巴布狄倫

水門事件(1972～1974年)

Watergate scandal

指尼克森政府進行非法活動的政治醜聞。水門是華盛頓特區的一座綜合大廈。1972年6月17日有五個人因闖入大廈內的民主黨全國總部被捕。白宮否認與此事有關，而尼克森亦競選連任成功。1973年1月美國哥倫比亞特區地方法院首席法官賽裡卡（J. J. Sirica）主持審訊，他質疑證人霍爾德曼、埃利希曼、迪安等人隱瞞事實。4月司法部長克蘭丁斯特辭職。新的司法部長理查生（E. L. Richardson）指定哈佛大學法學教授考克斯（A. Cox）為特別檢察官。後來一個由參議員小歐文（Sam J. Ervin）領導的委員會舉行電視轉播的聽證會，歐文委員會根據證詞判定白宮和競選委員會成員有罪。然而只有迪安一個人證明尼克森總統有直接捲入掩蓋活動。後來一位前白宮工作人員揭露︰在總統辦公室的談話都錄了音。考克斯和歐文委員會立即（7月23日）票傳錄音帶。尼克森拒絕交出，並在10月20日解除考克斯的職務。理查生辭職以示抗議。賽裡卡法官命令尼克森向特別檢察官賈瓦斯基（Leon Jaworski）提交錄音帶。7月27～30日期間眾議院司法委員會通過彈劾案。8月5日總統提交三卷錄音帶的文字本，這些文字本清楚表明總統與掩蓋活動有關。他於8月8日宣佈辭職。一個月後繼任總統福特給予尼克森以無條件的赦免，不受進一步懲處。

English version：

1972～1974年

Watergate scandal

Political scandal involving illegal activities by Pres. Richard Nixon's administration. In June 1972 five burglars were arrested after breaking into the Democratic Party's national headquarters at the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington,D.C. The White House denied any connection to the burglary,and Nixon was reelected. In January 1973 the trial of the burglars was held before Judge John Sirica,whose direct questioning of witnesses revealed details of a cover-up by H.R. Haldeman,John D. Ehrlichman,and John W. Dean. They and Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst resigned in April. The new attorney general,Elliot L. Richardson (1920-1998),appointed Archibald Cox (born 1912) as special prosecutor. A Senate committee under Samuel Ervin held televised hearings and learned of the existence of tapes of conversations in the president's office. Cox and Ervin subpoenaed the tapes,but Nixon refused to relinquish them and ordered Cox fired (October 20). Richardson resigned in protest,and the public outcry,Sirica's order to provide the tapes,and the new special prosecutor,Leon Jaworski,forced Nixon to surrender the tapes (December 8),which revealed clear signs of his involvement. The House of Representatives began inquiry into impeachment,and in July its judiciary committee passed three articles of impeachment. On August 5 Nixon supplied three tapes that clearly implicated him in the cover-up. While insisting he had not committed any offenses,he resigned on August 8,1974. He was pardoned a month later by his successor,Gerald Ford.