From Watergate To Today
On Wednesday, April 30, Democracy 21 President Wertheimer received the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government for 2025. Previous recipients of the nonpartisan award include President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Senator John McCain, and Representatives John Lewis and Liz Cheney.
The following are excerpts from Fred’s remarks at the award ceremony. Read his full remarks here.
Since my career spans from Watergate to the present, I would like to make a few observations on how the two periods compare.
In 1972, Watergate burst on the national scene and eventually became the 20th century’s biggest political scandal.
Forty-eight individuals were convicted of Watergate-related crimes, 20 corporations pled guilty to making illegal campaign contributions, and, for the first time, a President resigned from office.
The Watergate Special Prosecutor, the Senate Watergate Committee, the courts, and Members of Congress – including those of President Nixon’s own party – did their part to bring the Watergate scandal to an end and provide accountability for the participants.
In a pivotal decision that set the stage for Nixon’s resignation, the Supreme Court unanimously held that Nixon had to turn his secret White House tapes over to the Special Prosecutor’s office.
The decisive factor in addressing the Watergate scandal, however, was citizens rising up in massive protest.
The firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox by Nixon, known as the Saturday Night Massacre, ignited the country. The public uproar provided the spark that ended the Nixon presidency.
The Watergate scandal led to numerous historic reforms. These included campaign finance laws, ethics and conflict of interest laws, open government laws, and the creation of oversight and enforcement bodies to prevent wrongdoing by public officials.
The circumstances we are living in today are very different from Watergate. And, they appear even more serious.
Today, as many have noted, we are facing a democracy under threat and a constitutional crisis.
I want to briefly focus on three areas of concern:
- The unprecedented use of executive orders.
- The unprecedented refusal of the Trump Administration to comply with court orders; and
- The unprecedented use of the presidency to carry out retribution for personal grievances.
First, executive orders.
Since January 20, the President has issued 143 Executive Orders. They have the force of law.
This unprecedented explosion of executive orders is bypassing Congress – just five bills have been signed into law since January 20.
The executive orders have resulted in challenges to the rule of law, to the Constitution’s separation of powers, and to Congress’s power of the purse.
These executive orders have resulted in 222 legal challenges and at least 123 court rulings enjoining Administration actions, with preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders issued based on serious doubts about the legality of the Administration’s actions.
The response of Trump and his Administration to the lawsuits has been to attack plaintiffs, attack judges and call for their impeachment, and ignore or violate court orders.
This is not the way our democracy is supposed to work.
Second, court orders.
Since the Supreme Court’s 1803 decision in Marbury v. Madison, it has been accepted that in our constitutional system the courts have the final word on the legality and constitutionality of actions by the executive branch, by Congress, or by their public officials or officeholders.
When the Supreme Court ruled that President Nixon had to turn over his secret White House tapes, Nixon complied.
Despite this history, President Trump and his Administration have been ignoring or violating federal court orders.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, for example, was arrested by mistake, as admitted by the Administration, and sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador without due process.
The Administration was ordered by lower federal courts to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States to receive due process.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the district court order properly requires the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
Yet to this day, the Administration has refused to do anything to bring Abrego Garcia back. Yesterday, President Trump said he could get Abrego Garcia back, but he won’t.
This is a dangerous act of defiance by the President and previews a constitutional crisis on the horizon.
Ignoring federal court orders by the Administration is anything but an isolated case.
This is not the way our constitutional system of government is supposed to work.
Finally, the President has made no secret of his personal grievances and his retribution campaign.
Media outlets, academic institutions, law firms, lawyers, nonprofit groups, and political adversaries have been targeted by the President for punishment. Trump is using executive orders for retribution. The Justice Department and FBI have been enlisted as enforcers of the President’s personal revenge campaign.
Security protections and security clearances for adversaries have been revoked, prosecutors who worked on Trump investigations have been fired, criminal investigations have been ordered for individuals who challenged Trump’s positions in his first Administration.
An NPR report has found that the Trump Administration has already used its government powers to target more than 100 individuals and organizations perceived to be enemies of the President.
This is absolutely not the way presidential powers are supposed to be used and not the way our democracy is supposed to work.
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Watergate and the present moment, however, do have a common thread.
Just as citizens rose up to end the Watergate scandals, citizens have been rising up again today to protest and challenge the threats they see to our democracy and our Constitution.
History also tells us that threats to our democracy can lead to fundamental reforms as they did in the years following Watergate.
After the attack on our election system in 2020, historic reforms came very close to being enacted.
After sweeping voting rights, campaign finance, and other democracy reforms passed the House in 2021, the Senate in 2022 came within two votes of enacting the legislation. The fight to enact this legislation will continue.
When I was at Common Cause in the 1970s, Common Cause Founder John Gardner used to tell us that “reform is not for the short winded.” He never mentioned to me, however, that in my case it would take 54 years. Fifty-four years … and counting.
Representative John Lewis, the great civil rights icon, would always say “never give up, never give in.” I like to add “and never go away.”
We are not going away, and we are certainly not going to bend the knee.
Citizens have always come forward in our country and will continue to rise up, speak out, and stand strong in the tough battles ahead.
Let me close with this:
We are a resilient country.
Our history has proven that.
We will not yield to the threats of autocracy.
Our democracy, our Constitution, and the rule of law will survive – as they have for 237 years.
We will survive.
Read Fred’s Full Remarks Online
“In the race to make our democracy more open, honest, and accountable, Fred Wertheimer is a long-distance runner and a champion. He is a leader for these times.”
— Remarks of Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) at the award ceremony.
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Fred’s Weekly Note appears on Thursdays in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter. Read this week’s and other recent newsletters here. And, subscribe for free here and receive your copy each week via email.
