What damage did Watergate do to the US?
The effects of the Watergate Scandal were many. The fact that Nixon had misused campaign money led to the passage of the Campaign Reform Act of 1974. The act put limits on campaign contributions and expenditures in presidential elections. In 1978 Congress allowed a court appointed special prosecutor that would aid the Attorney-General in certain investigations against the president and other high ranking executive officers. These special prosecutors can not be removed by the president or interfered with by either branch of government, Congress or the President. Only the Attorney-General can remove the special prosecutor for “supportable reasons.” Perhaps the most important legacy of the Watergate Scandal is the sense of erosion of public confidence in, not only the executive branch, but in virtually all institutions of government. The scandal became public around the end of the Vietnam War, a time when many Americans felt the government had misled them about the conduct and progress of
