Watergate, as the scandal was dubbed, began with the burglary of the Democratic Party's campaign headquarters at the Watergate apartment and office complex. The burglary was committed on June 17, 1972 at 2:30 a.m. by five men: Bernard L. Barker, a former C.I.A. operative, Virgilio Gonzalez, a refugee from Cuba, James McCord, a security coordinator for the Republican National Committee and the Committee for the Re-election of the President, and a former C.I.A. …showed first 75 words of 1867 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1867 total…breaking national news because of the Washington Post reporters Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Their work led to the development of teams of investigative reporters. The Watergate scandal demonstrated the safety nets built into the American Constitution. While the President is the head of the government he does not control Congress. On a side note many scandals after this one also had "-gate" attached to the end. Watergate became synonymous with political corruption and wiretapping.