Alexis Guilleux, edited by Laura Laplaud
50 years ago, on June 17, 1972, five men were arrested in the Watergate building in Washington, which houses the offices of the Democratic Party. The beginning of a long investigation and a state scandal that led to the resignation two years later of President Richard Nixon. Europe 1 looks back on an event that had a profound impact on American society.
June 17, 1972 marks the beginning of the Watergate affair. Five men are arrested in the Watergate building in Washington, which houses the offices of the Democratic Party. This is the start of a long investigation led in particular by the washington post and by two journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who have become symbols of the power of investigative journalism. It was also the start of a state scandal that led to the resignation two years later of US President Richard Nixon.
Americans’ trust in government ‘never returned’
This Watergate scandal permanently undermined the relationship between the American people and their elected officials. “With Watergate and the Vietnam War, Americans went from a period when they generally trusted government and elected officials, to a period when they no longer trusted them. The latter never really returned to that she was before Watergate”, explains Dan Balz who frames the coverage of this 50th anniversary for the washington post.
So Watergate is also the affirmation of the power of the American press. The investigative work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein resulted in the emergence of investigative cells in all major media outlets in the United States.
But would a case of this type lead today to the same consequences? Dan Balz doubts in view of the Trump years in the White House, peppered with numerous scandals. “During Watergate, the system worked, many people went to jail, a number of Republicans broke with the president and their party, and Nixon decided to resign. In recent years, Donald Trump has been the subject of two indictments and he was acquitted in both cases thanks to largely partisan votes,” he said.
Blame it on the extreme polarization of American society and on a Republican party, more than ever loyal to its leader.