U S Public Mistrust in Government Unit Events

U. S. Public Mistrust in Government Unit Events: I. JFK’s Assassination II. The Vietnam War III. The Watergate Scandal IV. The Iran-Contra Scandal V. Clinton Impeachment VI. 2000 Election VII. WMDs in Iraq VIII. Hurricane Katrina • Bombing in Oklahoma • 9/11 Conspiracies

The Assassination of President Kennedy • The President arrived in Dallas, TX. on Nov. 22, 1963 • The trip was designed to maintain support in the south in anticipation of a difficult re-election campaign

The Facts • JFK was shot twice while riding in an open-air limo through Dealey Plaza • He was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced D. O. A.

The Perpetrator? • The police arrested Lee H. Oswald • Oswald’s suspicious past • He maintained his innocence • He never stood trial as he too was assassinated

The Investigation • America’s new Pres. LBJ formed a commission chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren to investigate the crime & to put to rest the rumors about conspiracy • It’s basic finding: Lee H. Oswald acted alone

U. S. Public Opinion Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans: • Do not believe that Oswald acted alone • There was a conspiracy to kill JFK (there is little agreement on who else may have been involved) • There has been a govt. -orchestrated cover-up

What do you think?

The End of Camelot • Many Americans believe that the turmoil that followed could have been avoided had JFK lived • John F. Kennedy has become more popular in death than he ever was as president

The Watergate Scandal

The Break-In • June `72: 5 men are caught breaking into DNC HQ (Watergate) • This is the 2 nd attempt to gather info to bolster Nixon’s reelection prospects

Nixon’s Involvement • 1 of the burglars is J. Mc. Cord, former FBI & CIA agent now working for CREEP • While Nixon did not order the break in, he did actively involve himself in the cover up efforts

Nixon Orders a Cover Up • Some of the burglars demand “hush money” for their cooperation Nixon authorizes payment & orders the CIA to divert law enforcement efforts; “obstruction of justice”

The Investigation & Cover Up • Sept. `72: 7 men, including 2 former W. H. aides, are indicted • Jan. `73: 5 of the men plead guilty to conspiracy, burglary & wiretapping, 2 stand trial & are convicted • April `73: Chief of Staff Haldeman & aide Ehrlichman resign, Counsel Dean is fired

Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave. . . There are three very symbolic images in this cartoon. Name each: 1. 2. 3.

Role of Congress • Summer `73: The U. S. Senate forms a committee to investigate • These televised hearings begin to erode the President’s public support • The Cmte’s star witness was former W. H. Counsel John Dean

The Allegations • Dean offers testimony incriminating Nixon to federal prosecutors in . return for a deal • The White House dismisses Dean as a disgruntled former employee

Cover Up Efforts Continue • Pressured by Congress, the Atty. Gen. hires a Independent Counsel, Archibald Cox, to maintain the appearance of no conflicts of interest in the federal investigation

The Investigation • Testimony before the Sen. Watergate Cmte. reveals that all of Nixon’s W. H. conversations were taped • Cox subpoenas the tapes. • Nixon refuses citing “presidential privilege”

Added Drama • Oct. `73: V. P. Agnew pleads guilty to unrelated corruption charges & resigns • The 25 th Amendment (1967) affords Nixon the opportunity to appoint Rep. Gerald Ford

The “Saturday Night Massacre” • Nixon offers to release edited transcripts of the tapes • Cox refuses to compromise • Nixon orders Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refuses & resigns in protest • Acting Atty. Gen. R. Bork fires Cox

Checks & Balances • July `74: In The U. S. v. Richard Nixon the Supreme Court unanimously rules that Nixon must hand over all of the tapes • One tape, “the smoking gun, ” proves Nixon’s involvement & lies • Three days later the House Judiciary Cmte. approves 3 articles of impeachment

The End of an Imperial Presidency • In Aug. `74 Nixon resigns • VP Ford becomes president • One month later Ford issues a full pardon to Nixon, sparing the former pres. from prison & raising the specter of a quid pro quo

The Iran-Contra Scandal Origins of: • In 1983 terrorist groups loyal to Iran took Americans hostage in Lebanon

America Responds • Reagan denounced Iran & urged U. S. allies not to sell arms to Iran for its war against Iraq • He declared in 1985 that “America will never make concessions to terrorists”

Forced Admissions • In 1986, Americans learned that Reagan had approved the sale of arms to Iran • In exchange, Iran had pledged to secure the release of 7 Americans held hostage in Lebanon

“Behind the Scenes” This cartoonist is choosing to portray Reagan in what capacity? Does this cartoonist agree that the Iran. Contra scandal created “Mistrust”?

Scandal Runs Deeper • Additionally, several members of Reagan’s staff diverted part of the profits from those arms sales to the Contras in Nicaragua in direct violation of the will of Congress

Checks & Balances? • In 1987 Congress formed a committee to investigate the Iran -Contra scandal • The chief witness of NSC member Oliver North, who claimed that he thought he was carrying out the president’s wishes

What did top admin. officials know & when did they know it? • Special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh indicted various members of the administration • North was found guilty of taking part in the cover-up & sentenced to pay a fine & perform community service

Justice Served? • In 1992 outgoing Pres. Bush, who claimed to be out of the loop, pardoned a number of Reagan officials • No top official was ever convicted • Did the admin. run roughshod over the Constitution?

The Impeachment of President Clinton Origins: • During the 70 s, Clinton was involved in a land deal with the Whitewater Development Co. • He was later accused of improperly using $ from this deal to fund his `84 gubernatorial campaign

Origins (cont’d. ) • In 1994 a fed. court appointed Ken Starr as the Independent Counsel to investigate the matter • In 2000, Starr’s replacement, Robert Ray, cleared Clinton of wrongdoing in this matter

The President is Investigated • During his investigation, Starr had expanded his investigation to matters unrelated to Whitewater • He learned the president had a relationship with a young White House intern

The Investigation Expands • Clinton allegedly lied under oath about the affair • In Aug. `98, Clinton admitted in a national address that he had an “improper relationship” with Monica Lewinsky • He denied lying about the incident under oath or attempting to obstruct justice Click Picture for Video

Clinton Impeached • The majority of Americans approved of Clinton’s performance • Nevertheless, in Dec. `98, the House of Reps approved 2 articles of impeachment: perjury & obstruction of justice • Clinton became only the 2 nd pres. in history to face a Senate trial Andrew Johnson

National Approval? Why does this cartoonist think that Clinton’s approval ratings remain high despite his affairs?

Senate Trial • The Senate opened its trial of the president in Jan. `99 • A month later, the Senate fell short of the 67 votes—a 2/3 margin—required to convict him • Clinton remained in office & apologized for his actions

Race for the White House 2000 The Candidates: • VP Al Gore (D) • TX Gov. George W. Bush (R) • Ralph Nader (Green)

The Build Up • On the eve of the election, polls showed the race to be one of the tightest in memory • The election proved one of the closest in U. S. history • Determining a winner would take over a month

Election Night Confusion • As election night unfolded, Gore appeared to take the lead • The TV networks projected that Gore would win PA, MI & FL, which would ultimately decide the winner • Then, in a stunning turn of events, they recanted their projection for FL, saying it was “too close to call”

The Back and Forth at CNN

And the Winner is…? • As midnight passed, it became clear that whoever won FL would gain the 270 electoral votes needed • At 2 am, the networks predicted Bush the winner of FL • Gore called Bush to congratulate him & prepared to deliver his concession speech

…? • As the final votes rolled in, Bush’s lead shrank & the state again became too close to call • Gore phoned Bush again to withdraw his concession • By the next day, Gore had won the popu, vote by more than 500, 000 votes out of 105 million cast • The question remained: who won the Electoral vote?

Dispute Rages in Florida • In the weeks following the election, lawyers & spokespersons went to FL to secure a victory • The recount of the state’s ballots gave Bush a win by just over 300 votes • However, allegations of voting irregularities in several counties in a state where Jeb Bush was the Gov.

nd) Concession Speech Gore’s (2

Voting Irregularities • Most prominently, voters in Palm Beach Co. claimed that a confusing ballot design caused thousands to mistakenly vote for a different candidate or “hanging” chads invalidated their votes • Thus Gore requested manual recounts in 4 mainly Dem. counties

The Battle Moves to the Courts • As the manual recounting began on Nov. 12, Bush sued to halt the process, precipitating a series of legal challenges • On Dec. 5 the U. S. Supreme Court ruled 54 in Bush v. Gore to stop the recount, thus awarding the FL vote & the presidency to Bush

Final Florida Count Presidential Candidate Vice Presidential Candidate George W. Bush Richard Cheney Albert Gore Jr. Joseph Lieberman Ralph Nader Winona La. Duke Political Party Popular Vote Electoral Vote Republican 2, 912, 790 48. 85% 25 Democratic 2, 912, 253 48. 84% 0 Green 97, 488 1. 63% 0

Election Aftermath • 5 weeks after election day, one of the most divisive elections in history had ended. • On Jan. 20, 2001 Bush was inaugurated the 43 rd President • In 2001 FL abolished the punch card ballot. Other states adopted reforms, hoping to avoid future chaos

The Iraq War I. Causes a. WMDs b. 9/11 connections c. Intelligence failure? II. Costs a. Financial b. Human III. Assessment of a. Critics b. Supporters

Background • Following the 1991 Persian Gulf War the U. N. demanded that Iraq destroy its existing weapons programs • Over the next 12 years Saddam Hussein resisted allowing U. N. inspectors to operate freely in Iraq

Causes: Weapons of Mass Destruction • The belief that Iraq was secretly building WMDs was a key justification for the U. S. -led invasion in 2003

Causes (cont’d) • However, no WMDs were found. • The top U. S. weapons expert had reported in Oct. `04 that Iraq had destroyed its stockpiles within months after the Persian Gulf War in order to end U. N. economic sanctions • Hussein U attempted to . maintain a shroud of secrecy in order to be a deterrent to its rivals Charles Duelfer

Causes (cont’d) • Pres. Bush also asserted that Iraq was funding Al Qaeda • In June `04 the 9/11 Commission reported finding no evidence connecting Iraq to Al Qaeda

The Costs of War

Assessment of the War Critics assert: • We were mislead about the justifications • It has made America less safe by inflaming Muslim opinion • It has siphoned critical resources from the war in Afghanistan

Assessment of the War Supporters assert: • The Iraqi people & the world are better off without Hussein • Iraq is on its way to becoming a stable democracy & a model for the Middle East