AMERICAN HISTORY PLAY

WATERGATETHE DOWNFALLOF A PRESIDENTA political scandal that started witha "third-rate burglary" ended withthe resignation of PresidentRichard Nixon in 19?4

CHARACTERSREPORTERS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST:

CARL BERNSTEIN

BOB WOODWARD

MEMBERS OF THE SENATEWATERGATE COMMITTEE:

SAMERVlN,c/io/rmon[Democrat, North Carolina]

HOWARD BAKER, vice chairman[Republican, Tennessee)

LOWELL WEICKER[Republican, Connecticut)

DANIEL INOUYE [Democrat, Hawaii)

EDWARO GURNEY^fiepub/ican, Florida)

FRED THOMPSON, o committee lawyer

WITNESSES BEFORE THE COMMITTEE:

JOHN DEAN,/ormercounse/to President Richard M. Nixon

ALEXANDER BUnERFIELD, a formerWhite House aide

NARRATORS A-E

All characters were real people. Thedialogue is based on first-person accountsbut paraphrased for space and clarity.

PROLOGUE: 1972Carl Bernstein: The unraveling ofRichard M. Nixon's presidencystarts with a tiny detail. OnJune 17, 1972, a security guard ismaking his late-night rounds at theWatergate, an elegant building inWashington, D.C. He notices thatsomeone has taped an office doorto keep it from locking.Bob Woodward: The guard callsthe police, who arrest the five meninside. The office where they'recaught is no ordinary workplace.It's the Democratic Party's nationalheadquarters.Bernstein: The five men aren'tordinary burglars, either. They'rewearing suits and gloves. Theyhave bags of spy equipment-cameras and microphones—and$2,300 in hundred-dollar bills.Woodward: I get a tip about thearrest, and hours later I'm at thecourthouse. There, I hear one ofthe "burglars" whisper to thejudge that he once worked for the

Below: President Nixon makeshis ferewell address to hisstaff. Behind him are his wife,Pat (left), and daughter Tricia.

C.I.A., America's top spy agency.Bernstein: The Washington Post'sfirst Watergate article begins: "Fivemen, one of whom said he is a for-mer employee of the CentralIntelligence Agency, were arrestedat 2:30 a.m. yesterday in whatauthorities described as an elabo-rate plot to bug the offices of theDemocratic National Committee."Woodward: Not many people payattention. The war in Vietnamand student protests are grabbingbigger headlines. So is the presi-dential campaign, which resultsin the landslide re-election of

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Richard Nixon, a Republican,in November.Bernstein: But the break-in raisestroubling questions. Who gave the"burglars" all that cash? Was theattempt to spy on Nixon's politicalopponents an isolated incident, orpart of a bigger plan to help Nixonwin re-election?Woodward: The Post lets Carl andme continue to investigate. Otherreporters and the FBI do the same—and the story keeps growing.Bernstein: We begin to learn thatthe Watergate break-in is just thetip of the iceberg. Americans are

shocked to learn that aides to thePresident have been committing allsorts of "dirty tricks" against theDeniocratic Party—from buggingoffices to spreading lies aboutpolitical opponents.Woodward: The President deniesknowing anything about theseactivities.

SCENE 1: MAY 1973Narrator A: As evidence of WhiteHouse involvement mounts, peo-ple start to pay attention—anddemand the truth. The U.S. Senateforms a committee to investigate.

Its televised hearings begin onMay 27, 1973.Narrator B: Millions of Americanswatch as several witnesses claimthat the White House was involvedin the Watergate scandal. Then, onJune 25, John Dean testifies. He isPresident Nixon's former counsel.Senator Howard Baker: Mr. Dean,the central question is simply put:What did the President know, andwhen did he know it?John Dean: The break-in wasplanned and executed by membersof the White House staff. The

continued on p. 18

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Their tireless reporting onWatergate made Carl Bernstein(left) and Bob Woodward of The

Washington Post the most famousjournalists ofthe 20th century.

burglars had been paid to keepquiet about White Houseinvolvement. The President saidthat $1 million for that would beno problem.Senator Lowell Weicker: Did thePresident understand the magni-tude of the situation?Dean: I didn't think so at first.I told him that the White House'sconnection to that crime was likea cancer growing on the presi-dency. It was time for everyoneto start telling the truth, I said.Narrator C: This is stunning news.Dean is the first top administrationofficial to testify that the Presidentwas involved in a cover-up.

WORDS TO KNOW• counsel (n): an attorney who

gives advice on legal matters

• subpoena (suh-P££-nuh) [n]:a written order commandingsomeone to appear in court orturn over evidence

SCENE 2: JUNE 1973Narrator D: On June 28, Deanfaces more questioning.Senator Sam Ervin: Mr. Dean,you've testified that the Presidentnot only knew about the plan tomislead investigators but that healso ordered witnesses to lie.Dean: Yes, sir.Ervin: Wasn't it your duty to steerhim away from illegal activity?Dean: Yes, Senator. At first, Iassisted in the cover-up becauseI thought it was important for thePresident to be re-elected. I soonsaw how wrong I was.Weicker: These are seriousallegations, Mr. Dean.Dean: Yes, but they're all t r u e -even though it's my word againstthe President's.Ervin: Well, maybe it's time for usto hear from the President.Baker: We could ask him toanswer the charges in writing.Ervin: You can't cross-examinea written statement. He should

appear before the committee.Narrator E: But President Nixonrefuses to testify. The White Housealso rejects the committee'srequests to hand over any notes orrecords about the Watergate affair.

SCENE 3: JULY 19?3Narrator A: As the hearings con-tinue, witnesses offer conflictingtestimony about the President'sinvolvement in the cover-up. Then,on July 16, a former aide namedAlexander Butterfield testifies. Hetells the committee about a secretWhite House recording system.Alexander Butterfield: I super-vised the installation of listeningdevices in the Oval Office.Fred Thompson: How do theywork?Butterffeld: They're triggeredautomatically, whenever thePresident enters the room. Thereare also hidden on-off buttons thathe can operate. He can tape anyconversation in the room.

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Checks and BalancesWatergate was a shock to the nation. But it demonstrated that our

system of checks and balances still worked—nearly 200 yearsafter being written into the Constitution in 1?8?. Watergate also

showed how important a free press is to our democracy.

EXECUTIVEWhite House aides commit illegal

acts, which the President tries to hide

LEGISLATIVEThe Senate investigates

reports of Executive Branchmisdeeds.

JUDICIALThe Supreme Court rules that the

President must turn over keyevidence to Congress. With the

House likely to impeach him, thePresident resigns.

To learn about other Presidents on the hot seat, go to www.scholastic.com/js.

Thompson: Why was that done?Butterfieid: I thought it was forhistorical purposes—to recordthings for a future Nixon library.Thompson: Where are those tapes?Butterfieid: They're stored some-where in the White House.Baker: Are there tapes of Mr.Dean's talks with the President?Butterfieid: I believe so. Just aboutevery Oval Office conversation hasbeen recorded since mid-1970.Narrator B: The audience in thepacked hearing room gasps. Thenext day. Senator Ervin writes tothe President, requesting the tapes.

SCENE4:1973-?4Narrator C: After the White Houserejects the request, the committeemeets privately on July 23.Senator Daniei inouye: Whywon't the President cooperate? Thetapes could clear his name. Whatdoes he have to hide?Senator Edward Gurney: He'srefusing to turn over the tapesbased on "executive privilege."Narrator D: Executive privilege,claimed by many Presidents, is theright to withhold information fromCongress or the courts. Sometimesthe other branches honor that

claim, sometimes they don't.Ervin: Executive privilege isunacceptable in this case. Thetapes are evidence in a crimi-nal investigation. Not even thePresident is above the law. Let'sissue a subpoena for the tapes.Narrator E: The White Houseignores the subpoena. But a yearlater, the Supreme Court rules thatNixon must release all of the OvalOffice recordings to investigators.Narrator A: The tapes have somesuspicious gaps. Still, they revealthat Nixon ordered efforts to mis-lead investigators. He'd alsoauthorized illegal tactics to spy onopponents and to sabotage hisrivals' 1972 campaigns.

EPILOGUEBernstein: Facing impeachment[a charge of misconduct in office]by the House of Representatives,Nixon resigns on August 9, 1974.He is the first—and only—U.S.President to resign.Woodward: vice President GeraldR. Ford assumes the presidency."My fellow Americans, our longnational nightmare is over," hesays. But a month later, he par-dons Nixon—to help the nationheal, he says. It's a controversialdecision, and Ford loses the elec-tion in 1976.Narrator B: Today, 40 years afterthe Watergate break-in, manyAmericans still find it hard to trustpolitical leaders. Nixon's resigna-tion may have ended the nationalnightmare, but memories of theWatergate scandal endure.—Kathy Wilmore & Victor Landauro

T H I N K A B O U T IT: Since Water-gate, journalists have often usedwords ending in -gate for high-profilescandals. What gave Watergate suchstaying power?

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