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00:12Suspected of knowing too much about the Watergate break-in, Martha Mitchell, the wife of Richard
00:17Nixon's attorney general, was held hostage in a California hotel. When she tried to ring
00:23the alarm and tell the public what she knew, she was smeared as a lunatic and a drunk.
00:28With one dangerous Watergate whistleblower dispatched, Nixon had good reason to believe
00:34the scandal would never touch him.
00:44Okay. After almost 50 years, Watergate has become a story associated with a few iconic characters,
00:53a handful of names inextricably linked to the historic downfall of an American president.
00:59Because people have got to know whether or not their president's a crook. Well, I'm not a crook.
01:04Richard Nixon, of course, John Dean, John Mitchell, and his lesser known but no less memorable wife,
01:11Martha. But I want to tell you about a few other characters. Specifically, two men who, like Martha
01:21Mitchell, played roles in the story that are larger than history or members. I'd like to begin by going
01:27back to six weeks before the burglary even happened. To May 4, 1972. And to the funeral of one of
01:38those two men.
01:39They had a ceremony in Washington today for J. Edgar Hoover, whose body lay in the rotunda of the Capitol.
01:45The casket was draped with...
01:47J. Edgar Hoover's body was found slumped beside his bed. It was a heart attack that killed him.
01:52And even though he was 77, his death caught the country off guard.
01:56There were dozens of expressions of sorrow made today, but the most significant came from the president.
02:01President Richard Nixon took a surprisingly heavy hand in organizing the memorial service.
02:05And he made sure that its grandeur matched the legacy that Hoover would leave behind.
02:11With the throngs of people, the solemn music, the ceremony of it all, it was exactly what Hoover didn't want.
02:19They gave me thought of the memorial service. He said, I know he didn't want any ceremonies.
02:25Nobody wants a ceremony. But see, that is, nobody there wants a ceremony. But you've got to get Hoover going.
02:28When I hear that, it sounds to me like a man who always knows what's best for everyone.
02:33We're going to have a hell of a ceremony for you. Did you go to any church?
02:39We all know someone kind of like that. Despite what you might say, he knows better.
02:45The president is decimated because he's buried in harmony.
02:48We might not put out there and put a torch up for him.
02:50Watergate is in many ways a story of a man who felt he knew better.
02:54For his friends, for his party, and for his country.
02:58And it's a story of how that unshakable insistence became the very thing that did him in.
03:03The president paused before the casket of his closest personal friend in government.
03:07It feels strange to begin with a funeral.
03:10But if Hoover hadn't died when he did, I don't think Watergate would have happened at all.
03:26Watergate
03:43What was it like to live through Watergate without knowing how it was all going to end?
03:51Causing this nation to neglect matters of far greater importance.
03:58One way to find out is to look at that moment of American history as seen through the eyes of
04:04the people who lived it.
04:06Back when they had no idea what was coming.
04:08If we learn the important lessons of Watergate, we can emerge from this experience a better and a stronger nation.
04:31Like any great story, Watergate has good guys, bad guys, and some guys who leave you unsure as to which
04:37side of that line they're on.
04:40What kind of role did J. Edgar Hoover play in the greatest American political scandal of the 20th century?
04:46It's an interesting question, given that he wasn't around for any of it.
04:50But hear me out.
04:51Once you start to see it, his shadow is all over this story.
04:56From modest beginnings, he rose to the pinnacle of his profession
05:01and established a worldwide reputation that was without equal.
05:07J. Edgar Hoover was probably the most powerful man in government in 1972.
05:14Hoover was certainly the longest serving man in government.
05:18He had become head of the FBI in 1924.
05:27Heading up the nation's program of internal security
05:29is the FBI's famed career man, John Edgar Hoover.
05:34We must not for a moment lose sight of our goal
05:38to teach the criminal who can't get away with it.
05:46By 1972, Hoover had been the face of American law and order for eight presidencies.
05:51Eight separate administrations coming and going,
05:54all with different agendas and motives,
05:57and all having to deal with Hoover.
05:59If you were an incoming president, Hoover basically came with the furniture.
06:03But when Nixon was sworn in,
06:04he felt that he had a friend in the head of the bureau.
06:07Hoover and Nixon had been really tight for about two decades
06:11before Nixon was actually elected president.
06:16And that started when Nixon was a member of the House Committee on Un-American Activities,
06:21the chief communist hunting arm of the House at that point.
06:26They worked very closely with the FBI.
06:27We ask every citizen to immediately report any information regarding espionage
06:33to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
06:36So they started out with this political relationship really built around anti-communist politics,
06:42but then they actually became friends.
06:47They were two very powerful men,
06:49and both had a wide definition of what constituted a threat to that power.
06:53Nixon and Hoover shared a truly binary worldview.
06:57You were either with them or you were against them.
07:00They say sometimes that Mr. Hoover is controversial.
07:03Let me tell you something.
07:04Anybody who's strong is bound to be controversial.
07:09And being both friends and political allies,
07:11they would help each other out,
07:13particularly with something that can be more valuable in D.C. than money,
07:17information.
07:19To give you an idea of how they worked together,
07:21here's a memo Hoover dictated in 1970.
07:244.32 p.m., November 25, 1970,
07:28the Honorable H.R. Haldeman, assistant to the president, called.
07:32He stated the president wanted him to ask for a rundown on the homosexuals
07:37known and suspected in the Washington Press Corps.
07:40I said I thought we have some of that material,
07:42and we ought to be able to send it over, certainly not later than Friday.
07:47Very truly yours, John Edgar Hoover, director.
07:51Now that seems like a pretty easy process for getting intel.
07:55But it's right around this time that Nixon determined
07:57that he needed to kick his intelligence gathering into a higher gear,
08:00one where he didn't need to go through his old friend Hoover to get it.
08:04He was thinking ahead to re-election in 1972.
08:07And the new direction that he had promised for the country back in 1968
08:11really wasn't taking shape.
08:13He had come in vowing to end the Vietnam War.
08:18I pledge to you, we shall have an honorable end to the war in Vietnam.
08:25This time, vote like your whole world depended on it.
08:35Here he was, two years later.
08:37The war was still raging.
08:39The war had grown increasingly unpopular under Nixon's watch,
08:43especially after the discovery of what had happened at My Lai.
08:45How many people do you imagine were killed that day?
08:49I'd say about 370.
08:51But how do you shoot babies?
08:54I don't know, just warning things.
08:57And then, at an anti-war demonstration at Kent State,
09:00the National Guard shot unarmed students.
09:06Today, the guardsmen opened fire on the students, killing four of them.
09:10All of a sudden, I heard them shooting,
09:11and then I saw people dropping to the ground.
09:15So, by late 1970,
09:17if Nixon was curious about how much voters blamed him
09:20for the escalating civil discord in the country,
09:22the November midterms would give him a pretty good idea.
09:25The Nixon administration made Tuesdays off-year elections
09:28a national referendum.
09:30They lost it.
09:32After the midterms, he was looking very vulnerable.
09:36Which is why, in preparation for the political battle he faced
09:39in getting re-elected in 1972,
09:41he wanted more information, more quickly.
09:50He was unhappy with what he was learning about the anti-war movement.
09:54He wanted to know more about what they were doing,
09:56why they were doing it.
10:06Some of the demonstrations were affecting his ability to govern.
10:10He wanted better anti-war intelligence.
10:13There was something called the Houston Plan.
10:17Nixon had a young aide named Tom Houston generate a proposal
10:20outlining a new intelligence plan
10:22that was going to go more aggressively against the anti-war movement.
10:26It called for things like opening mail and burglary.
10:30It also sought to consolidate all the intelligence agencies under one roof,
10:33the White House.
10:36Houston sent it over to Hoover's office for approval.
10:38The plan had so offended Hoover,
10:41who had put a footnote,
10:43saying, no, the FBI wouldn't cooperate with this.
10:48Nixon's endgame with the Houston Plan went beyond anti-war protesters.
10:52He wanted intelligence on anyone he deemed a political enemy.
10:56But Hoover balked.
10:58Using FBI resources to go after Nixon's enemies would not only be illegal,
11:02it would shrink the power and independent standing
11:04that Hoover had spent a lifetime building.
11:07They really have a big showdown about that,
11:11and it is not Nixon, but Hoover, who wins.
11:14For Nixon, I can imagine this felt personal.
11:18Here was an old friend cutting him off.
11:20But Hoover was also, in his own way, looking out for him.
11:24Hoover doesn't want to give up control there,
11:26but he also does warn Nixon that those sorts of things
11:29could get him into pretty serious political trouble.
11:41That warning must have faded from Nixon's mind
11:43by the time Hoover died two years later.
11:46His death only heightens the respect and admiration
11:49felt for him across this land
11:51and in every land where men cherish freedom.
11:56And with the longstanding FBI director gone,
12:00so too went the obstacle standing between Nixon
12:02and the intelligence he was after.
12:11In the American League, Kansas City 13, Boston 9, New York.
12:17Orange Plus, frozen concentrate for Orange Brick.
12:23The Democratic National Committee
12:25is trying to solve a spy mystery.
12:27It began before dawn Saturday
12:28when five intruders were captured by police.
12:30Lake Chicago Cubs 10, San Diego 1.
12:33Pittsburgh took a doubleheader from San Francisco.
12:35Earlier, I said I wanted to introduce you
12:37to two characters not typically associated with Watergate.
12:40Well, it was right about here, after the break-in,
12:43the second man entered the picture.
12:45Five members present, Mr. Chairman.
12:47His legacy is not as large as Hoover's.
12:49But were it not for a few crooked turns
12:51in the story of Watergate,
12:52I think it would have been.
12:55I'd be glad to yield any questions I can answer.
12:59Yes, sir.
13:00Meet Wright Patman.
13:06At the time of the Watergate break-in,
13:08Wright Patman was a 78-year-old Democratic congressman
13:11and chair of the House Banking Committee.
13:14Wright Patman was a long-serving member of Congress
13:17from Northeast Texas.
13:22He was first elected in 1928,
13:25and he saw Washington, D.C.
13:28as the place that he could have the most impact
13:31on people like his family.
13:36Rural Americans were being left behind,
13:40and he wanted to change that.
13:44In Wright Patman's early days in Congress,
13:47he pushed for Andrew Mellon
13:50to be impeached as Secretary of the Treasury.
13:54Mellon was pushing for tax cut after tax cut
13:57after tax cut to benefit the wealthy,
14:01and so he wanted Mellon out of power.
14:04Finally, after Patman made so much noise
14:06about impeaching him,
14:08Mellon was forced out of office
14:09and reassigned to a much lesser job
14:11as the ambassador to England.
14:13For young Wright Patman, it counted as a victory.
14:16Oh, he was a legend.
14:17I just love the old man.
14:18He had just been a fighter
14:19from the time he came to Congress
14:21and just fought all the way through.
14:23He was a real hero.
14:25My name is Peggy Lewis.
14:26I was one of the team members
14:27for Wright Patman
14:28and the House Banking Committee in 1972.
14:32His one drawback,
14:34as far as the staff was concerned,
14:36Mr. Patman worked every Saturday morning,
14:38so we had to work every Saturday morning.
14:41That was that.
14:43The committee will stand at recess,
14:44subject of call to the chair.
14:47And in the summer of 1972,
14:50weekend work was going to be necessary
14:51for the House Banking Committee
14:52because its leader was about to launch
14:54an extremely ambitious investigation,
14:56rooted in a hunch.
14:57The burglars broke through a fire escape door
14:59that led to the committee's offices.
15:01Wright Patman got suspicious
15:02when the initial reports
15:03about the Watergate break-in
15:04revealed that one of the burglars
15:06worked for Nixon's re-election committee, Creep.
15:09His name was James McCord,
15:10who you might remember
15:12worked as security for Martha Mitchell.
15:13One of the suspects, James McCord,
15:15was doing work for the Republican National Committee
15:17and the committee to re-elect President Nixon.
15:20The person who's running for office
15:22and the money's being raised for him
15:24and nobody else,
15:25he's in charge as he should be,
15:28and if he's not,
15:29he's running a very poor campaign.
15:31The White House held the line
15:33and characterized the break-in at the Watergate
15:35as a third-rate burglary
15:36and dismissed any connection to it,
15:38which may have been enough
15:39to stave off a few questions from the press.
15:41But someone like Wright Patman
15:43had the authority
15:43to launch a congressional investigation.
15:46Creep and the White House
15:47would need to get their story straight and fast.
15:59Right after the Watergate burglary,
16:01John Dean,
16:02then counsel to the president,
16:04was in California
16:05when he got an urgent phone call
16:07telling him the president's assistant,
16:08John Ehrlichman,
16:09was looking for him.
16:10Something happened
16:11at the Democratic National Committee
16:13that involves the re-election committee,
16:16and I think you better get home.
16:23And there was a remarkable story
16:25in the Washington Post
16:27by two reporters I'd never heard of,
16:30Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
16:33It didn't take me very long
16:34to put together what had happened
16:36while reading this column.
16:38Remember Operation Gemstone?
16:40Gordon Liddy's plans
16:41that called for hiring prostitutes,
16:43illegal surveillance,
16:44and breaking and entering?
16:45Remember that John Dean
16:47was also at that meeting.
16:48It was clear
16:49that whatever Liddy's plans were
16:52had continued,
16:54and my efforts to kill it
16:56had not succeeded.
16:58I think until we know the facts,
16:59it's rather difficult to respond.
17:02Certainly we deplore it,
17:04but the fact remains
17:05that one of the five
17:06was a Republican National Committee employee.
17:09Then John Ehrlichman called,
17:10and I said,
17:11do you think I should meet with Liddy?
17:12He said, absolutely,
17:13and report back to me.
17:16The money the men
17:17who were arrested this weekend had
17:18was traced to Miami and Philadelphia.
17:21As chair of the House Banking Committee,
17:23Patman had the power
17:24to open a congressional investigation
17:25into pretty much anything he wanted,
17:27so long as it had a banking angle.
17:30And with a creep staffer
17:31as one of the burglars
17:32and the money found at the scene,
17:34Patman's angle
17:35was beginning to take shape.
17:36The burglars were found
17:38to have a large sum of money
17:40on their persons.
17:42Those bills were in serial number order.
17:46So that, combined with the fact
17:48that the location of the break-in
17:50was the Democratic Party headquarters
17:53in a presidential election year,
17:56was more than enough
17:58to set Patman's radar off.
18:03He immediately wanted
18:05an investigation.
18:06He smelled a rat.
18:09It's been learned
18:09that another man rented the room
18:11in the Watergate Hotel
18:12where the suspects were staying.
18:13The other man
18:14who rented the room
18:15was Gordon Liddy.
18:16But unless you either
18:17organized the break-in
18:18or you were actively
18:18trying to clean it up,
18:19you probably didn't know that yet.
18:23I'm about to meet with Liddy
18:24and he's about to confess with me.
18:25Yeah, okay.
18:28So I called Liddy,
18:30asked him to come over to my office,
18:31but I intercepted him
18:33before he got to the White House.
18:37And stopped him on 17th Street.
18:41I realized I didn't want him
18:42in the White House complex.
18:47There was a park bench
18:49and we each kind of put our foot
18:50up on that bench
18:51and he said,
18:52it was my mistake
18:54to use McCord.
18:57He said,
18:58I realized
18:58that was a terrible mistake.
19:00He said,
19:01Magruder cut my budget so badly
19:03that I had to hire somebody
19:05that had this capability
19:06and McCord was interested
19:09and I got him for a good price,
19:11but it was a mistake.
19:12I, it's directly traceable
19:14back to the re-election committee.
19:19And I said,
19:20this does sound like a disaster.
19:22And he said,
19:23listen,
19:24I know you may
19:26want to make arrangements
19:27to have me taken out,
19:29but don't do it at my house.
19:31I got kids there
19:32and it'd be a mess.
19:33And I said,
19:34what are you talking about, Gordon?
19:35He said,
19:36he said,
19:36I understand
19:37that I really may
19:38have cost the president
19:40his campaign.
19:41I don't know
19:42where this is going to go.
19:44But he said,
19:44if you want to take me out,
19:46you just tell me
19:46what street corner to be on
19:48and when to be there
19:49and you can do it.
19:52And I said,
19:53well, Gordon,
19:53I don't think
19:54we've reached that stage
19:56at this point.
20:00Say what you will
20:00about Nixon,
20:01but the man certainly
20:02inspired loyalty
20:03from his people.
20:09But so did Wright Patman,
20:11a congressman
20:12now on a mission.
20:141972,
20:15the year
20:15that out of two major
20:16parties in our country,
20:18one of them
20:19boldly attempted
20:20to assassinate the other.
20:29Patman's investigation
20:30into what happened
20:31at Watergate
20:31officially began
20:32on August 17, 1972.
20:34I was fiercely loyal
20:36to Patman
20:37because I believed
20:38in what he was doing.
20:41My name is Curtis Prins
20:43and for 10 years,
20:45I was the chief investigator
20:47of the banking committee
20:49of the U.S. House
20:50of Representatives.
20:52He said,
20:53Kurt,
20:53I want you to start
20:54looking into this.
20:56And that was about
20:58the only guidance
20:59that I had.
21:00It was kind of
21:03make it up
21:04as you go along.
21:05There wasn't a lot
21:06of information
21:07to go on.
21:08A recently passed
21:09piece of legislation
21:10would impact their inquiry.
21:12President Nixon today
21:13signed into law
21:14a measure which is
21:14designed to limit
21:15the amount of money
21:16candidates for federal office
21:18can spend
21:18in their campaigns
21:19and which will require
21:21them to tell more
21:22completely where
21:23they got the money.
21:23On April 7, 1972,
21:26a new law had made it
21:27so that all political
21:28donations had to be
21:29made public.
21:30It seems insane,
21:31but before that date,
21:32you could give a president
21:33any amount of money
21:34you wanted,
21:35millions of undocumented
21:36dollars,
21:37and you could walk away
21:38like a ghost,
21:39which is exactly what
21:40a lot of Nixon supporters
21:41were doing.
21:42The April 7th date,
21:43as it was approaching,
21:45a lot of people
21:46were coming to Washington
21:49to give money
21:50to the committee
21:51to re-elect the president,
21:53creep as it was called.
21:55They wanted to get
21:56the money in
21:57before they had to
21:58publicly identify it.
22:00And one of the people
22:01who gave a million dollars
22:04was the chairman
22:05of Pennzoil.
22:07He turned out to be
22:09really a nice guy,
22:10answered all my questions,
22:13he explained to me
22:14that on the morning
22:16of April 7th,
22:17when he got to Washington,
22:18he went to the committee
22:20to turn the money in.
22:23Committee for the re-election
22:24of the president,
22:24may I help you?
22:25And there were
22:26so many people there
22:27that they told him
22:28he had to take a number
22:29and come back
22:31the next day.
22:32Can you imagine
22:33being so busy
22:34collecting money
22:35that you tell a million dollars
22:36to come back tomorrow?
22:37So he said he slept
22:38in a hotel room
22:39with the money
22:40on the pillow
22:42next to him.
22:45After April 7th,
22:46if you wanted to give
22:47a lot of money
22:48to the president
22:48and not have anyone
22:49find out who you were,
22:51you would need
22:51to get creative
22:52with things like
22:53shell companies
22:53and money laundering.
22:55So when the Washington Post
22:56reported that
22:56one of the burglars
22:57had $89,000
22:58deposited into his bank account
23:00in the form of
23:01Mexican checks,
23:02it drew a few dots
23:03for Patman.
23:04That bank account
23:04belongs to one
23:05of the men
23:06arrested June 17th
23:08at 2.30 in the morning
23:09in the national headquarters
23:10of the Democratic Party.
23:12But he could not yet
23:13connect them all.
23:15Nixon was the boss
23:16and these guys
23:19would do anything
23:20to protect him.
23:22I knew that the staff
23:24was involved.
23:25I knew that there
23:26were some donors involved.
23:29But I didn't know
23:30at that time
23:31that it went
23:32all the way
23:33to the president.
23:35The White House
23:36today simply refused
23:37to comment
23:38on any charges
23:39against the committee
23:40for the re-election
23:40of the president.
23:41So the various strands
23:42of the story were there.
23:44The botched break-in,
23:45the bills in serial order,
23:47the creep staffer,
23:48the Mexican bank.
23:49But it was almost
23:50too abstract
23:50to piece together.
23:51The cast of the
23:52Watergate caper
23:53is full of silent,
23:55shadowy figures.
23:56So it is nice
23:57cops and robbers.
23:58But all the evidence
23:59we find is that
24:00as a political issue
24:01it is falling flat.
24:03But that did nothing
24:04to slow down
24:04Wright Patton's pursuit.
24:06He wanted to keep at it,
24:07keep digging.
24:08He'd been a thorn
24:09in someone's side
24:10his whole career.
24:11He had no problem
24:12becoming one
24:12for the president.
24:13Of course,
24:14they'll try to put it off
24:15until after the election,
24:16all the trials
24:17and everything else
24:18to smother it down.
24:20Richard Nixon
24:21was not at all
24:23enthused
24:23to have Wright Patton
24:25asking questions
24:26about the Watergate
24:27break-in.
24:36Push it,
24:37as in,
24:38put it off
24:38until after the election.
24:40Besides all the power
24:41of his office,
24:42Nixon also had time
24:43on his side.
24:44If you worked
24:45in any elections,
24:46local,
24:47state,
24:48or federal,
24:49the day after the election,
24:50everything is gone.
24:51The staff is gone,
24:52your paperwork is gone,
24:53and so on and so forth.
24:54You have to get
24:55to those people
24:57before the election.
24:58That was the crunch
25:00to get things done.
25:01If someone could die
25:04from a broken heart,
25:07would I be alive?
25:12I need to leave the past
25:15and make a brand new start.
25:17Spread my wings and fly.
25:22By September 1972,
25:25Patton's investigation
25:25was up,
25:26but not running
25:27as smoothly as he wanted.
25:29I tried to interview
25:31the people involved
25:33in the committee
25:33to re-elect the president.
25:37The chairman of that committee
25:38was Maurice Stanz.
25:42Where is it?
25:43Good morning, Mr. Stanz.
25:44We didn't have subpoena power,
25:46which is like trying
25:48to go swimming
25:49without any water.
25:51When you don't have
25:53subpoena power,
25:54you can't, quote,
25:55coerce anybody
25:56in to answering.
25:59We start asking questions,
26:02and every time
26:03we'd ask a question,
26:05Maurice Stanz would get up
26:06and walk down the hall,
26:08and he opened a door.
26:10It was a room
26:12that was about the size
26:14of a walk-in closet.
26:17Not much bigger than that.
26:19There must have been
26:2015 people crammed in there.
26:22It was like a clown car
26:24that you see
26:25in the service.
26:28They were all
26:29in suits and ties,
26:31and you could tell
26:33that they were
26:34people who
26:35were connected
26:36to something bigger
26:37than just the committee
26:38to re-elect the president.
26:41He'd come back
26:42and say,
26:42well, I can't answer
26:43that question.
26:44So he'd ask another question.
26:46He kept going back
26:47to this little room
26:49full of lawyers.
26:50It was clear
26:51he was trying
26:52to find out
26:53what we knew,
26:55and they refused
26:56to answer any question.
26:58So at the end of the time,
27:00Maurice Stanz
27:00walked over to me
27:01with his hand extended,
27:03and I said to him
27:04in a rather clear voice,
27:07I'm not shaking
27:08your fucking hand.
27:09Maurice Stanz
27:11did not take kindly
27:12to Prince's rebuke.
27:12The manner in which
27:14certain staff members
27:15of the Patman committee
27:16have behaved
27:17in this entire matter
27:18is the most shocking example
27:20of partisan misbehavior
27:22and discourtesy
27:23that I've encountered
27:24in all of my years
27:25in public life.
27:27They were rude
27:28and insulting
27:29to the point
27:30of using
27:31foul obscenities.
27:33To this day,
27:35I'm proud
27:36that I did that.
27:37I probably would have hit him,
27:39but then I would have
27:40gone to jail.
27:41The news reports state
27:43that I knew of
27:45and approved
27:45complex plans
27:47to transfer funds
27:49from contributors
27:50in the United States
27:51to Mexican banks
27:54and then to the finance committee
27:56to reelect the president.
27:58That is not true.
28:01Stanz knew about it.
28:02Certainly he is bound
28:03to know about it.
28:04Ray Patman developed a theory.
28:06He believed that there was this
28:07corrupt system
28:09of campaign donations
28:11to undertake campaign activities
28:14that would not be deemed
28:18ethical and proper.
28:21But in order to prove that,
28:22he would need subpoena power,
28:24which he could get
28:25only with the majority
28:26of the House banking committee
28:27granting it.
28:28So Patman scheduled a meeting
28:30to be held in October,
28:31in which the committee
28:32would take a vote.
28:32In the meantime,
28:34he asks his staff
28:35to prepare a preliminary report,
28:37which would serve as evidence
28:38to convince his colleagues
28:39to vote yes.
28:41This report detailed
28:43pretty much
28:44every major player
28:46in the Watergate scandal
28:49who had been involved
28:50with the break-in,
28:52where did the cash come from,
28:54the black bag tactics
28:57of the Nixon campaign.
28:59The report leaked,
29:01and stories about what it contained
29:02ran on the evening news.
29:04A report,
29:04a search that stands new
29:06of the transfer
29:07of at least $100,000
29:08in campaign contributions
29:10from a bank in Mexico
29:12to his office in Washington.
29:14The so-called secret fund,
29:16used allegedly
29:17to finance political surveillance
29:18and sabotage.
29:20The leaking of the report
29:21increases public awareness
29:24of what happened
29:25and the need
29:26for some sort of investigation
29:28in the campaign.
29:36With the 1972 election
29:37weeks away,
29:38the last thing anyone
29:39in the White House wanted
29:40were questions
29:41from Wright Patman,
29:42especially questions
29:43about the committee
29:44to re-elect the president
29:45and how they'd been spending
29:46their money
29:46over the last year or so.
29:48Because they'd been very busy
29:49spending a lot of it
29:50on some very questionable things.
30:02As the field
30:02of Democratic candidates
30:03vying for the nomination
30:04in 1972 took shape,
30:07Nixon sized up the competition.
30:09And in doing so,
30:10he wisely saw Edmund Muskie,
30:12the senator from Maine,
30:13and Hubert Humphrey,
30:14the senator from Minnesota,
30:15as strong opponents
30:16in the upcoming general election.
30:18And just as shrewdly,
30:20he saw George McGovern,
30:21the senator from South Dakota,
30:22as a very weak one.
30:25What do you think
30:25of George McGovern?
30:29He's all right.
30:30He's all right.
30:33Well, I know he's a man,
30:34but I don't know much more
30:35about him than that.
30:38McGovern was not scintillating.
30:40He was somewhat methodical
30:43and shy and boring.
30:47I'm Connie Chung.
30:49I was covering Senator George McGovern
30:51for CBS News.
30:53He gave the same speech
30:55day after day after day.
30:56I think this is another victory
30:58of the new politics
31:00over the old.
31:01Well, I think it's a clear victory
31:03for the new politics.
31:04A victory of the new politics
31:07over the old.
31:08He was considered to be
31:10the guy for radicals,
31:12for pot smokers,
31:13for hippies.
31:14And he was an outlier.
31:16He really didn't have
31:18much of a chance.
31:21Nixon now.
31:24Nixon now.
31:26He's made the difference.
31:29He's shut us out.
31:31With McGovern running
31:32as the Democratic nominee,
31:33Nixon would have the path
31:34of least resistance
31:35to re-election in 1972.
31:37But first, he'd have to make sure
31:39that the other two guys,
31:40Humphrey and Muskie,
31:41never made it past the primaries.
31:43And that was going to take
31:44some coordination
31:45and cash flow.
31:48So, Creep got to work.
31:50The charges center
31:51about a man
31:52whose very name in Italian
31:53is Secrets.
31:55Donald Segretti,
31:56an attorney doing
31:57some freelance work
31:58for the committee,
31:59spearheaded a political
31:59sabotage operation
32:00that he and his colleagues
32:01called rat-fucking.
32:03Reports in major newspapers
32:04say White House aides
32:06recruited Segretti
32:07for secret intelligence work
32:08and dirty tricks
32:10against the Democrats.
32:12Now, there has been
32:13a rich history
32:14of political chicanery
32:15in this country,
32:16but Richard Nixon
32:16took it to another level.
32:18To give you an idea,
32:19here's Alex Shipley,
32:20a lawyer whom Donald Segretti
32:21tried to hire
32:22for a little undercover work.
32:23He outlined a plan
32:25of political espionage.
32:27I asked him
32:28for whom we would be working.
32:30He said, for Nixon.
32:32He said that we would
32:33have a lot of fun
32:34and we'd be taken care of
32:35after the election.
32:37He noted that money
32:38was no object
32:38and that if I needed to travel,
32:40I could charge it
32:41and send him the bill.
32:42And all bills sent to
32:44and paid for
32:44by the creep fund.
32:46Segretti seems to have been
32:47a man constantly on the move.
32:49He crisscrossed the country
32:50ten times in six months
32:52in 1971.
32:54Priority number one
32:55was taking down
32:56Senator Edmund Muskie.
32:59Here's a memo
32:59from creep operative
33:00Jeb Magruder.
33:02Senator Muskie is target A
33:03as of midsummer
33:04for our operation.
33:05All I am asking
33:07is that we pledge
33:08a new beginning.
33:12Muskie was the frontrunner,
33:14the leader.
33:15I thought he'd make
33:16a wonderful president.
33:19I'm Tony Podesta.
33:20In 1972,
33:21I was the New Hampshire
33:22campaign manager
33:23for Senator Ed Muskie
33:25when he ran for president.
33:27Muskie did better
33:28in polling against Nixon
33:30than any of the other Democrats.
33:38He was a very good speaker
33:40and did extraordinarily well
33:42on television
33:43and in audiences.
33:46Good to see you, sir.
33:47How you doing?
33:48Oh, all right.
33:48I wish you a lot of luck.
33:49The New Hampshire primary
33:50was Muskie's first big test.
33:52But since it was in New England
33:53and so close to his home turf
33:55in Maine,
33:56it seemed like a good bet
33:57that he'd win big
33:58and build momentum early.
34:00That is, until creep
34:01started working the phones.
34:06They had a group
34:07of African-American phoners
34:11who were clearly
34:12heavily accented
34:14African-American
34:15calling up New Hampshire voters
34:18at midnight.
34:20In most cases,
34:21waking people up,
34:22saying,
34:23we're from Harlem for Muskie
34:25and we wanted to know
34:26that we think
34:27that Ed Muskie
34:28would be the best candidate
34:29for Harlem.
34:31Many phone calls
34:32were made
34:32throughout the night
34:34during the final week
34:35from people
34:36identifying themselves
34:37as Harlem citizens
34:38for Muskie.
34:41These calls
34:42were particularly disruptive
34:44because of the low
34:45black population
34:46in New Hampshire
34:46and because of the time received.
34:52They made thousands
34:53of phone calls
34:54like that.
34:54People who called us
34:55to complain
34:56saying,
34:57why are you calling me
34:58at midnight?
34:58We didn't call you.
35:00There is no such thing
35:02as Harlem for Muskie.
35:04Edmund Muskie
35:05held a big
35:06commanding lead
35:07for a long time
35:08in this New Hampshire
35:08primary campaign.
35:10According to all the polls,
35:12he had far more support
35:13than all his opponents
35:14put together.
35:16But Muskie
35:17has been slipping
35:17and slipping badly
35:18this past week.
35:20A lot of voters
35:21who once were for him
35:22now are saying
35:23they are undecided.
35:25Muskie did manage
35:26to eke out a victory
35:27in New Hampshire,
35:28but with less than
35:2950% of the vote.
35:30There are 24 primaries
35:32and this is the first
35:33and it is not the last.
35:37Creep didn't land
35:37a knockout punch,
35:38but Muskie was bloodied.
35:40Things would get worse
35:41for him as primary season
35:42wore on
35:42and Creep intensified
35:44his attack.
35:45At one point,
35:46they planted an associate
35:46as a chauffeur
35:47to Muskie's campaign
35:48to steal documents.
35:49We came back
35:50in the morning
35:51and the scheduling memo
35:52detailing every place
35:54to go before the primaries
35:55and the conventions
35:56had been stolen.
35:57They set off stink bombs
35:58at Muskie picnics
36:00and they released live mice
36:02at a Muskie press conference.
36:05Segretti and Creep
36:06knew their full-on
36:06assault was working
36:07by the time they got
36:08to Wisconsin.
36:10Muskie had been
36:10a heavy favorite
36:11to not just win that state
36:12but to do so overwhelmingly.
36:15He got just 10%.
36:16Obviously,
36:19after an election
36:20like yesterday,
36:21we want to thoroughly
36:22review what we've been doing.
36:26It was over.
36:27He bowed out
36:27a few weeks later.
36:30With Muskie out,
36:31it was neck and neck
36:32between George McGovern,
36:33the man Nixon
36:34knew he could beat.
36:34I think this is another victory
36:37of the new politics
36:39over the old.
36:40And Hubert Humphrey,
36:41the man he still saw
36:42as a credible threat.
36:43Humphrey will be our nominee
36:45in Miami.
36:47In Miami.
36:48Humphrey is what the world
36:50needs today.
36:52He's the people's name.
36:56Hubert Humphrey.
36:58I came within a hair's breadth
37:00of beating Mr. Nixon
37:01in 1968
37:02before they found out
37:03really what he was like.
37:04I think Mr. Nixon
37:05is the most beatable candidate
37:07that I could find.
37:08Humphrey was striving.
37:09He was the underdog.
37:11He was slugging Nixon hard.
37:14My name is Roger Stone.
37:16In 1972,
37:18I was the youngest member
37:20of the committee
37:21to re-elect the president's staff.
37:24The committee
37:25to re-elect the president,
37:26they needed intelligence
37:28on the Humphrey campaign.
37:30And they wanted me
37:31to find somebody
37:32who could volunteer
37:33for Humphrey
37:35and kind of burrow
37:37into their campaign
37:38and find out
37:39what was going on.
37:41Thank you, dear.
37:42We recruited a fellow.
37:44I paid him
37:45through money orders
37:46and he glommed on
37:48to the Humphrey campaign,
37:50eventually becoming
37:51a driver for Humphrey
37:53and a traveling aide
37:54for Humphrey.
37:57The intelligence
37:59that he sent back
38:00was titillating
38:01but not all that useful.
38:03He said Humphrey
38:04was exhausted.
38:05We knew that.
38:06He said Humphrey
38:06was chronically short
38:08of money.
38:09We knew that, too.
38:11All the press boys
38:13want you to kiss me again.
38:14Come on, now, honey.
38:16Happy birthday, sister.
38:17Want to try it again?
38:18He told us that
38:20Humphrey often frolicked
38:22with two girls at a time.
38:24Prostitutes?
38:25We didn't know that.
38:27Democrats also suffered
38:29from dirty tricks
38:30in Florida
38:31as this fake letter
38:32on Muskie's stationery
38:34accusing Senator Humphrey
38:36of illicit sexual relations.
38:38It was mailed
38:39to thousands
38:40of registered Democrats.
38:41We have a job to do.
38:43Our target
38:43is not each other.
38:44Our target
38:45is Richard Nixon
38:46and the Republican
38:47administration.
38:48While Creef
38:49got its shots in
38:50on Humphrey,
38:51George McGovern
38:51came away unscathed,
38:53which, of course,
38:54was the whole point.
38:56There was even one report
38:57that during
38:58the California primary,
38:59Nixon campaign funds
39:00were given
39:01to the McGovern campaign
39:02to help McGovern
39:03win the primary
39:04and wrap up
39:05the nomination.
39:06I can't believe
39:08we've won
39:08the whole thing.
39:14The whole thing
39:15is pretty unbelievable,
39:17right?
39:17George McGovern
39:18had won
39:18the Democratic primary
39:19and Nixon
39:20could now wipe
39:21the floor with him.
39:22But if anyone
39:23with any authority,
39:24someone like, say,
39:26Wright Patman
39:26did some digging,
39:27think of all the evidence
39:28you might find.
39:30It could pose
39:31a real threat
39:31to Nixon's re-election.
39:34And by late summer
39:351972,
39:37Watergate was becoming
39:37like an annoying mosquito
39:39that Nixon
39:39just couldn't quite swap.
39:41And the questions,
39:44questions you'd rather
39:45other people answer,
39:46kept coming.
39:51Two former White House
39:52A's with electronic
39:53receiving devices
39:54were in the room
39:55of the Watergate Hotel
39:56on the early morning
39:57of June 17th.
39:58The men are
39:59G. Gordon Liddy,
40:00at that time
40:01counsel to the
40:02Finance Committee
40:02to re-elect the president
40:03and E. Howard Hunt,
40:05the former
40:05White House consultant.
40:07I get a call
40:08to come out
40:08to San Clemente.
40:10Haldeman and Ehrlichman
40:11are there.
40:11They ask for an update
40:12and they say
40:14the president's
40:14going to have
40:15a press conference.
40:1633-year-old John Dean,
40:18listening from his hotel room,
40:19was about to take
40:21his first steps
40:21onto the national stage,
40:24whether he wanted to
40:25or not.
40:28We will right ahead
40:29with your questions
40:30because I know
40:30you want to cover
40:31perhaps some international
40:32as well as
40:33domestic matters.
40:34Mr. President,
40:35we've heard
40:36several...
40:37Wouldn't it be a good idea
40:38for a special prosecutor,
40:40even from your standpoint,
40:42to be appointed
40:43to investigate
40:43the contribution situation
40:46and also
40:46the Watergate case?
40:49I know today,
40:51from going through
40:52Nixon's notes,
40:53that he had planned
40:55how he was going to handle
40:56what he figured
40:57was a sure question.
40:58don't you think
40:59you should appoint
41:00a special prosecutor?
41:02And he says,
41:04well, no,
41:05and for several good reasons.
41:07The FBI
41:08is conducting
41:09a full-field investigation.
41:11The Department of Justice,
41:13of course,
41:14is in charge
41:15of the prosecution.
41:18Banking and Currency Committee
41:19is conducting investigation.
41:21These investigations
41:22have,
41:22at my direction,
41:23had the total cooperation
41:25of not only the White House,
41:27but also of all agencies
41:29of the government.
41:30He said,
41:30most importantly,
41:31my White House counsel,
41:33John Dean,
41:34has undertaken
41:35an investigation
41:36of this entire matter.
41:39Under my direction,
41:41counsel to the president,
41:42Mr. Dean,
41:43has conducted
41:44a complete investigation
41:45of all leads,
41:47which might involve
41:48any present members
41:50of the White House staff.
41:51And I can say categorically
41:53that his investigation
41:54indicates that
41:55no one
41:56on the White House staff,
41:57no one
41:58in this administration
42:00presently employed
42:01was involved
42:02in this
42:03very bizarre incident.
42:05Well,
42:06I damn near
42:07fell off
42:08the end of the bed
42:08when I heard it
42:10because I,
42:10he conducted
42:11no investigation
42:12whatsoever.
42:18Soon,
42:19I got a call
42:20from his press secretary,
42:21Ron Ziegler,
42:23saying the press
42:23wants a copy
42:24of your report
42:26to the president.
42:27And I said,
42:28well, Ron,
42:29there is no report.
42:30He said,
42:31what do you mean?
42:31I said,
42:32I said,
42:32there is no investigation.
42:34He said,
42:34well,
42:34don't you think
42:35you'd better start one?
42:38What really hurts
42:39in matters of this sort
42:41is not the fact
42:42that they occur
42:43because overzealous people
42:45in campaigns
42:46do things that are wrong.
42:47What really hurts
42:48is if you try
42:49to cover it up.
42:50While he hasn't
42:51gone over me
42:52with the bus,
42:53he's put me
42:53in front of the bus
42:54and I now have
42:56a different visibility
42:57that I hadn't had before.
42:59This kind of activity,
43:00as I've often indicated,
43:02has no place
43:02whatever in our
43:03political process.
43:04We want the air cleared.
43:06We want it cleared
43:06as soon as possible.
43:08Mr. President.
43:09Thank you,
43:09Mr. President.
43:11But I'm not really worried.
43:14I think that the president
43:15is going to win.
43:17I don't think I'm involved
43:18in any criminal behavior.
43:20I'm more worried
43:21about the politics of it
43:23if this thing does fall apart.
43:26Just get to election day
43:27and this whole thing
43:28will go away.
43:29With the promise
43:30of four more years in power,
43:32Nixon would have more wiggle room
43:33to make Watergate disappear.
43:35Four more years!
43:37I can imagine
43:38that everyone involved
43:39felt the same way.
43:40Just keep your head
43:41above water.
43:42Sure, there will be
43:43some questions here and there,
43:44but there's a glimmer of hope
43:45on the horizon come November.
43:47And actually,
43:48even before then,
43:49things started to look
43:51a little brighter.
43:51Raid hunts them down
43:52like radar.
43:57Sweeps bugs from the air.
44:00Get Raid!
44:02Federal indictments
44:03were returned in Washington today
44:05in the Watergate bugging affair.
44:07The five who were caught
44:08by the police,
44:09along with two others,
44:11G. Gordon Liddy,
44:12a former White House aide,
44:14and E. Howard Hunt,
44:16a former consultant
44:17for the White House.
44:18The Justice Department
44:19never even submitted
44:20the names of top Republicans
44:22for possible indictment
44:23by the grand jury.
44:25It said the conspiracy
44:26consisted of those seven men
44:28and no more.
44:29Haldeman waltzes me
44:30into the Oval Office
44:32when the indictment
44:33is handed down
44:34that only gets the men
44:36who were arrested
44:37in the Watergate
44:38plus Hunt and Liddy,
44:39who'd left clues everywhere.
44:41And that's where it stops.
44:43And the president's pleased.
44:45I'm pretty sure.
44:46Five times.
44:48One, two,
44:49one, plus the White House
44:51former guy.
44:54That's good.
44:55That's good.
44:56I'm sorry,
44:57he's got no effect on you.
44:58That's a good view.
44:59I really have.
45:01His mood brightened
45:02even more
45:03when he began
45:03plotting revenge
45:04on everyone
45:04who wouldn't let
45:05Watergate go.
45:06One of the most
45:07comprehensive notes
45:08on all those
45:10who have credited us in
45:11because they didn't
45:12have to do it.
45:13We tried.
45:13They didn't have to do it.
45:15We did not use the power
45:16in this first four years
45:17as you know.
45:18We never issued it.
45:20We haven't used it here
45:21or we haven't used
45:22the Justice Department.
45:23But things are going
45:24to change now.
45:25They're going to get it right.
45:27They're going to get it right.
45:28They're going to get it right.
45:31Oh, that's an exciting
45:32prospect, Mr. President,
45:35which I cringe at
45:36every time I hear it.
45:38I was just pure brown nosy.
45:40You can maybe forgive Dean
45:42for trying to get in
45:43his boss's good graces,
45:44especially when it seemed
45:45like they just might get out
45:46from underwater gate.
45:48There was just one last hurdle,
45:50right, Patman.
45:51This is from that same meeting.
45:58The House Banking Committee meeting
46:00to decide on whether
46:01they'd get the subpoena vote
46:02was now a few weeks away.
46:04And if Wright Patman
46:05got that power,
46:06it would be a whole
46:07different ballgame.
46:09But there,
46:10in the Oval Office
46:10with his young counsel,
46:12Nixon felt he had
46:13a pretty good handle on it.
46:32The president's men keep issuing
46:34general denials.
46:35They are depending upon that
46:37and silence
46:38to make the allegations go away.
46:45Wright Patman's House
46:46Banking Committee
46:46was made up of 21 Democrats
46:48and only 14 Republicans.
46:50So it should have been easy
46:51for Patman to get the votes
46:52he needed to get subpoena power.
46:54And once he got it,
46:55he could ask whomever he wanted,
46:57whatever he wanted,
46:58about what happened at Watergate
46:59under the threat of a perjury
47:00charge and jail time.
47:02At that time,
47:03the Democrats had
47:05a very substantial majority.
47:08And most of them
47:10would vote with the chairman.
47:12So it was pretty clear
47:13that we were going to get
47:14subpoena power.
47:15I was extremely hopeful.
47:19I thought for sure
47:20we'd get the vote.
47:22We continue to be ready
47:23to cooperate with the committee.
47:24We have had a policy
47:26and will continue
47:27to have a policy,
47:28a full cooperation.
47:30But behind the scenes,
47:32Nixon knew what he was up against.
47:33He also knew that
47:34if he was going to have
47:35any chance
47:36of shutting Patman down,
47:37the first step
47:38was to make sure
47:39that all 14 Republicans
47:40voted against the subpoena.
47:47would be successful
47:48or not turn it off.
47:50I don't know.
47:50What about the boards?
47:52You can equally think
47:53you can kind of be
47:55like your names
47:56and if the board
47:58can get the minority members
48:00and that would be very helpful.
48:02Gary,
48:02you got to show
48:03this is a big play.
48:06I'm getting to this.
48:08Yeah,
48:09I don't think it comes
48:09from the top.
48:10Yeah,
48:11that's what he's got to know.
48:12I can't talk to myself
48:13that he's got to get out of this.
48:15I'm sure this is the thing
48:17I'm willing to do that.
48:20When Nixon says Jerry,
48:22he's talking about
48:22Gerald Ford,
48:23then the House Minority Leader.
48:25Ford was about
48:26to make himself
48:27very useful to Nixon.
48:34Mousetrap,
48:35a game in which
48:36building the trap
48:37is half the fun.
48:38Mousetrap!
48:39The Mousetrap Game.
48:41It's from Ideal.
48:47Congressman Wright-Pathlin
48:48made another attempt today
48:49to investigate
48:49the Watergate affair.
48:51Follow the roll,
48:52Mr. Pug.
48:52Mr. Chairman.
48:54Mr. Patman.
48:55Mr. Patman.
48:56This is about
48:56the parliamentary court.
48:58Public sessions
48:59of Chairman Wright-Pathlin's
49:00committee
49:00are often loud
49:01and boisterous.
49:02Today's was particularly so.
49:04On October 3rd,
49:05Chairman's over here.
49:06You're going down
49:07the senior members.
49:08They're voting.
49:09Yes.
49:10Yes.
49:11Yes.
49:11And we get to
49:13our first shot.
49:14And that was Richard Hanna,
49:16Democrat of California.
49:17He starts off
49:18blasting away
49:20about the inadequacy
49:22of the House
49:22Banking Committee.
49:23What are we doing
49:24going off on this?
49:26Everybody's head
49:27just went,
49:28what in the hell
49:29is going on?
49:30The knot begins
49:31in your stomach.
49:36And then some of the
49:37Southern Democrats
49:38came in behind him.
49:39We get to Frank Brasco,
49:41Democrat of New York.
49:43He said,
49:44no.
49:46And we lost.
49:47Now, frankly,
49:48Mr. Chairman,
49:49I'll support an investigation,
49:51but only at a proper time
49:52and under proper circumstances.
49:53I'll not support a witch hunt.
49:55Ford came through
49:56for Nixon
49:57and helped to get
49:58each and every Republican
49:59to vote his way.
50:00But what's more interesting
50:02is how some of the Democrats
50:03might have ended up
50:04voting Nixon's way
50:04as well.
50:06The day of the vote,
50:08Richard Hanna
50:09and Frank Brasco
50:11were having
50:13severe legal
50:14if not criminal
50:15problems.
50:17They were under
50:18indictment
50:19for bribery.
50:21I believe
50:22the Nixon people
50:23went to them
50:25and said,
50:26look,
50:26if you will vote
50:28to block
50:28the subpoena power,
50:30we will have
50:31the indictments
50:32dropped
50:32against both of you.
50:34That's a pretty
50:35significant offer.
50:40whether we get
50:41to the bottom
50:42of this affair
50:42depends on
50:43the American people.
50:45If they want
50:46this matter
50:47investigated
50:47and if they want
50:50political espionage
50:51ended,
50:52it's up to them
50:53to demand it.
50:55That was the kick
50:56in the stomach.
50:57That absolutely
50:58was the kick
50:59in the stomach.
51:00I mean,
51:01I knew we were finished.
51:04Any meaningful
51:05investigation
51:06into what happened
51:07at Watergate
51:07before the election
51:08died with Patman
51:10not getting
51:10his subpoena power.
51:14But the fiery
51:15Texan did not
51:16go quietly.
51:17We actually
51:18held a hearing
51:19and invited
51:20Maurice Stanz,
51:22the Attorney General
51:23Mitchell
51:23and several others.
51:25Since we didn't
51:26have subpoena power,
51:28we couldn't force
51:29them to come.
51:30The hearings
51:31were supposed
51:31to begin at 10 a.m.,
51:33but the hour
51:33came and went
51:34without the witnesses
51:35or even a quorum.
51:36Republicans boycotted
51:38the meeting
51:38as did those
51:39invited to testify.
51:40And we had
51:41five empty chairs
51:42at the witness table.
51:43We had little
51:44name plates for them.
51:46And Patman
51:47fired questions
51:48at the empty chairs
51:50for about
51:51half an hour.
51:52I wonder
51:53if Ms. Stanz
51:53and Mr. Mitchell
51:54and Mr. McGregor
51:55are here.
51:56Are any of these
51:57persons in the room?
51:59If so,
51:59I'd ask them
52:00to speak up.
52:02President Nixon's
52:03campaigners
52:04are telling
52:04the American people
52:05they have no right
52:06to know
52:07and that their
52:08elected representatives
52:09in the Congress
52:10have no right to know.
52:11President Nixon
52:12has pulled down
52:13an iron curtain
52:14of secrecy
52:15to keep
52:15the American people
52:16from knowing
52:17the facts.
52:18President Nixon
52:19is responsible
52:20for those
52:21four empty chairs.
52:22He's responsible
52:23for their secrecy,
52:25for the elimination
52:26of the people's
52:27right to know.
52:28How far
52:29has this
52:29administration
52:30gone
52:30to put down
52:31and harass
52:33its enemies?
52:34It didn't get us
52:35anything but a lot
52:36of publicity.
52:38And this marks
52:39the failure
52:39of what is probably
52:40the last effort
52:41to get this Congress
52:42into the Watergate
52:43affair.
52:45I can't imagine
52:46how dejected
52:47Patman must have felt
52:48getting as close
52:49as he did
52:49to the truth
52:50only to be defeated
52:51at the final hour.
52:55But I bet he also
52:56found at least
52:56some comfort
52:57in knowing
52:57that the only reason
52:58the President
52:59of the United States
53:00used all that power
53:01against him
53:01to make sure
53:02that he failed
53:04was that he was right.
53:07Mr. Patman
53:08was sitting
53:09on the floor
53:09one day
53:11and I walked down
53:12and sat next to him
53:15and he said,
53:16Kurt, I want to
53:16apologize to you.
53:18I said,
53:19why is that,
53:19Mr. Chairman?
53:20He said,
53:21when you said that
53:22to Maurice Stanz,
53:23I was a little bit upset.
53:26But you were right
53:29and I think you used
53:30the right language.
53:35I never had
53:36another conversation
53:37with him.
53:38He died shortly thereafter.
53:40But that was
53:42my pardon
53:43for my sin.
53:47Wright Patman lost
53:48and Richard Nixon won.
53:52And the President
53:53in the fall of 1972
53:55looked ahead
53:56to the election
53:57against the man
53:58he and everyone else
53:59in America
53:59knew he would beat.
54:01George McGovern.
54:09So think about this.
54:11The Watergate break-in
54:12occurred back
54:12in June of 1972,
54:14less than a month
54:15before the Democratic
54:16National Convention
54:16in Miami
54:17where McGovern's nomination
54:19was all but guaranteed.
54:21Which would suggest
54:22that the whole thing
54:23was totally unnecessary.
54:25Nobody actually needed
54:26to break into the DNC
54:27headquarters.
54:29But it's almost like
54:30Nixon couldn't help himself.
54:33It's almost like
54:33he got greedy.
54:35Ladies and gentlemen,
54:36the President
54:37of the United States.
54:46But I imagine
54:47that basking in the glow
54:48of his historic re-election,
54:49all that validation,
54:51all that power,
54:52any inkling of regret
54:54for this reckless mistake
54:55was far from his mind.
55:00Just a few months later,
55:01though,
55:02when he did begin
55:03to reckon with it,
55:04when he was forced to,
55:06he started going back
55:07to the beginning,
55:08trying to make sense
55:09of the story.
55:10What happened
55:11and why?
55:12It's all on
55:13Nixon's White House tapes.
55:15And it's pretty fascinating
55:16to hear him work through it.
55:18One afternoon,
55:19when it was clear
55:20things were not
55:20going his way,
55:21I was surprised
55:22to hear him bring up
55:23his old friend,
55:24J. Edgar Hoover.
55:25Let me tell you,
55:27there were parents
55:28when I felt
55:29that the only person
55:30in this goddamn environment
55:32who was standing
55:33up against Edgar Hoover.
55:35He was the only one.
55:39Hoover died in May of 72
55:41in the Watergate break-in
55:42was the following month.
55:44And I think the coincidence
55:45of those two events
55:47is one of the, you know,
55:48sort of most under-recognized
55:50pieces of the Watergate story.
55:55He comes to regard Hoover's death
55:57as a tragedy
55:58and comes to mourn the fact
56:01that Hoover wasn't there
56:02by his side
56:03to help him through this scandal
56:05and comes to lament
56:06that Hoover would have been able
56:08to stop the leaks.
56:09Hoover never would have
56:10let this happen.
56:13America's pride
56:14has always been its people,
56:17a people of good men
56:19and women by the millions,
56:21and once in a long while
56:24of giants
56:25who stand head and shoulders
56:29above their countrymen,
56:31setting a high
56:32and noble standard
56:34for us all.
56:37J. Edgar Hoover
56:39was one of the giants.
56:41I think Nixon meant
56:43every word of the UOG
56:44he gave at Hoover's funeral.
56:45But while he gave
56:46no indication of it
56:47on that day,
56:48his mind was preoccupied
56:50with something besides
56:50the passing of his friend.
56:55There have been rumors
56:56that anti-war protesters
56:57might try and hijack
56:58the very public memorial service
57:00and make a mockery out of it.
57:04And so, to make sure
57:05that didn't happen,
57:07Gordon Liddy
57:07and E. Howard Hunt
57:08beefed up security
57:09with a handful of Cuban expats
57:11who had done some work
57:12with the CIA.
57:16The extra muscle
57:17kept the protesters at bay
57:18and Hoover's service
57:19went off without a hitch.
57:21And six weeks later,
57:23it was these same Cubans
57:24who were tasked
57:25with breaking into
57:25the Watergate.
57:26Eugenio Martinez,
57:27a Cuban leader
57:28of the anti-Castro movement,
57:30is one of four
57:31Miami men
57:31who were arrested
57:32at the Watergate.
57:33But since they seemed
57:34to be a world away
57:35from the president,
57:37linking what happened
57:38that night
57:38to the White House
57:39was going to take
57:40some convincing.
57:40Mi nombre es Eugenio
57:42Rolando MartÃnez
57:43Sicariaga
57:44y trabajé para
57:46el presidente
57:47de los Estados Unidos.
57:48Making dreams
57:51Reality
57:53More than ever
57:56Nixon now
57:57For you and me
58:01Nixon now
58:03Nixon now
58:05He's made the difference
58:09He's shut us out
58:11Nixon now
58:13Nixon now
58:14More than ever
58:15Nixon now
58:17Nixon now
58:19Nixon now
58:20Nixon now
58:21Nixon now
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