MASC 261 - Exam one Questions with
Complete Solutions
Define Muckraking - Answer-"to search for and expose real or alleged corruption,
scandal, or the like, especially in politics."
What was the Watergate Scandal? - Answer-"The Watergate scandal began early in the
morning of June 17, 1972, when several burglars were arrested in the office of the
Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in
Washington, D.C. This was no ordinary robbery: The prowlers were connected to
President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign, and they had been caught wiretapping
phones and stealing documents. Nixon took aggressive steps to cover up the crimes,
but when Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed his
role in the conspiracy, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. The Watergate scandal
changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leaders
and think more critically about the presidency."
The Plumbers - Answer-"E. Howard Hunt, A former CIA operative, Hunt was a member
of the so-called "Plumbers," an informal White House team tasked with preventing and
repairing information "leaks" such as the 1971 release of the top-secret Pentagon
Papers. After investigators found his phone number in address books belonging to the
Watergate burglars, they connected the dots between the burglary, President Nixon and
his re-election campaign."
The CREEPs - Answer-"CREEP was the unofficial abbreviation derisively applied to the
Committee for the Re-Election of the President, a fundraising organization within the
administration of President Richard Nixon. Officially abbreviated CRP, the committee
was first organized in late 1970 and opened its Washington, D.C. office in the spring of
1971. During the investigation of the Watergate break-in, it was shown that the CRP
had illegally used $500,000 in campaign funds to pay the legal expenses of the five
Watergate burglars in return for their promise to protect President Nixon, initially by
remaining silent, and by giving false testimony in court - committing perjury - after their
eventual indictment."
Dirty Tricks - Answer-"Dirty Tricks: Nixon, Watergate and the CIA. A new book by author
and filmmaker Shane O'Sullivan on the 'dirty tricks' used by the Nixon campaign in the
1968 and 1972 elections - the Anna Chennault affair, the Ellsberg break-in and
Watergate. Dirty Tricks also provides the first detailed analysis of the CIA's recently-
released internal history of Watergate, documenting the backgrounds of the burglars
and their associations with the Agency in unprecedented detail, and how the Nixon
White House sought to implicate the CIA in the emerging scandal."
, Tricky Dick - Answer-"CNN Original Series: 'Tricky Dick' featuring never-before-seen
footage, 'Tricky Dick' explores Richard Nixon's life and times -- tracking his rise, fall,
incredible comeback and political destruction."
Deep Throat - Answer-"Former FBI deputy director William Mark Felt, Sr., age 91, broke
his 30-year silence and confirmed in June 2005 that he was "Deep Throat," the
anonymous government source who had leaked crucial information to Washington Post
reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, which helped take down President
Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal."
Frank Wills - Answer-"On June 17, 1972, Frank Wills, an African American night
watchman, detected an early morning break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters
at the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The five men arrested had ties to
President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign, igniting a political scandal that
ultimately led to the president's resignation."
Mark Felt - Answer-"Deep Throat" "Mark Felt was a law enforcement officer who worked
for the FBI and is best known for his role in the Watergate scandal. In 1972, Washington
Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein received information from a high-
level government official who was given the moniker "Deep Throat." He told them that
former CIA agent and Richard Nixon staff member Howard Hunt was involved in the
Watergate scandal. The evidence eventually led to President Nixon's resignation in
August 1974. In a 2005 magazine article, Felt was revealed to be "Deep Throat."
Charles Colson - Answer-"Charles W. Colson, who as a political saboteur for President
Richard M. Nixon masterminded some of the dirty tricks that led to the president's
downfall."
John Mitchell - Answer-"John Mitchell, U.S. attorney general during the Nixon
administration who served 19 months in prison (1977-79) for his participation in the
Watergate Scandal."
Rose Mary Woods - Answer-"American personality, served as personal secretary for
Richard M. Nixon from 1951, when he entered the U.S. Senate, until some time after he
resigned the presidency in 1974 because of the Watergate scandal. She achieved
notoriety when it was discovered that an 181/2-minute segment of one of the White
House tapes she was transcribing had been mysteriously erased; she claimed that the
erasure had to have been accidental, although a photograph of her re-creation of the
event showed how unlikely that explanation was."
E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy - Answer-"Hunt was a member of the White
House "plumbers," the secret team assembled to stop government leaks after defense
analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press. A former CIA
operative, Hunt organized the bugging of the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate
-- as well as a break-in at the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist." "The former FBI agent
orchestrated the Watergate break-in with E. Howard Hunt. Liddy was a member of the
