was prone to abusing its power. Although the post-Watergate period is widely understood as an era of reform, over time, the full extent of the changes has faded from view. Broadly, these reforms sought to provide for a more ethical, transparent government; combat the corrupting influence of money in politics; protect people against governmental abuses of power; and place limits on extraordinary exercises of presidential power.
While the descriptions of these reforms are not intended to be exhaustive, they provide a sense of the breadth of the response and provide an example for current policymakers. Congress re-engaged with the issue after repeated revelations of misconduct in the Nixon administration and, after multiple congressional hearings, revealed failures of government agencies to provide timely disclosure.
The amendments made numerous changes to the original two-page statute. Significantly, they provided that only properly classified information could be withheld on national security grounds and gave judges the power to determine whether information was properly classified.
The amendments also imposed timelines for responses to public records requests, created sanctions for wrongly withheld information, and made other clarifications to make it easier for requesters to obtain information. The second law, the Government in the Sunshine Act, requires any multimember government agency or executive branch commission to deliberate and hold meetings in public, unless specific exemptions are met.
All 50 states have now adopted some type of open government law, most of which are even broader than the federal rules. The Civil Service Reform Act was the most sweeping reform to the federal civil service since the Pendleton Act of The act also simplified and reorganized the appeal process for adverse personnel actions such as firing or demotion; set out a new system for performance-based pay and promotion; and strengthened protections for whistleblowers against reprisal for revealing government misconduct.
The basic pillars of the act continue to serve as the foundation for the modern civil service. The Ethics in Government Act went even further, setting forth much of the landscape of government ethics that is taken for granted today. For example, it established the Office of Government Ethics, the first centralized overseer of executive branch ethics requirements. In the wake of his resignation, President Nixon sought to retain control of his White House records.
Congress was concerned that he would destroy them to stymie further investigations, including potential criminal charges. Building on this effort, Congress then enacted the Presidential Records Act, which established that the records of the president, vice president, and the White House belong to the United States, rather than being the personal property of the individuals holding those offices. Under the law, presidents are required to preserve presidential records and turn them over to the National Archives at the end of their terms.
Department of Justice to settle an antitrust lawsuit. Although the version of the act focused principally on disclosure and established no central enforcement authority, the amendments, enacted after the release of the final select committee report, created the FEC and introduced comprehensive limits on contributions to and expenditures by political campaigns—a radical change in the way that American politics was financed and conducted.
Supreme Court decisions, but many have persisted for more than 40 years. Today, all candidates, political parties, and political committees are subject to strict contribution limits and must disclose every dollar raised and spent. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act addressed this issue by making it illegal for covered individuals and corporations to bribe foreign government officials in order to obtain or retain business.
It also imposes accounting standards on companies—thus ensuring that they accurately record their transactions—and prohibits knowingly falsifying records. Early in , the cover-up and efforts to impede the Watergate investigation began to unravel.
In July, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn over the tapes. While the president dragged his feet, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, criminal cover-up and several violations of the Constitution.
Finally, on August 5, Nixon released the tapes, which provided undeniable evidence of his complicity in the Watergate crimes. In the face of almost certain impeachment by Congress, Nixon resigned in disgrace on August 8, and left office the following day. Six weeks later, after Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as president, he pardoned Nixon for any crimes he had committed while in office.
Gordon Liddy, a former FBI agent, served four and a half years. Haldeman spent 19 months in prison while John Ehrlichman spent 18 for attempting to cover up the break-in. Nixon himself never admitted to any criminal wrongdoing, though he did acknowledge using poor judgment.
His abuse of presidential power had a long-lasting effect on American political life, creating an atmosphere of cynicism and distrust. While many Americans had been deeply dismayed by the outcome of the Vietnam War, and saddened by the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy , Martin Luther King and other leaders, Watergate added further disappointment to a national climate already soured by the difficulties and losses of the previous decade.
But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. February Richard Nixon orders the installation of a secret taping system that records all conversations in the Oval Office, his Executive Office Building office, and his Camp David office and The s were a tumultuous time. In some ways, the decade was a continuation of the s. Women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and lesbians and other marginalized people continued their fight for equality, and many Americans joined the protest against the ongoing Jordan's speech On June 17, , five burglars were arrested during a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.
According to news reports of the time, the men wore surgical gloves, carried a walkie-talkie and short-wave police Even today, it is home to former Senator Bob Dole and was once the place where Monica Lewinsky laid low. If it had not been for the alert actions of Frank Wills, a security guard, the scandal may never have erupted. But the chronology of the scandal really begins during , when the burglars were arrested.
By , Nixon had been re-elected, but the storm clouds were building. By early , the nation was consumed by Watergate. His long political career began in when he was elected to the House of Representatives. Nixon served as Vice-President for eight years, then lost the election to John F. He was vindicated by winning a landslide re-election. He was sworn in for a second term in Janury The first was on April 30, , in which he announced the departure of Dean, Haldeman and Ehrlichman.
A more defiant speech was delivered on August 15, Perhaps the politically most difficult speech was the one on April 29, , in which Nixon released partial transcripts of the White House tapes. Political investigations began in February when the Senate established a Committee to investigate the Watergate scandal.
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