Watergate

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Your face wouldn't show up on every news program or in every newspaper.

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Well... just be grateful that your name isn't Richard Nixon.

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Nixon, a Republican, was running for re-election and needed to build a strong campaign.

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Unfortunately, he decided the best way to do so was to lie and steal.

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Despite the images the name "Watergate"

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might evoke, Nixon had nothing to do with destroying any large dams.

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"Watergate" was the name of the hotel where the Democratic headquarters were based.

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So the press decided to name the scandal after that hotel.

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One night, some men broke into an office inside the hotel...

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...and started going through files and attempting to plant listening devices.

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They were caught red-handed.

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Some immediately suspected that Nixon was involved, but there was no concrete proof just yet...

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One of the men, James McCord, claimed that he and his accomplices were paid to keep quiet

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during the ensuing trial so that Republicans could save face.

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Eventually, someone leaked the fact that Nixon had tapes in his possession consisting of

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recorded conversations between himself and key political figures.

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Nixon immediately fired the prosecutor in

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charge of the case, in hopes that he wouldn't have to hand over the tapes.

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Although... it didn't keep six of his Republican aides

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from being convicted of hindering the investigation.

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The courts wore Nixon down over time, and eventually he caved.

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He handed over the tapes... even if some of them appeared to be missing or altered.

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Nixon did his best to argue his way out of

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most of the stuff that remained on the tapes...

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...but the part in which he was caught talking about distributing hush money to keep the

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burglars quiet... was pretty incriminating.

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As it turned out, he was the one who probably should have kept his lip zipped.

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He couldn't escape the damage that had been done...

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...and ultimately he resigned from the office of the presidency.

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Corruption and politics often go hand in hand...

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...but Nixon has set the bar pretty high.

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If he is "not a crook"...

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...then that makes these guys saints.