On today’s date in 1972, President Richard Nixon sat down with White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman and a tape recorder to discuss the recent Watergate break-in. In the resulting tape, which became known as the “Smoking Gun,” you can hear the President propose using the CIA to get the FBI to halt their investigation by claiming that the break-in was a national security operation. Just a few days after the botched break-in, Haldeman and Nixon worried what the FBI would find if they continued to “follow the money.” The scandal they uncovered cost Nixon his presidency.

A case study in executive overreach, the Watergate scandal remains a stain on the United States’ history and a cautionary tale to wayward politicians who might think they can do no wrong. That power corrupts is old news, but it is no less a problem today than it was in the 1970s.

Politicians, more often than not, put their chances in the next election in front of what’s best for the country. That’s what happens when the institutions of government are co-opted for the profit of the political class. The Watergate break-in is just one example of how willing our leaders are to skirt the law when elections (or “national security” or the “good of the nation” or plain old personal gain) are at stake. It’s all too rare that such actions lead to consequences for the guilty parties involved.