Watergate was a 1970s scandal involving the 37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon. (PROSE: Tricky Dicky [+]David Llewellyn, The Brilliant Book 2012 fiction (BBC Books, 2011)., TV: The Impossible Astronaut [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 6 (BBC One, 2011).)
History
In 1972, five burglars were caught breaking into the Democratic Party headquarters. Their plan was to steal information that would damage the Democrats' chances in that year's presidential election. (PROSE: Tricky Dicky [+]David Llewellyn, The Brilliant Book 2012 fiction (BBC Books, 2011).) The reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein found out about it and published articles about it in The Washington Post. (AUDIO: Judgement Day [+]Scott Gray, The Sarah Jane Adventures (AudioGO, 2011).)
Following Nixon's victory in the election, (PROSE: Tricky Dicky [+]David Llewellyn, The Brilliant Book 2012 fiction (BBC Books, 2011).) the US Senate Watergate Committee investigated the reports. (PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters [+]Justin Richards, BBC Books (2014).) The burglars were found to be linked to Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President following the investigation. (PROSE: Tricky Dicky [+]David Llewellyn, The Brilliant Book 2012 fiction (BBC Books, 2011).)
Much of Nixon's activities in the White House were tape recorded. (PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters [+]Justin Richards, BBC Books (2014).) These were known as the Nixon tapes. (COMIC: Air Force Gone [+]Christopher Cooper, DWA comic stories (BBC Magazines, 2011).) A phone call between Nixon and Melody Pond (TV: The Impossible Astronaut [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 6 (BBC One, 2011).) was transcribed as part of the investigation into Watergate. A transcription of the Eleventh Doctor arriving in the Oval Office was also made available to the Senate committee, though Nixon refused to identify the Doctor, citing reasons of international security. (PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters [+]Justin Richards, BBC Books (2014).) Eventually, evidence emerged in other tapes that Nixon had attempted to cover up his own involvement in the burglary. In 1974, Nixon resigned as President, with his Vice President Gerald Ford succeeding him. (PROSE: Tricky Dicky [+]David Llewellyn, The Brilliant Book 2012 fiction (BBC Books, 2011).)
Legacy
Marwan Hamwai believed everyone in the Western world had heard of the Watergate scandal. (PROSE: Dancing the Code [+]Paul Leonard, Virgin Missing Adventures (Virgin Books, 1995).)
River Song noted President Nixon's involvement in Watergate and the Vietnam War before adding that there was "some good stuff too". (TV: The Impossible Astronaut [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 6 (BBC One, 2011).)
In 2011, Rani Chandra wrote an essay about the Watergate scandal. (AUDIO: Judgement Day [+]Scott Gray, The Sarah Jane Adventures (AudioGO, 2011).)
The classified Nixon tapes were left for future Presidents to know of the Doctor. The President of Earth, Vera Fusek, made the connection between the Doctor and the Nixon tapes when she encountered the Eleventh Doctor herself. (COMIC: Air Force Gone [+]Christopher Cooper, DWA comic stories (BBC Magazines, 2011).)
Behind the scenes
In the real world, President Nixon's precise involvement in the Watergate burglary remains unknown. Some sections of the "Nixon tapes" were lost. The "smoking gun" tape that eventually implicated Nixon proved that he tried to prevent the FBI from investigating the break-in.[1] In addition, there were also attempts to pay hush money to the conspirators,[2] although these details are unstated in Tricky Dicky [+]David Llewellyn, The Brilliant Book 2012 fiction (BBC Books, 2011)..