Intelligence Community

Archive Report

Watergate Revelations of Agency Misuse

Questions about Abuse of FBI and CIA Function

To many americans, the most serious aspect of the Watergate scandal—apart from the President's possible involvement—was the misuse of the nation's various intelligence agencies for partisan political purposes. And to many others, the most ominous aspect of the Watergate affair was the extent of domestic surveillance—spying, bugging, wiretapping, breaking and entering, data gathering—on individual citizens. For it is this attempted corruption of the intelligence function in a free democratic society that has led some observers to equate Watergate, at least in its ultimate intent, with the imposition of a police state.

In the past, the intelligence community has most often been subject to criticism for lack of public accountability—for becoming an “invisible government” or ...

locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles