Watergate, as the scandal was dubbed, began with the burglary of the Democratic Party's campaign headquarters at the Watergate apartment and office complex. The burglary was committed on June 17, 1972 at 2:30 a.m. by five men: Bernard L. Barker, a former C.I.A. operative, Virgilio Gonzalez, a refugee from Cuba, James McCord, a security coordinator for the Republican National Committee and the Committee for the Re-election of the President, and a former C.I.A. and F.B.I. agent, Eugenio Martinez, who was connected to the C.I.A., and Frank A. Strugis who also had C.I.A. connections. These men were caught in the act trying to intercept telephone and other communications by a security guard named Frank Willis. Their arrest, along with the investigation by the Washington Post eventually uncovered a White House-sponsored plan of espionage against Nixon's political opponents which led to a complicated trail that was traced to many of the highest officials in the United States.
English: Richard Nixon boarding Army One upon his ...
English: President Nixon delivers an Address to th...
Nixon and Paine at Apollo 12 LaunchThis case revolved around three key issues. The first regarded the Constitutional idea known as the separation of powers. In the end it was decided that this idea was not intended to have the three branches operate absolutely independent of each other. The second issue involved what is known as executive privilege. This case tested whether or not the Executive branch has the power to keep executive documents and other communications out of public view and away from the other two branches of government. The Court ruled that the President does not have the right to withhold information simply on the grounds of confidentiality. The third point brought up in Court was known as justiciability. This questions whether or not the court has the jurisdiction to issue the subpoena because the matter was an "intra-branch dispute between a subordinate and superior officer of the Executive...