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00:14I'm going to tell you a story you probably haven't heard, a subplot of a story you might
00:19think you know.
00:20The story I'm talking about is Watergate, the two-bit burglary gone wrong, and the series
00:27of extraordinary events that led to the undoing of an American president, Richard Nixon.
00:32...of Washington, D.C. is the talk of the Capitol today.
00:35Five men were arrested early Saturday while trying to install eavesdropping equipment at
00:40the Democratic National Committee.
00:42You see, a lot of people went down in history because of that burglary in 1972, many of them
00:49the president's men.
00:51But there's one significant woman who was somehow left out of the script.
00:55Martha, welcome.
00:56It's so good to have you with us.
00:58The party's just beginning.
01:00That's right.
01:01Her name was Martha Mitchell.
01:03She was a fearless and charismatic woman who at that time was a prominent presence on the
01:08political scene.
01:10Martha's husband was John Mitchell.
01:12He was Nixon's presidential campaign manager and a former attorney general of the United
01:17States.
01:18I was more involved than just being the attorney general's wife.
01:23Martha was not your typical cabinet wife for the era.
01:27She was a glamorous and outspoken Southern belle who had a reputation for talking a little
01:31too much.
01:33And in June of 1972, on the weekend of the Watergate break-in, Martha found herself across
01:39the country in California in an unthinkable situation.
01:43Afterwards, she had quite the tale to tell, and no one to believe it.
01:48Some of these things sound so incredible, and yet the things you've said before have
01:51It's like reading a James Bond novel.
01:55You can't believe it.
01:57I can't believe what's happened to me.
02:00What led her there?
02:01What did Martha know, and when did she know it?
02:04And why did no one listen when she tried to ring the alarm on Watergate, long before anyone
02:09else would be so bold?
02:11Oh, David, you've opened up a kettle of worms.
02:14To go through that is utterly impossible.
02:18It dates back from the beginning.
02:22Don't get me shot tonight, David, please.
02:25I'd like to live another 24 hours.
02:28I have a hunch that by looking closer at Martha's story, we can glean a better understanding
02:33of the whole Watergate affair.
02:36Because what we know about the scandal involving Nixon and his men is only part of the story.
02:41The rest is filled with surprises and a cast of unsuspecting participants, just like Martha.
02:47It's my constitutional responsibility to defend this great office against false charges.
02:56What was it like to live through Watergate without knowing how it was all going to end?
03:00Causing this nation to neglect matters of far greater importance.
03:08One way to find out is to look at that moment of American history as seen through the eyes
03:14of the people who lived it, back when they had no idea what was coming.
03:18If we learn the important lessons of Watergate, we can emerge from this experience a better
03:23and a stronger nation.
03:26I'm Leon Nafok.
03:28This is Slow Burn.
03:34My special guest today is certainly one of the most unusual women Washington has ever met.
03:40President Nixon admires her spunk, and her husband calls her his unguided missile.
03:46Please, welcome the wife of the United States Attorney General, Mrs. John Mitchell, Mrs. Martha Mitchell.
03:52Here we go.
03:54Imagine it's 1971, and this is the way you have come to know Martha Mitchell.
03:59These are handmade.
04:01Way before the Watergate scandal rocked the country, Martha was a household name.
04:06And when you're called on in 15 minutes to be at the White House or something like that,
04:10you have to be able to.
04:12A constant fixture on talk shows, she became known in Washington as the Mouth of the South.
04:17Yeah.
04:18This is all teased in front.
04:20To understand how this singular woman's story came to intersect so decisively with President Nixon's,
04:25there's no better place to start than the town she came from.
04:31Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
04:37Pine Bluff, literally, and I can tell you without a doubt, this was the greatest place to grow up as
04:42a kid.
04:42We knew everybody because we all went to Pine Bluff High, which was the high school in Pine Bluff.
04:49So, in the South, everything revolves around football.
04:53And I was captain of what we call the Zebra Girls, which is like the little palm squad.
04:59Z-E-B-R-H-S.
05:03Zebras, zebras are the best.
05:07Let's go, Z!
05:09On the Thursday night of Homecoming, we have a big bonfire.
05:13That night, I actually had my cheerleader uniform on.
05:17And then when it was time to announce the queen, oh my gosh, I mean, it just makes me want
05:22to tear up, I swear.
05:24It, they, they said, in your 1982 Homecoming Queen is, and then they did a drum roll, and they said,
05:31Mandy Abbott.
05:32And I literally jumped up out of my seat.
05:36My mouth is like this.
05:37They have a picture, and it's in the yearbook.
05:39My mouth is as big as it could be.
05:41I screamed.
05:42I could not believe it.
05:48I'm Mandy Abbott Ware.
05:50I am a true Southern belle.
05:54Wait a second.
05:55Where was the story going?
05:57Okay, so, my dad is Bob Abbott.
06:01He's pretty much a man about town.
06:04He's a mover and shaker, that's for sure.
06:06I'm Bob Abbott, and I own Abbott Enterprise.
06:09And we own the Martha Mitchell House.
06:12Oh, that's right.
06:13Martha Mitchell.
06:18This is the Martha Mitchell Home.
06:21It was built by her grandfather.
06:24I have been the caretaker of this house for the last 40 years, and I have the responsibility to make
06:32sure it doesn't disappear.
06:36Bob Abbott bought the Martha Mitchell House in 1975, just a year before she died.
06:42Martha was special.
06:45During her funeral, every major news person, ABC, NBC, they even had people from England writing a story about it.
06:59And I knew that from that day, that this old house, it was a historical house after that, because if
07:06she hadn't have been historical, they wouldn't have showed up here.
07:14Martha Mitchell was born up there in the bedroom right up over us.
07:22Across the hall upstairs, we have Martha's bedroom when she was a teenager.
07:28This painting that's hanging on the wall here was commissioned for the inaugural ball.
07:35You can look at that, and she's a southern belle, isn't she?
07:38No, she's a southern lady there.
07:46So a southern belle would definitely be very demure.
07:50We have a genuine graciousness to us, and just want to make people feel at home or part of the
07:58family.
07:58It's usually a little bit upper-middle class to, you know, upper-middle class.
08:08When Martha was young, the most famous version of a southern belle was a character in one of the most
08:12popular movies of the time, Gone with the Wind.
08:18The character's name was Scarlett O'Hara, and in addition to her beauty, she was known for her willfulness and
08:25her departure from social norms for women of her era.
08:28Scarlett was bold and uncompromising.
08:32Martha Mitchell would grow up to become the real thing.
08:35I have to say today, I've had a lot of people calling and talking about the Martha Mitchell house, and
08:42they also talk about what's happening in D.C.
08:46And some of the ladies will say, I wish she was around now.
08:50I bet you she'd give them her tongue.
08:55And they just seemed to think that Martha saved the world at one time, and they need somebody like her
09:02up there again.
09:07In 1946, Martha married a salesman named Clyde Jennings, and the couple moved to an apartment in New York City.
09:16A friend picked up on hints of unhappiness in a wonderful Wall Street lawyer named John Mitchell.
09:25John Mitchell, he was a prince of a guy, always had a pipe, kind of easygoing.
09:32But Martha was a character.
09:34She was very talkative.
09:39John and Martha started seeing more and more of each other, spending evenings sharing Chinese food in the village.
09:50Soon, Martha left her first husband and officially became Martha Mitchell.
09:58John Mitchell was a decent man.
10:01He was an investment bond lawyer up there in New York, and probably was minding his own business and never
10:07intended to get involved with politics.
10:10There's one thing for certain about New York.
10:13There's only one direction to go, and that's up.
10:22In 1967, Mitchell's law firm merged with that of another very successful young lawyer, a man named Richard Nixon.
10:38The two grew fond of each other.
10:40Mitchell advised Nixon regarding his political aspirations.
10:44And in the run-up to the 1968 election, Mitchell helped spearhead Nixon's first successful presidential campaign.
10:52All right, thank you very much.
10:55Nixon eked out a slim victory that election year against Hubert Humphrey,
10:58just enough to install him in the highest office in the country.
11:02In 1969, Nixon thanked his friend Mitchell by offering him an extremely high-profile job.
11:08That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
11:12Attorney General of the United States.
11:15And Martha was right there next to him.
11:19While John Mitchell busied himself with the affairs of the president,
11:22his wife found ways to amuse herself.
11:26What's your life like in Washington?
11:29It's just so different that one cannot tell you,
11:33because even when I tell my own friends what life is like,
11:36and they look at my long schedule, they don't believe me.
11:43Of course, a political life isn't like a normal person.
11:48They can do and say what they please.
11:51Right.
11:51But I do say what I please.
11:53Yeah.
11:54Yeah.
12:17Martha's transition from small-town Southern Belle to media-savvy D.C. socialite
12:22was remarkably smooth.
12:23Over the course of Nixon's first term as president,
12:26she became a bona fide celebrity.
12:29Over time, she gradually developed this persona of this public figure,
12:33an image of herself as flamboyant.
12:37She liked the attention.
12:39How are my boyfriends?
12:41Has he confided in anything in you?
12:43Well, I understand that that rumor was started
12:45because somebody made a telephone call and said it was Martha Mitchell.
12:51Martha Mitchell liked to talk,
12:53and she particularly liked to talk to reporters,
12:55and she particularly liked to talk to reporters
12:57between about, like, 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
13:01Oh, ladies and gentlemen!
13:04To tell them all the gossip that she heard
13:06and just share her opinions more broadly,
13:08which was really unusual for cabinet members' wives in the era.
13:13Please excuse me.
13:14Martha's late-night calls were legendary,
13:17and a red rotary telephone became an iconic symbol associated with her.
13:23If you don't call me, I will call you.
13:33But you're a woman whose husband is powerful in the country.
13:37I mean, has anybody ever tried to stop you from talking out loud?
13:41You know, because see, I'm sure you realize
13:43that could be dangerous for a political party.
13:45A wife speaking out.
13:46I mean, that's always been like, ugh.
13:48I would think they would try to say,
13:50gee, Ms. Mitchell, maybe you shouldn't make those statements.
13:52But nobody ever does.
13:53Oh, heavens no.
13:54They laugh at me.
13:57Is this the party to whom I am speaking?
14:00Yes, this is Martha Mitchell.
14:02Tell me, Mrs. Mitchell,
14:04do you have any time at all left over for hobbies?
14:07Yes, I like to read the funny papers.
14:10The funny papers.
14:11Which ones are your favorites?
14:13The New York Times and the Washington Post.
14:16Mrs. Mitchell, you know,
14:17it's gems like that that make me understand
14:20why they call Washington, D.C.,
14:23Martha's Vineyard.
14:26Hello?
14:27Hello?
14:28With her fondness for gossip
14:30and her cozy relationship to the press,
14:32Martha walked the line of getting on Nixon's bad side.
14:36On one occasion,
14:37he told his chief of staff in a meeting,
14:39we have to turn off Martha.
14:42One might wonder why a man as powerful as the president
14:45would be bothered by the day-to-day musings
14:47of a cabinet member's wife.
14:49But Martha was not merely a talker.
14:51She also listened closely
14:53to her husband's conversations,
14:56to his meetings with staff,
14:57to late-night phone calls
14:59between their apartment and the White House.
15:05But here, we should take a step back
15:07from Martha for a moment.
15:09To understand how she got herself mixed up
15:11in this in the first place,
15:12it helps to know a little bit
15:14about how her husband's boss
15:15conducted himself in office.
15:18Because whatever concerns
15:19Nixon may have expressed about Martha,
15:21they could have only been heightened
15:23by a major obsession of his.
15:27Leaks.
15:29An FBI report that leaked out yesterday
15:32said...
15:32To find the sources of unauthorized leaks to news...
15:34...expressed some unhappiness
15:36over leaks on the talks in Washington.
15:43There are leaks to the press
15:45because somebody wants to show off.
15:48They have more power than they do
15:50or that they actually have the power.
15:53There are leaks to get back at someone.
15:56Vengeance leaks.
15:57There are all kinds of reasons
15:59that people leak.
16:01Nixon hated leaks.
16:03He hated when classified information,
16:06even just private information
16:07from the White House,
16:08would make it out into the newspapers.
16:12I think it is time in this country
16:14to quit making national heroes
16:17out of those who steal secrets
16:20and publish them in the newspapers.
16:23And if you're Richard Nixon
16:25gearing up for re-election,
16:27trying to fix those leaks,
16:29who do you call?
16:35In 1971,
16:37this so-called plumber's unit is created.
16:41The head of the unit
16:43was a guy named Howard Hunt,
16:45a former CIA operative
16:47who also wrote spy novels.
16:49One of the people he hired
16:51was G. Gordon Liddy,
16:54by far and away
16:55the most zealous,
16:56over-the-top enthusiast.
16:59He was former FBI.
17:01Bud Krogh,
17:02who had been active
17:04in Nixon's drug policy.
17:06There was David Young,
17:08who was a Kissinger aide.
17:10There was a whole kind of cluster
17:11of these shady figures,
17:14some with some government experience
17:17or police experience.
17:22The plumber's job,
17:24as the name suggests,
17:26was to plug leaks.
17:29All of it was done behind closed doors.
17:32It could only be effective
17:33if you didn't know what was going on.
17:37They would do almost anything
17:40on the president's behalf
17:42because to stop leaks
17:45in the White House
17:46is like trying to stop
17:49Niagara Falls
17:51with a squeegee.
17:56With his team of plumbers occupied,
17:58Nixon focused on winning
17:59a second term in the White House.
18:02He quietly set up campaign offices
18:04one block up Pennsylvania Avenue,
18:06a stone's throw from the White House.
18:09And in 1972,
18:11he officially formed
18:12the Committee to Re-elect the President.
18:14Committee for the Re-Election of the President,
18:16may I help you?
18:16which critics referred to
18:17by the acronym CREEP.
18:20The Committee to Re-elect
18:21was unlike any political campaign
18:24I had been in before or after.
18:29My name is Roger Stone.
18:31In 1972,
18:33I was the youngest member
18:35of the Committee to Re-elect the President.
18:39It ran like a corporate headquarters.
18:42Burnt orange carpets,
18:44ringtone phones,
18:45no posters on the wall,
18:47no campaign paraphernalia
18:49anywhere in sight.
18:51It really ran like a button-down
18:53IBM-type corporation.
18:56The Committee was initially headed
18:57by a Nixon aide named Jeb Magruder,
19:00though it was generally agreed upon
19:01that he was just keeping the chair warm
19:03for John Mitchell.
19:04Jeb Magruder,
19:05I remember it,
19:06I was impressed
19:07at how highly polished his shoes were
19:09and how letter-perfect he looked.
19:12He looked like a Ken doll.
19:15In addition to high-level operatives
19:17like Magruder
19:18and fresh new political workers
19:20like Stone,
19:21somehow many of the former plumbers
19:23made their way onto the CREEP staff.
19:27One of these was a man named James McCord,
19:29a former CIA officer
19:31with zero prior experience in politics.
19:34Jim McCord was the director of security.
19:37He sat at a desk right near the front door
19:41and I knew him to say good morning to
19:43and I had to go to him
19:45to get my photo ID
19:47to get into the office after hours.
19:50I thought he was kind of a spooky character,
19:53to tell you the truth.
19:55...next Monday,
19:56but first the Attorney General
19:57and the campaign.
19:58Confirming the public's speculation,
20:00John Mitchell eventually resigned his role
20:02as Attorney General
20:03to head up Nixon's re-election campaign.
20:06This had been expected.
20:07Mitchell said that he could most benefit
20:09the American people
20:10by helping to keep Mr. Nixon in the White House.
20:14Nixon now,
20:17Nixon now,
20:19he's made from tear frowns,
20:22together with the band of former plumbers
20:25and the President himself,
20:27Mitchell strategized about how to keep Nixon
20:29in the Oval Office for a second term.
20:32Martha, on the other hand,
20:34looked at it a little differently.
20:36Martha didn't like this move
20:38from being Attorney General
20:39because she regarded that as a demotion
20:42and she decided that if her husband
20:44was going to be head of the committee
20:45to re-elect the President,
20:46that she herself was also going to work.
20:50And so she campaigned
20:52for Richard Nixon very hard.
20:58She was very politically conservative
21:00and although she didn't agree
21:01with Nixon on everything,
21:03she believed that he was
21:04the right man for the country.
21:06Hello, everybody.
21:08Isn't this a great, great day?
21:09I'm having so much fun.
21:20While the committee to re-elect the President
21:22was the official engine
21:23of Nixon's campaign,
21:27there remained an undeniable connection
21:29between its offices
21:30and staffers at the White House.
21:32My office at the start
21:35of the President's re-election campaign
21:37was doing a lot of the work.
21:43My name is John Dean.
21:45I was White House Counsel,
21:47otherwise known as
21:49Counsel of the President.
21:51The campaign wasn't really our job,
21:53but we found ourselves
21:55just taking on these responsibilities,
21:56so they got done.
22:02Bill, how are you?
22:03At this point,
22:04Mitchell was still Attorney General.
22:05Committee for the re-election of the President,
22:06and the committee to re-elect
22:08was just getting its bearings.
22:10And the re-election committee
22:11didn't have a lawyer,
22:15so Bud Krogh said,
22:17do you know Gordon Liddy?
22:19I said, no, I don't.
22:20I don't know him at all.
22:22He said, well,
22:23he's a former FBI agent,
22:24he's a good lawyer,
22:26and Ehrlichman thinks
22:27he would be ideal over there.
22:30We don't have any insurance.
22:31Ehrlichman was one of Nixon's
22:32closest advisors,
22:35and at his suggestion,
22:36Creep hired Gordon Liddy,
22:38one of the plumbers,
22:40as general counsel for the campaign.
22:42One day,
22:43my secretary said,
22:45Gordon Liddy wants to see you
22:47in his office right away.
22:49I thought that was strange,
22:51so I knocked on the door.
22:54He said, come in.
22:55I walked in.
22:56He said, shut the door.
22:58I shut the door.
22:59He was looking down at a paper.
23:02He looked up to me,
23:03and he said,
23:05get a fucking haircut.
23:06You represent the president
23:08of the United States.
23:10Now get the hell out of here.
23:12And he looked back down.
23:14There was this tremendous desire
23:17among Nixon's people
23:18to show how tough you were.
23:22This was meant to impress the boss.
23:26As the committee soon found out,
23:28there was a lot to Liddy's background
23:30that was left out of the introduction.
23:32They realized today
23:34that they were trying to get Liddy
23:36out of the White House.
23:39They think he's a loser.
23:41He's trouble.
23:42He's a loose cannon.
23:45So they pawn him off
23:46on myself and John Mitchell.
23:51I had been told to tell him
23:52that one of his assignments
23:54would be to gather
23:55political intelligence,
23:57that Mitchell clearly wanted that
23:59to be part of the general counsel's responsibility.
24:03The problem is,
24:04nobody had any idea
24:06that Liddy would flip that upside down.
24:17Jeb Magruder,
24:18the number two man
24:19at the re-election committee,
24:21calls me and said,
24:23Liddy has developed
24:24his intelligence gathering plans
24:26for the campaign
24:29and he wants to present them to Mitchell.
24:31Would you attend?
24:32Because I just think
24:33you should be there.
24:40At this meeting,
24:41Liddy has charts on an easel
24:44that I later learned
24:45he had had the CIA prepare.
24:50And he uses a series of gemstones
24:54as the keys.
24:55There's crystal, there's ruby.
24:57There are all these different plans.
25:00It's craziness, though.
25:09He says to Mitchell,
25:11General,
25:12what we're going to do
25:13to deal with the anti-war demonstrators
25:15is we're going to kidnap their leaders
25:18and drug them
25:20and take them below the border
25:23and keep them out of commission
25:24during the campaign.
25:30And Mitchell kind of puffs on his pipe
25:32and says, well, Gordon,
25:33I don't know if that's necessary.
25:39He had other things,
25:40like he was going to intercept
25:42ground-to-air communications
25:45with the president's opponent's airplane
25:48by having a chase plane.
25:54He went on and on
25:56with these different plans.
25:59And I was dumbfounded.
26:02At one point,
26:04I look over at Mitchell,
26:05who's puffing his pipe,
26:07and he kind of winks at me.
26:09Like, he's just hearing this out.
26:11He doesn't want to cause a ruckus over it
26:14and throw Liddy out the window,
26:15which is what he should have done.
26:16I kept my mouth shut for a long time
26:19until Liddy finally said,
26:22we also have a plan, General,
26:24to crack the inner circles
26:27of the Democratic Party.
26:32Will the 36th annual convention
26:35of the Democratic Party
26:37please come to us?
26:38Liddy says,
26:40down in Miami,
26:41near the convention center,
26:43we are leasing a houseboat
26:46that'll be on a canal,
26:48and it's got a two-way mirror on it.
26:52And we will record
26:54the Democratic Party officials
26:56who will lure to these houseboats
26:59with hookers.
27:07Who will get them to fess up
27:10some of the inner secrets
27:11of the Democratic Party?
27:22And at that point,
27:23I said, Gordon,
27:24I said, you've got to be kidding.
27:26And he shoots daggers
27:28in his looks at me
27:29when I interrupt his presentation.
27:32And he turns to Mitchell
27:34and he says,
27:35General, I want to assure you,
27:37these are the finest girls
27:38from Baltimore.
27:39They're very competent.
27:42But when Liddy says
27:44that he can do all this
27:46for a million dollars,
27:47Mitchell very clearly says,
27:48Gordon, that's far more money
27:50than we're going to spend
27:51on something like this.
27:53Why don't you go back
27:53to the drawing boards
27:54for something more realistic?
27:58John Mitchell seems to think
28:00that while some of Liddy's stuff
28:01is either too expensive
28:03or too ridiculous,
28:06that other elements
28:08are perfectly fine.
28:11And so what I said
28:13is the things you all
28:16are discussing
28:17should never be discussed
28:18in the office
28:19of the attorney general.
28:20I just thought it was insane
28:22and was giving everybody away
28:23to end this thing.
28:25And I didn't know
28:28if that would end it
28:29or what would end it.
28:35Dean's warnings
28:36didn't seem to stick
28:37and Liddy did not
28:38get kicked out
28:39of the office.
28:40With orders to trim his budget,
28:42he got to work
28:43and Mitchell turned
28:45his attention
28:45to another aspect
28:46of campaign life,
28:48the parties.
28:58He was here
28:59in Southern California
29:00where the fate
29:01of the Mitchells
29:02would ultimately unravel.
29:05Richard Nixon
29:05was a California native
29:07and throughout the years
29:08he would return
29:09to his home state
29:10in search of support
29:10for his political campaigns.
29:15In June of 1972
29:17my husband and I
29:19hosted a Hollywood
29:21Nixon soiree.
29:26My name is Carol Carruthers,
29:28Mrs. A.J. Carruthers.
29:30In the 70s
29:31we were living in Brentwood
29:33and also in Pacific Palisades.
29:35We did have a lovely
29:38large circle of friends.
29:39A lot of them
29:40were in show business,
29:41were in film,
29:42and television.
29:43Mary Ann Mobley
29:44and Gary Collins
29:45were very dear friends
29:47of ours
29:47and they wanted to host
29:50a fundraiser
29:51for the Republican Party.
29:53So they asked
29:54if they could use our house
29:55because we had
29:57a larger house
29:57and we lived
29:58on the Palisades cliffs
29:59overlooking the ocean
30:00so it was a nice setting.
30:02And so we said,
30:05sure, of course.
30:15During the 72 campaign,
30:17the committee to re-elect
30:18the president
30:19went west many times
30:20and the glamorous Hollywood
30:22soiree was a common event.
30:27These parties were held
30:28at lavish beachfront homes
30:29like Carol's
30:30and they were meant
30:31to attract donors
30:32as well as high society interest.
30:35You get a sense
30:36of what it felt like
30:37to be immersed in Nixonland
30:38in the summer of 1972.
30:42It was a lighthearted affair,
30:44a very nice gathering.
30:47It was a lovely day
30:48and full of glamorous people.
30:53Some politicians
30:54who were there as well.
30:57Statesmen, I should say.
30:59John and Martha Mitchell
31:01were the main attraction.
31:02There was a lot of press
31:03outside in the front
31:05of the house
31:05and they were all waiting
31:06for John and Martha Mitchell
31:07to come.
31:10She loved the campaign trail
31:11and she was a big draw
31:13by this time.
31:14They knew that
31:14if they invited Martha,
31:16the event would be sold out,
31:17packed to the gills
31:18if she was going to be there
31:19because she was
31:20such a media sensation.
31:23You're really in demand,
31:24aren't you?
31:25Well, I don't know about that.
31:27But do you like show business
31:28or politics?
31:29Well, they are very similar.
31:36Martha loved celebrities
31:37and there were plenty of them.
31:41Here we see Charlton Heston,
31:43Clint Eastwood,
31:44and John Wayne.
31:47One of the monkeys was there
31:49and it was Mickey Donuts
31:50and that was kind of exciting
31:52for the boys.
31:53The one that stands out the most
31:54was one of the monkeys.
31:57I was eight years old in 1972.
32:01One of the things
32:02that I remember most clearly
32:03about that day
32:06was walking around the house
32:08and in particular walking around
32:09in the front yard
32:10because the party was going on
32:11in the back
32:11so my brothers and I
32:12were kind of hanging around
32:13in the front yard.
32:15And at one point
32:16we found grown men
32:18in suits hiding in the bushes.
32:22We found out later
32:23that they were secret service men
32:24but at the time
32:25we didn't even know
32:26what a secret service man was.
32:28So it was confusing
32:30and surprising
32:31and we thought
32:32it was hysterical.
32:33So my brothers and I
32:34kept going up to them,
32:35you know, right up to them
32:36and saying,
32:36hi, what are you doing here?
32:38Why are you in the bushes?
32:41It was no wonder
32:42the secret service
32:43was swarming the place.
32:44First Lady Patricia Nixon,
32:46someone who always held Martha
32:48at a cool distance,
32:49was also in attendance.
32:51There was two such
32:52totally different women.
32:54Martha was up and vivacious
32:56and very celebrity conscious
32:59and I think Patricia
33:01was always uncomfortable
33:03in that circumstance.
33:06Patricia was very low-key
33:08and not flashy at all
33:10and I think she thought
33:11that Martha was sort of
33:13a flighty kind of person.
33:17So I don't think
33:18that they were close friends.
33:20But aside from the tension
33:21between the two political wives,
33:23the party was a great success,
33:25bringing in thousands of dollars
33:27for the Nixon campaign.
33:29At the same time,
33:30there were hints
33:31of other pressing business
33:32in the air.
33:34There were some secret service men
33:36who came in
33:36looking rather
33:39agitated and said,
33:39could they use a phone
33:41someplace that was private?
33:43And so they went upstairs
33:44to my office.
33:48And I heard someone
33:50talking to Jeb Magruder.
33:53Then Mary Ann told me
33:55that very quietly
33:56there had been a break-in
33:57and that's what
33:57they were concerned about.
33:59But she said,
33:59don't tell anybody.
34:00So of course I didn't.
34:12There was a break-in
34:14at the Democratic Party headquarters.
34:19Everybody thought
34:20it was nothing more
34:21than just a local
34:23Washington, D.C.
34:24B&E, as they called it,
34:26break-in and entering.
34:29I'm Leslie Stahl,
34:31correspondent at 60 Minutes.
34:34When it happened,
34:36CBS thought
34:37they should send someone
34:38because it was
34:39the Democratic Party headquarters.
34:42So they sent the new kid.
34:46They didn't think
34:47this was important at all.
34:48I didn't have a camera.
34:50I was just sent
34:51to cover the arraignment
34:52of the burglars.
34:55So I walked in
34:56with very little hope
34:57that I was going
34:58to have a real story.
35:02According to police,
35:04five men were caught
35:05with bugging equipment
35:06inside the Democratic
35:07National Committee headquarters
35:09at the Watergate.
35:10While trying to install
35:11eavesdropping equipment,
35:13the burglars broke
35:14through a fire escape door.
35:15By the time
35:16the first news
35:16of the burglary
35:17was trickling in
35:18over the airwaves,
35:19John Mitchell would have
35:20been fully aware
35:21of the situation.
35:23And in looking
35:24at images of that day,
35:26you begin to see them
35:27in a new light.
35:28What was going on
35:29behind the scenes?
35:31And how concerned
35:32was Mitchell
35:33in this moment?
35:40At one point
35:41during the afternoon,
35:43John Mitchell
35:44walked out to the edge
35:45of our property,
35:47which overlooked
35:47the ocean
35:48and down
35:49to the Pacific Coast Highway
35:51down the cliffs.
35:54There was not a fence.
35:56And he was awfully close
35:58to the edge.
35:59And so I just
36:01pulled him back
36:02and said,
36:03I think you should
36:03step back a little bit.
36:06And he just said,
36:08thank you very much
36:09and commented
36:10on what a pretty view
36:11it was
36:11and then went back inside.
36:14but I know
36:15what he was thinking
36:16as he looked out
36:18over that vast ocean
36:20to what was going to come next.
36:35When John Mitchell
36:36learns about this,
36:37he is very eager
36:38to get on a flight
36:39back to Washington, D.C.
36:40to handle things.
36:41But he can't
36:43show
36:44that this bothers him
36:45at all
36:46because he's not even
36:46supposed to know
36:47about this burglary.
36:50And he didn't say
36:51a word about any of this
36:53to Martha.
36:57Because the last thing
36:58that he wants
36:59is to have his
37:00very nosy,
37:02very gossipy wife,
37:03Martha Mitchell,
37:04sniffing around.
37:09So he decides
37:11to keep Martha
37:12back in California.
37:21Martha,
37:22unaware of the trouble
37:23back in D.C.,
37:24was looking forward
37:26to spending the weekend
37:26unwinding by the pool.
37:29And by the next morning,
37:31the Mitchells had arrived
37:32at their usual vacation spot.
37:37Further south
37:38toward Newport Beach,
37:40there are six lovely miles
37:42of sun-warmed sand
37:43for those who care.
37:44And who doesn't?
37:47Newport Beach
37:48is one hour south
37:49of Los Angeles.
37:54A modern hotel
37:55has long since replaced
37:56the Newporter Inn,
37:57which operated
37:58on these grounds
37:59in 1972.
38:00Back then,
38:01the Newporter Inn
38:02was a favorite
38:03of the Mitchell family,
38:04and it was a comfortable
38:05place for John
38:05to leave Martha
38:06while he went back east.
38:11John just told her
38:12that he needed
38:13to go back
38:13to Washington,
38:14but that everything
38:15was fine,
38:16and she could stay
38:17on the West Coast
38:18and enjoy the sun
38:19and the beach
38:19and not worry about
38:21anything going on
38:22back in Washington.
38:25John Mitchell
38:26quietly got his staff
38:27together
38:27and flew back to D.C.
38:38They left me
38:39in California.
38:45I knew something
38:46was wrong,
38:46but I didn't know
38:47exactly what it was.
38:50For the first day,
38:51John Mitchell
38:51kind of keeps her busy
38:52with pool parties
38:54and meeting with people,
38:55things like that,
38:56but then he has
38:58to kind of just
38:58make sure
38:59that she's
38:59in lockdown.
39:01Most of the offices
39:02have been checked
39:03for electronic bugs
39:04and none has been found.
39:06This Democratic
39:07National Committee
39:08break-in
39:08is going to be a story.
39:10It's going to be a story
39:11in the New York Times
39:12and the Washington Post
39:13and the Los Angeles Times.
39:14One of the suspects,
39:16James McCord,
39:16operates his own
39:17security company
39:18in Washington.
39:19And he knows
39:20that if she hears
39:22about the Watergate break-in,
39:24the gig is up
39:25because one of the burglars
39:27is a man named
39:28James McCord.
39:30This is a police photograph
39:32of James W. McCord.
39:34He is one of five persons
39:35surprised and arrested
39:37yesterday inside the headquarters.
39:38James McCord
39:39was somebody
39:39who Martha Mitchell knew
39:41because he had worked
39:42as kind of a bodyguard
39:44for John Mitchell
39:45and he was somebody
39:46who had been driving
39:48her kids back and forth
39:49to school.
39:50So Martha Mitchell
39:51knew that he was
39:52somebody connected
39:53to John Mitchell
39:54and the committee
39:55to re-elect the president
39:56and so she would know
39:57that he was connected
39:58to the administration
39:59and that the administration
40:00was involved.
40:02So he's got to keep her
40:03away from the television,
40:05away from the radio,
40:06away from the newspapers.
40:07McCord is a former CIA employee.
40:09It cleans and shines.
40:20So he has some of his people,
40:22including a bodyguard
40:23named Steve King,
40:24keep her huddled away
40:27in a room.
40:39But the quarantine
40:40did not last long.
40:42Despite King's best efforts,
40:44within the first days
40:46after the break-in,
40:47Martha got her hands
40:48on a copy of the L.A. Times.
40:51She sees James McCord's picture
40:54and predictably flips out.
41:00I call it the shock treatment.
41:02I didn't know anything
41:03that was going on.
41:05Why did they let me
41:07go all this time
41:08without knowing
41:09about the break-in
41:10at Watergate?
41:11Why did they leave me out here?
41:13Why did they suggest
41:14that I stay in California?
41:19In the article,
41:20Martha's husband
41:21was quoted saying
41:22that McCord
41:23wasn't really a member
41:24of the committee
41:25to re-elect the president.
41:26Former Attorney General
41:28John Mitchell said
41:29McCord and the others
41:30were neither acting
41:31on behalf of the campaign committee
41:32nor with its consent.
41:34All McCord had done for Creep,
41:36according to Mitchell's statement,
41:37was help install
41:38their security system
41:39months before the burglary.
41:41Mitchell said he was surprised
41:42and dismayed
41:43at the reports.
41:44Martha knew
41:45that her husband
41:45was lying,
41:47but she didn't know why.
41:49And so she does
41:50what Martha Mitchell
41:51does best.
41:52She sneaks away,
41:54finds a telephone,
41:55and she calls Helen Thomas,
41:57who covers the White House
41:59for UPI.
42:02He was in California
42:03and she sounded unhappy
42:05and she sounded,
42:06I thought, low
42:07and a bit lonely.
42:10John Mitchell
42:11and Richard Nixon's
42:12worst fears
42:13were about to come true.
42:14The mouth of the South herself,
42:16Martha Mitchell,
42:17knew that something
42:18was going on
42:19and she was going
42:20to talk about it.
42:24And I've never talked
42:25to her yet,
42:26but what I haven't gotten
42:26a good news story
42:28and the Democratic
42:29headquarters alleged
42:31bugging incident
42:32had broken out
42:33and that was my
42:33immediate question,
42:34well, what do you think
42:35about that?
42:36And this really set her off.
42:43she doesn't say,
42:45listen, I've got the dirt
42:46on James McCord.
42:47That would have made
42:48all of this a lot easier.
42:50Instead, what she says
42:51is that her husband
42:53needs to get out
42:54of the committee
42:55to re-elect the president,
42:56that she will leave him
42:57if he doesn't leave politics.
42:58And she said,
43:00I've given John
43:00an ultimatum.
43:02Pretty soon,
43:03I mean,
43:03we're into a conversation.
43:05And at this point,
43:06maybe she would have
43:07spilled the beans.
43:08But according to Helen Thomas,
43:10the thing that happened next
43:11is that she hears
43:12Martha yelling
43:14that somebody
43:15is taking the phone
43:16away from her.
43:18And then the line
43:19goes dead.
43:37That was the beginning
43:39of my being held a prisoner.
43:44I am up calling Helen Thomas
43:46and this bodyguard
43:48rushes in
43:48and jerked out
43:49the telephone.
43:55Mitchell then tries
43:57to escape.
43:59And in the kind
44:00of wrestling back and forth
44:01with the bodyguard,
44:02Steve King,
44:03she somehow puts her hand
44:05through a plate glass door.
44:08There's blood everywhere.
44:10It's an absolute mess.
44:13They also call in
44:15a psychiatrist.
44:17She recalls being
44:18held down in the bed
44:19while someone injects her
44:21with some kind
44:23of psychotropic drug.
44:34Meanwhile,
44:36back in Washington,
44:37Helen Thomas had heard enough
44:38to know something was up.
44:41I heard her saying,
44:43get away, get away.
44:44And I didn't know
44:45what was happening.
44:46And then there was
44:46a phone disconnect.
44:47She was just launching
44:49into something
44:49and it was very clear
44:51that somebody didn't
44:52want her to talk.
44:54So then I tried
44:56very hard to get in touch
44:57with John Mitchell
44:58and finally got him
44:59on the phone
44:59and he was not
45:01too perturbed.
45:02He said,
45:02I love that little girl.
45:05And he said,
45:06there, there,
45:06I've promised her
45:07that I am going
45:08to leave positive.
45:11So it seemed
45:12that everything
45:12was going to be all right.
45:16But everything
45:17was not going
45:18to be all right.
45:20In fact,
45:20things were about
45:21to get very ugly.
45:25After getting her hand
45:26stitched up
45:27at a local hospital,
45:28Martha flew back east.
45:30But she remained
45:31furious at her husband
45:32and deeply shaken
45:34by her experience.
45:35No, no, no, no.
45:36When I got back
45:37to New York,
45:38I had both arms
45:40and bandages.
45:41Was it the bodyguard,
45:42Steve King,
45:43who did that to you?
45:44Right.
45:45And how could he dare
45:47to do that
45:47to the wife
45:48of the former
45:49attorney general
45:49and now head of Crete?
45:50And why could they
45:51keep me in one room
45:52for so long, David?
45:54I didn't.
45:55Because I was
45:56the greatest challenge
45:57they had?
45:58I can answer
45:59your question.
46:06Earlier this week
46:07in one of her
46:07celebrated phone calls,
46:09Martha Mitchell
46:09threatened to leave
46:10her husband, John,
46:11unless he quit politics.
46:13She also claimed
46:14she had been manhandled
46:15by security agents
46:16working for President
46:17Nixon's
46:17re-election committee.
46:22Martha started to blow
46:23the whistle
46:24on Watergate.
46:29And the Republicans
46:30began to portray her
46:32as crazy
46:32so that we wouldn't
46:34believe her.
46:36The Nixon administration
46:37was putting out
46:38the line,
46:38a line that was put
46:39forward by John Mitchell,
46:40her husband, as well,
46:42saying,
46:43poor Martha,
46:44she's just gone
46:45a little crazy.
46:46Poor Martha,
46:47she had to go
46:48to a mental institution.
46:49Poor Martha,
46:49she's an alcoholic,
46:50she needs to go dry out.
46:53These White House rumors
46:55are persistent.
46:56Martha Mitchell's crazy.
46:57Martha Mitchell's an alcoholic.
46:59Martha Mitchell's this,
47:00Martha Mitchell's that.
47:02And putting out
47:03those stories,
47:04especially at a time
47:05when women weren't
47:07taken that seriously,
47:09it was a pretty easy way
47:10to discredit her
47:11by saying that
47:12she was hysterical.
47:14And that's exactly
47:14what the Nixon
47:15administration did.
47:19Some people feel
47:20that perhaps Martha
47:21is imbibing a bit
47:23or maybe she's
47:24a little bit high
47:24when she makes
47:25some of these calls.
47:26What do you think?
47:26You brought up
47:27the rumor that
47:27has gone around
47:28that Martha Mitchell
47:29drinks a lot.
47:30Yes.
47:31Do you do that?
47:32I drink as much
47:33as anybody else does.
47:35You said,
47:35Barbara,
47:35a lot of people say
47:36that I drink,
47:38that I'm an alcoholic.
47:39This is the normal
47:41thing that the White House
47:43has put out
47:43about people
47:44they want to discard
47:45and get rid of.
47:47The White House
47:47tried to have you work?
47:48I can document it
47:49and I have.
47:50Do you drink, Martha?
47:51Do you drink
47:52when you make
47:52those phone calls?
47:53I am.
47:54When I make phone calls?
47:56Phone calls.
47:58To be fair,
48:00Martha did like to drink.
48:02Johnny Walker Black
48:03on the rocks,
48:03to be precise.
48:05And she took pills.
48:07She lived
48:07an indulgent lifestyle
48:08that to an outsider
48:09could very well
48:10appear to be,
48:11well, crazy.
48:13And if you think
48:14about it,
48:15her story
48:16sounds insane.
48:18Martha,
48:19are you still
48:19in control of yourself,
48:20of your mind?
48:22Well, I feel I am.
48:23Like,
48:23nobody held you hostage
48:25and threw you
48:25through a plate glass door
48:26and then held you down
48:28and injected you
48:29with drugs.
48:29Is it possible
48:30that you are
48:31a paranoid person?
48:32I mean,
48:32this sounds crazy.
48:35Let me ask you
48:36the obvious question.
48:37What is obvious?
48:38Are you crazy?
48:40Yeah.
48:45So,
48:46maybe she was crazy.
48:47The question is,
48:49does that mean
48:50she was wrong?
48:52even I fell under
48:53the sway
48:54of this campaign
48:55to make her seem
48:56like she was nuts.
49:00The smear campaign worked.
49:02Over the next few months,
49:04the story of the break-in
49:05would drift away.
49:06But the unflattering
49:07portrayals of Martha
49:08would linger.
49:10As she had requested,
49:12John resigned from creep.
49:13former attorney general
49:14said he was quitting
49:15in order to be able
49:16to devote more time
49:17to his wife
49:17and family.
49:20In the eastern,
49:21midwestern,
49:22and southern states,
49:23indicate that
49:24if this trend...
49:25And in November,
49:26Nixon would win
49:27re-election,
49:28handily.
49:29President Nixon
49:30will be re-elected
49:31in a landslide,
49:33and it may,
49:34may surpass
49:35the record popular vote...
49:37Despite his resignation,
49:39the scrutiny of John Mitchell
49:41and his role
49:41in the Watergate affair
49:42remained.
49:45And over the course
49:46of the following year,
49:47things would get worse
49:48for the Mitchells.
49:49When did you first
49:51hear a bugging plan?
49:52On June 17th.
49:54Were discussions
49:54of bugging
49:55ever held
49:56in your presence
49:57with G. Gordon Liddy
49:59or Jeb Stuart Magruder?
50:02No such operations
50:04were ever approved
50:05by me
50:06at any time
50:07under any circumstances.
50:08Mr. Mitchell.
50:09Mr. Mitchell
50:10has become
50:10the fall of God.
50:13Don't you agree with me?
50:16By the spring of 1973,
50:19Martha began
50:20to fully defend
50:20her husband
50:21against the gathering
50:22storm of Watergate.
50:24And you can place
50:25all the blame
50:26right on the White House.
50:28And if you've got
50:29any sense at all,
50:30you'll go out
50:31and find out
50:32where it is.
50:33What do you mean
50:34on the White House?
50:36What do I mean
50:37on the White House?
50:39The blame
50:39on the White House.
50:40Well,
50:41where do you think
50:42all this originated?
50:43Do you think
50:44my husband's
50:44that stupid?
50:45And whom do you think
50:47he's been protecting?
50:49Whom?
50:50I have no idea
50:51who.
50:51The president
50:52and I have never
50:53discussed the
50:54Watergate aspects
50:55and those details
50:57except insofar
50:58as they affected
50:58the campaign.
50:59Why not?
51:00Excuse me.
51:01Ladies and gentlemen.
51:03Why not,
51:04Mr. Mitchell?
51:05The news was
51:06tightening around
51:07John Mitchell.
51:08So you boys
51:09go out
51:10and get some
51:11information.
51:12That's what
51:13I'm asking you.
51:14Go out
51:15and get some
51:15information.
51:17And Martha Mitchell
51:18was kind of
51:19the canary
51:19in the goldmine.
51:21She kept
51:21telling us,
51:23this is going to
51:23unravel.
51:24Something awful
51:25is happening.
51:27Isn't it horrible?
51:28Isn't it
51:30unbelievable
51:30that John and I
51:32we go to Washington
51:33and try to do
51:34something good
51:34for our country
51:35and what do we
51:36end up?
51:37Isn't it horrible?
51:40I'll tell them.
51:41I'll tell them all.
51:43And you know
51:43what they're going
51:44to do.
51:44They'll probably
51:45end up killing me.
51:46But I depend
51:47on you,
51:48the press,
51:49to protect me.
51:51Your wife has said
51:52or at least
51:52been quoted as saying
51:53she felt her life
51:54was even in jeopardy.
51:57Well,
51:58I don't know
51:58who quoted her
51:59as saying it,
52:00but she looks
52:00pretty good to me
52:01and I think
52:01she's in pretty
52:02good shape.
52:03Did she in fact
52:03say that?
52:18Did she in fact say that?
52:28Martha had told me
52:29I was still telling me
52:30I was the most
52:31wonderful woman
52:32on the earth.
52:33You just don't
52:34change overnight
52:35like that
52:36unless something
52:37happens.
52:40After her experience
52:41in California,
52:43Martha had made
52:43one request
52:44of her husband.
52:45It came down
52:46down to a question
52:47of loyalty.
52:48He had to choose
52:50between her
52:50and his old friend
52:51Richard Nixon.
52:53Ultimately,
52:54John chose the latter.
52:57The strain
52:58of the past few weeks
52:59has been obvious.
53:00He's a very angry man.
53:02Come on, fellas,
53:03we've got to get
53:03that point.
53:13As far as
53:14John Mitchell's
53:15concerned,
53:16he's dead.
53:18Absolutely dead.
53:19He doesn't exist.
53:22Well, you're
53:24separated now
53:24and planning to get
53:25divorced, are you,
53:26at some point?
53:27Will you ever
53:28marry again,
53:28do you think?
53:29No.
53:30No.
53:31No.
53:32Why not?
53:33Well, I've lost
53:34my trust
53:35in human nature.
53:37But lost your
53:38trust in human nature
53:39because you've
53:40seen too much
53:41what?
53:42Because I have
53:43loved a man
53:44to the hilt
53:45and then all
53:47of a sudden
53:47everything turns
53:48out to be lies.
53:50How can you
53:51take it?
53:52How can you
53:53trust anybody?
53:55How can you
53:56believe in anybody?
53:57It's impossible.
54:08Here are more
54:09details in the news
54:10and here is
54:10Lew Wood.
54:11Good morning.
54:11Good morning,
54:12Barbara.
54:12Good morning,
54:13everyone.
54:14As you have learned,
54:15Martha Mitchell,
54:15who was known
54:16for her outspoken
54:17comments at the
54:18time of Watergate,
54:19died this morning
54:19in a New York
54:20hospital.
54:21She had been
54:21under treatment
54:22for some months
54:23Martha died in 1976,
54:26estranged from her
54:27husband and ravaged
54:28by bone cancer.
54:43Martha passed away
54:45in a big New York
54:46hospital all by
54:48herself and alone.
54:50If she had a bit
54:51around here,
54:52I'm certain,
54:53without a doubt,
54:54she wouldn't
54:54have been alone.
54:55So,
54:57I guess that's
54:58the price she pays
54:58when you leave
54:59home, isn't it?
55:02If she was around
55:04now,
55:04I'd no tell her
55:04what would be
55:05going on.
55:09After her funeral,
55:10Pine Bluff
55:11erected a bust
55:12in her honor.
55:13On the bust's
55:14granite pedestal,
55:15there is an
55:15inscription,
55:18Ye shall know
55:18the truth,
55:19and the truth
55:20shall make you
55:20free.
55:23She kept
55:24telling us,
55:26this is big.
55:28The whole structure
55:29of our system
55:30is going to unravel.
55:33She was a major figure.
55:36Doesn't get enough
55:37credit for her bravery.
55:43Psychologists talk
55:44about a phenomenon
55:45in which someone
55:45gets diagnosed
55:46as delusional
55:47because they're
55:47saying things
55:48that seem totally
55:49crazy and implausible.
55:50but then it turns
55:51out that they're
55:52not crazy at all
55:53and what they're
55:54saying is true.
55:56They call that
55:56phenomenon
55:57the Martha Mitchell
55:58effect.
56:12In the aftermath
56:13of the break-in,
56:14Martha was not
56:15the only one
56:16raising hell
56:16over crazy,
56:17implausible things.
56:19And as we will
56:20come to see,
56:20there were plenty
56:21of those to go around.
56:26Wads of foreign currency
56:27in the hands
56:28of CIA operatives.
56:29President Nixon
56:29has cooled down
56:30an iron curtain
56:31of secrecy.
56:32Death threats
56:33wielded in Capitol Hill
56:34elevators.
56:35He's proved himself
56:36to be a gutless coward.
56:39Recording devices
56:40hidden in the Oval Office.
56:41If cancer be removed
56:42immediately.
56:43Anybody who would be
56:44in politics right now
56:45would do the same thing
56:46as Nixon is doing.
56:47Repeat Nixon now!
56:47Repeat Nixon now!
56:49Repeat Nixon now!
56:51It would all unfold
56:52on television.
56:53In the living rooms
56:54of millions of Americans
56:55who, like Richard Nixon,
56:58had no idea
56:58how any of it
56:59would turn out.
57:01The story keeps
57:02getting stranger.
57:04And we're just
57:05getting started.
57:06I actually realized
57:08what had happened.
57:10And that was
57:11the beginning.
57:12The story keeps
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