The Fix by Barbara McQuade

Author:Barbara McQuade [Barbara McQuade]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: political science; democracy; government; american politics; geopolitics; political philosophy; american government; capital; political science books; political books; politics; us government; international politics; world politics; political ideologies; economics; corruption; law; business; american history; society; culture; finance; sociology; true crime; education; journalism; work; capitalism; mafia; poverty; oil; war; crime; taxes; contemporary romance; legal; supreme court; historical; money; essays; race; school; world history
ISBN: 9781644215562
Publisher: seven stories press
Published: 2026-05-05T17:30:00+00:00

Post-Watergate Reforms

Another era of American history that can be instructive is the post-Watergate years. Richard Nixon was forced to resign as president over the scandal, in which, in an effort to obtain intelligence against Nixon’s political opponents, campaign-funded burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex to install listening devices and were caught by a night watchman. Nixon’s complicity in the cover-up was revealed in a conversation that occurred in the Oval Office and was captured on a tape recorder, which was equipped to capture conversations automatically.1346 In one recording, Nixon could be heard agreeing with a plan to have the CIA instruct the FBI to stand down in its investigation of the financing of the break-in.1347 Battles over the release of the Nixon tapes to the congressional committee investigating the scandal led to “the Saturday Night Massacre,” in which Nixon directed Attorney General Elliott Richardson to fire Special Counsel Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and resigned, as did his deputy, William Ruckelshaus. The next leader in line at the Justice Department, Robert Bork, finally lowered the axe on Cox but refused to eliminate the special counsel’s office. Soon, Leon Jaworski replaced Cox, and public outrage made it clear that Nixon’s days in office were numbered.1348 Urged to leave office by members of his own Republican party, he resigned to avoid impeachment.1349

Like the business scandals of the Progressive Era and the brutal repression of the civil rights movement, the Watergate saga also came to the public’s attention through the work of the media. Investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post helped connect the Watergate burglary with Nixon’s reelection campaign.1350 Their reporting in the Post gave the story visibility as congressional hearings were getting underway.1351 Exposing wrongdoing in any form has a significant impact on public opinion.

Sparked by public outcry over the scandal, Congress enacted several reforms to improve transparency and promote integrity. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 made it clear that government records belong to the people, not the president, and set standards for creating, accessing, and maintaining public records.1352 The act provided that memos or recordings documenting official presidential meetings and other government activities belonged to the people and were to be safeguarded by the National Archives. The Ethics in Government Act, also passed in 1978, introduced financial disclosure requirements and conflict-of-interest rules for federal officials.1353 In addition, the White House and the Justice Department implemented policies to enhance DOJ’s independence from political influence.

Also in the 1970s, the Senate’s Church Committee uncovered abuses perpetrated by the FBI. Named for Senator Frank Church, the committee found that the FBI had engaged in invasive activities as part of an operation dubbed COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program).1354 Formed to investigate national security threats during the Cold War, COINTELPRO eventually began targeting American civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Vietnam War protesters, and individuals suspected of being “subversives.”1355 The Church Committee found that the FBI worked to “divide, confuse,” and “weaken” domestic groups, in part by gathering and disclosing disparaging information about their leaders.

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