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00:11F.B.I. Chief J. Edgar Hoover's death had a hidden side effect,
00:16unleashing Nixon's impulse to gather intelligence on his enemies illegally.
00:21And six weeks later, the Watergate break-in occurred.
00:26Congressman Wright Patman launched an investigation into the burglary.
00:30But the Nixon White House used blackmail and political pressure to thwart him.
00:35One more opponent sidelined.
00:48Okay.
00:49Put yourself back in time to the year 1972.
00:53Like a lot of people, you're watching Watergate unfold and trying to make sense of it.
00:58When do you think it would have hit you?
01:00That the whole thing could be a massive conspiracy.
01:07If you had a dark hunch that you were not being told the full story,
01:13I think December 8th, 1972 would have been a day when your ears perked up a little bit.
01:20Good evening.
01:21There's been a bad plane crash in Chicago near Midway Airport.
01:32On that snowy afternoon, United Airlines Flight 553 was a minute away from landing at Midway Airport in Chicago
01:40when it crashed on a residential street on the city's south side.
01:44We heard this jet and I looked and I saw the plane hit the garage and go through it.
01:52And then I saw it go up in flames and I ran over there and I could hear people screaming
01:57and people were trying to get in.
02:01I'm telling you about this plane crash because it happened about six months after the Watergate break-in.
02:07Because among the dead was Dorothy Hunt, the wife of E. Howard Hunt, one of the burglary's masterminds.
02:15Because when they found her body, she was carrying $10,000 in cash,
02:19which, seeing as Hunt was about to testify about his involvement in the burglary,
02:24looked like it may have been hush money.
02:26There was a lot of screaming and we opened that hatch to crawl out, but we're already inside somebody's house.
02:34And because an abnormally large number of FBI agents, around 50 or so, arrived at the site directly after the
02:41crash.
02:41You'll leave the investigation up to the federal authorities?
02:44Well, the men are doing everything they can.
02:47And finally, because the day after, Richard Nixon nominated the head of his infamous plumbers unit
02:54to the position of Undersecretary of Transportation,
02:57giving him direct control over the agency that would be investigating the crash.
03:02Any indication why the plane was there, Loser?
03:04No, but the investigating team will start its work tonight when they arrive.
03:12Now, do I think Nixon orchestrated a plane crash to eliminate Hunt's wife so that she wouldn't squeal?
03:18No. That's insane.
03:23But at the time of the crash, if you had said that Nixon was involved in Watergate,
03:28most Americans would have called you insane, too.
03:32If you want to know what it was like to try to understand Watergate as it was happening,
03:36to try to figure out what was actually true and what was a crackpot theory,
03:41I think the crash illustrates a tension that you would have felt back then,
03:45a tension that delayed Watergate in becoming a massive story.
03:49I think the people in this country have a right to know if the United Airlines is being used to
03:54get rid of a witness.
03:55Because Watergate was such uncharted territory, it presented a unique challenge for anyone trying to make sense of it.
04:04How do you tell the difference between a coincidence and a conspiracy?
04:09We shall try tonight to pull together the threads of this amazing story,
04:14quite unlike any in our modern American history.
04:17...responsibility to defend this great office against false charges.
04:23What was it like to live through Watergate without knowing how it was all going to end?
04:28...causing this nation to neglect matters of far greater importance.
04:35One way to find out is to look at that moment of American history
04:40as seen through the eyes of the people who lived it,
04:43back when they had no idea what was coming.
04:46If we learn the important lessons of Watergate,
04:48we can emerge from this experience a better and a stronger nation.
04:54I'm Leon Nafok.
04:56This is Slow Burn.
05:00Slow Burn
05:14The crash of United Airlines Flight 553 got a lot of coverage on both television and in the papers.
05:20And while most of the press focused on the death toll and what may have gone wrong with the plane,
05:24there was someone, a much less mainstream voice,
05:28who covered the crash from a very different angle.
05:32Her name was May Brussel.
05:38This is Dialogue Conspiracy,
05:41a public affairs presentation of KLRB News.
05:45Hello, and we'll get right into the events of the week, Dialogue Conspiracy.
05:50And we're going to start right off with the Watergate affair.
05:54Brussel's radio show was broadcast out of KLRB,
05:58a small left-wing FM rock station in California.
06:02She had been following the Watergate story closely from the beginning.
06:06But when Howard Hunt's wife Dorothy died,
06:09Brussel did not think it was just a coincidence.
06:11I just want to mention something which was shocking.
06:14If you've been following the Watergate story and listening to my program,
06:18we talk about Howard Hunt,
06:20and Mrs. Howard Hunt died on that plane crash in Chicago December the 8th,
06:25carrying money.
06:26She also had some ideas about the cash that Dorothy Hunt was carrying at the time of the incident.
06:31The money came from El Paso gas.
06:33It had something to do with John Mitchell.
06:35There were cyanide traces in the bloodstream of the pilot.
06:39I think you could kind of see where she was going with all this.
06:42The people in this country have a right to know
06:44if the United Airlines is being used
06:46to get rid of a witness of a conspiracy trial like the Watergate.
06:51For May Brussel,
06:53United Flight 553 was another dot that she could connect
06:56in the ever-expanding conspiracy of Watergate.
07:00And while she had some pretty far-fetched ideas about it,
07:03she was one of the only people at the time
07:05to really pay attention to Martha Mitchell.
07:07Martha Mitchell got on the telephone on Thursday from out in California.
07:11She said that if you could see me, you wouldn't believe me.
07:14I'm black and blue.
07:15I'm a political prisoner.
07:17They left me in California with absolutely no information,
07:21and they don't want me to talk.
07:23She's preparing for a show.
07:24Is anyone editing her?
07:26No.
07:28No.
07:29Yeah, editing.
07:29That's a good question about May Brussel.
07:31A lot of us suggested,
07:34May, talk slower.
07:35May, stop and explain a little bit about this.
07:40My name is David Bean,
07:41and I was program director at KLRB FM Radio
07:45while May Brussel was broadcasting her program.
07:48May felt an affinity with Martha Mitchell.
07:52And you can place all the blame right on the White House.
07:55Because she felt Martha Mitchell was being muzzled,
07:59and May knew she was right.
08:03And it wasn't just Martha.
08:05May Brussel was one of the first public voices to assert,
08:08as it was happening,
08:09that Watergate was a government cover-up.
08:11The way the government covers up things when they're caught
08:14and show the parallel to the way they covered up
08:16being caught in the office of the Democratic Party this week.
08:21May sourced her information from newspapers, primarily.
08:26She was cutting out clippings.
08:27She was filing the clippings in boxes.
08:31She'd say, you know,
08:32this newspaper just reported this,
08:34and this guy did this,
08:35and that means this guy,
08:37and they don't even know about the relationship
08:39to another guy that I've discovered.
08:42You know, I just filed up the newspaper articles
08:44when I cut the paper,
08:45even because I take eight papers a day
08:46and I have a section of things to read right away,
08:48and then things I can read later.
08:50And then the right-of-way I separate
08:52into whether I want to copy them and cross-file them
08:54or put them in particular categories.
08:57Her whole life became this research.
09:02Now, I feel compelled to say here
09:04that Brussel covered a lot of ground.
09:06And she espoused many theories
09:08that I just don't believe in.
09:10She thought the government
09:11was using chemical weapons as mind control.
09:14The CIA has a laboratory
09:15and facilities to spread germ warfare
09:18inside the USA,
09:19and I don't have any doubt
09:20that they will be doing this.
09:22Also, she was really fixated
09:24on dune buggies.
09:26Brussel believed that they were essential
09:28to the military-industrial complex
09:30and were being used to carry out
09:32all kinds of covert operations.
09:34He gave a lot of warning
09:36about the dune buggy scene
09:37in the last few months
09:38with plans in mind
09:40that one is to plow into the hippie communes
09:43and the other is to kill 63 million minority people.
09:46That's right, dune buggies.
09:49But for someone who hosted a show
09:51called Dialogue Conspiracy,
09:53her background was pretty conventional.
09:56My heart is always looking round.
10:01May Brussel grew up
10:03in a wealthy Los Angeles family
10:04descended from a California department store owner.
10:07It was a pretty comfortable upbringing
10:09with dinner parties and vacations.
10:12She studied philosophy at Stanford.
10:15Afterwards, she got married
10:17and settled into a quiet life
10:18as a stay-at-home mother in L.A.
10:20She said that during this period,
10:22she was just a housewife,
10:24interested in tennis courts,
10:25dancing lessons,
10:27and orthodonture for her children.
10:30That life ended
10:31on November 22, 1963.
10:42Put me on, Phil.
10:43Put me on.
10:45Phil, am I on?
10:47We understand there is a bit of shooting.
10:49We know it's the presidential car.
10:51You can see Mrs. Kennedy's pink suit.
10:52There's a secret service man
10:53spread eagle over the top of the car.
10:56Just a moment.
10:57Just a moment.
10:57We have a bulletin coming in.
10:59President Kennedy has been assassinated.
11:02It's official now.
11:03The president is dead.
11:07JFK's assassination transformed
11:09how May Brussel saw the world.
11:11And she no longer felt
11:12the government could be trusted.
11:14At the time that John Kennedy was killed,
11:16the answers were so pat in the news media.
11:18I wanted to know what kind of a world
11:20I was going to raise my family in.
11:22She disputed the Warren Commission's conclusion
11:25that Kennedy's killer, Lee Harvey Oswald,
11:27had acted alone.
11:28The trajectory of the bullet has been questioned.
11:30We want the undeveloped x-rays of the body.
11:34We want the names of the people involved.
11:36And to better understand what she suspected
11:38was a cover-up,
11:39for Christmas,
11:40she bought herself all 26 volumes
11:42of the Commission's findings.
11:43I really wanted to know
11:45if Oswald was a patsy.
11:47And your findings?
11:50Are Oswald was a patsy?
11:53It became a splitting point
11:55with her husband
11:56that he didn't like her
11:57doing this Kennedy research.
12:01But May was an incredibly strong,
12:04unique woman.
12:06She went out on her own.
12:08She took her life,
12:10her thoughts,
12:11her beliefs,
12:11and her research,
12:12moved to Carmel, California
12:14with her kids,
12:17and did what she was meant to do.
12:20She started to give lectures.
12:22And by 1971,
12:23she had a whole Sunday afternoon radio show
12:26on KLRB,
12:27devoted to her theories
12:28on the JFK assassination.
12:30Just like they tried to say
12:31that Oswald was a communist
12:35and killed John Kennedy
12:36when actually the anti-Castric Cubans
12:39were involved.
12:39Which meant that when Watergate
12:41happened the following year,
12:43May Brussels was primed
12:44and ready for it.
12:45History will prove
12:47that my research is accurate
12:48right down to the last sentence.
12:51Seven years,
12:52and now it's all coming to...
12:54It's all coming home.
12:55I never thought it was...
12:55On her first show
12:56after the break-in,
12:57she latched onto something
12:59that she firmly believed
13:00was not a coincidence.
13:01But it's interesting
13:02that the anti-Castro Cubans
13:04were in this office,
13:06and I wonder who they were
13:07because I have it all here
13:08and time's running out.
13:10As her research
13:11into the JFK assassination
13:12expanded,
13:13she began to notice
13:14a recurring subplot
13:15playing in the background,
13:17Cubans doing secret work
13:19for the American government.
13:20The cast of characters,
13:21all those people
13:22were involved
13:23with the Bay of Pigs invasion.
13:25It was a curious thread to pull,
13:27but she was right to.
13:29Because once you start
13:30putting together
13:31all the reasons
13:32those four Cuban expats
13:33were there that night,
13:35you start going
13:36to some pretty interesting places.
13:38over the years.
14:01Operation Pedro Pang was a program
14:04that was initiated by the United States government
14:07to bring the children of the underground
14:10who were fighting against the Castro regime
14:13to the United States while their parents were fighting.
14:17Over 14,000 miners came that way.
14:21I was one of them.
14:24My name is Maria de los Ángeles Torres.
14:26I'm a political scientist,
14:27and I study and write about Cuban exiles.
14:30Cuba was a country that aspired
14:32to have its own independent government,
14:33for democratic institutions.
14:36This is only the beginning.
14:38The last battle will be fought in the capital.
14:41You can be sure.
14:45I remember when Fidel came into Havana,
14:48my father picked me up, took me,
14:50and, you know, we went and greeted the rebels,
14:52and finally we're going to get a government
14:55that responds to the people.
15:01Fidel had promised elections.
15:03And he decided not to hold them.
15:07All of a sudden, everything that you were doing
15:10was subject to somebody listening
15:13and somebody reporting on you.
15:16So when Fidel starts using firing squads
15:20and killing some 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds
15:25who had just been supporters of him,
15:28but now we're demanding that he bring democracy in elections,
15:33that's where I think a lot of people turned.
15:43Turned and fled to America,
15:45where many landed in Miami.
15:49These newly arrived exiles left their homeland
15:52because they had been living in fear.
15:54Because in some cases,
15:55they'd seen loved ones killed in the streets,
15:57all because of a communist dictator.
16:00So in the early 1960s,
16:02all of a sudden,
16:03there was a growing army of very motivated men
16:05looking to do all they could to fight communism,
16:08this time on American soil.
16:11It created a geopolitical match made in heaven,
16:15or so it seemed at the time.
16:20On April 17th, 1961,
16:22a newly formed military group of Cuban exiles,
16:25trained and funded by the CIA,
16:28invaded Cuba and tried to overthrow Fidel Castro.
16:31Here on the beaches around the Bay of Pigs,
16:33the invasion floundered.
16:35Those able to move beyond the beaches
16:37were trapped in swamp for high growth,
16:39which was burned off.
16:40Communication disappeared
16:41with the sinking of a liberty ship
16:43which carried all the signal equipment
16:45and much ammunition.
16:46The Bay of Pigs invasion failed miserably,
16:49and most of the hundreds of Cubans who fought
16:51were either killed or taken prisoner.
16:54It is not the first time
16:55that communist tanks
16:57have rolled over gallant men and women
16:59fighting to redeem the independence of their homeland.
17:05Right after the failure of Bay of Pigs,
17:08there are people who continue
17:10to have an aspiration of overthrowing the government,
17:13and indeed,
17:14the Kennedy administration
17:16continues with its plans to overthrow the government.
17:19This time, it's more covert.
17:22It is entitled Operation Mongoose.
17:25From its headquarters in Miami,
17:28Operation Mongoose launched hundreds of covert CIA operations
17:31deploying Cuban exiles.
17:35Bay of Pigs.
17:36Bay of Pigs veteran and future Watergate burglar Eugenio Martinez.
17:47I was recruited by a member of the CIA.
17:53I did not know what CIA really, what it means.
17:57They said that they were rich men
18:00with some other money,
18:02and they want to help us to fight castles.
18:07They were killing people,
18:09and we were against those
18:11who were killing our people.
18:14We were taking weapons to our people in Cuba,
18:19and we were establishing connections, you know,
18:23so we could contact the people inside.
18:27That was a very dangerous work.
18:32Nosotros nos jugábamos la vida,
18:33yendo a Cuba,
18:35infiltrando, sacando gente.
18:37One of the jobs that I did was to sunk
18:42a pity vote that was given to Castro
18:47as a present.
18:50This went on all throughout the 1960s.
18:53Hundreds of little jobs like this,
18:55denting communist Cuba whenever possible,
18:57with the backdrop of the Cold War
18:58providing just cause.
19:00Yo tenía una guerrera.
19:03Yo tenía más operaciones en Cuba
19:05que nadie, más de 300 operaciones.
19:09One of the grim realities
19:10of American foreign policy
19:12was a communist state
19:1390 miles off the coast of Florida.
19:15The rhetorics of anti-communism
19:17were alive and well in the United States,
19:20and maybe felt a little bit more personally
19:23in the Cuban exile community.
19:26These are soldiers, freedom fighters,
19:29who take very seriously their tasks
19:31of combating communism.
19:34I think there's a certain vulnerability
19:36that allows for the CIA
19:40and people like Howard Hunt
19:42to then prey on their sentiments.
19:46It was Hunt who employed
19:47a handful of Cubans,
19:49Martinez among them,
19:50to provide extra security
19:51for J. Edgar Hoover's memorial service.
20:12It was an unusual service
20:14in several ways.
20:16For one thing,
20:16security was unusually heavy
20:18around the National Presbyterian Center,
20:20apparently on the theory
20:22that someone might try
20:23to disrupt today's solemn ceremony,
20:25but no one did.
20:26By June of 1972,
20:28the Cubans had built a reputation
20:29for pulling off a unique brand
20:31of not exactly official political work.
20:33If you were invited
20:35by the President of the United States
20:37for a job,
20:38it's very difficult
20:39that you don't accept it.
20:41I mean,
20:42it was an honor
20:43and a pleasure.
20:45We were trying
20:47to be a good citizen
20:49by giving
20:51a good job
20:53for the American government.
20:56That was all.
21:01I can imagine
21:01all the Watergate burglars
21:03looking back on that night
21:04felt the same way.
21:05It was technically wrong,
21:07but they were the good guys
21:08fighting the good fight.
21:11But I think
21:12if there's one guy
21:13in this whole story
21:14who took that most to heart,
21:15it was the one
21:16who designed the break-in.
21:25Howard Hunt
21:26certainly styled himself
21:27as this sort of
21:28James Bond figure.
21:29He was a CIA operative
21:31who had been
21:32one of the people
21:32in charge
21:33of the Bay of Pigs operation.
21:38By the way,
21:41Martinez knew Howard Hunt
21:42by his Bay of Pigs
21:43known to Gare.
21:45Eduardo.
21:54Rolling.
21:56Action.
21:57Eduardo
22:01Yes,
22:06one of the architects
22:07of the Watergate break-in
22:08also wrote spy novels.
22:12The Violent Ones,
22:14Where Murder Waits,
22:15The Venus Probe.
22:17These are just a few
22:18that he wrote
22:18under various pseudonyms.
22:20And if you read
22:21my personal favorite,
22:22The Coven,
22:23published the very same year
22:24that Hunt orchestrated Watergate,
22:26you might come away
22:27with a better idea
22:28for why this whole thing happened.
22:30The plot was basically
22:32our indefatigable
22:34sort of stalwart investigator
22:36who's clearly a doppelganger
22:39for the real Howard Hunt,
22:42discovers that a figure
22:44who very closely resembles
22:45Edward Kennedy,
22:47Senator Kennedy,
22:49was actually running
22:51a literal
22:52satanic
22:53death cult.
22:56I am free.
22:59I am supposed to require
23:01this.
23:02You almost see
23:03an allegory
23:04of that way
23:05of seeing the world.
23:06I am free.
23:08I am free.
23:09People who believed
23:10to the core
23:11of their being
23:12that politics
23:13was a battle
23:13between the forces
23:14of good
23:15and the forces
23:16of evil
23:16and therefore,
23:18basically,
23:19the ends justified
23:20any means.
23:24Eso iba
23:25a ser mi última operación.
23:27No me gustaba
23:28la forma en que
23:29Eduardo operaba
23:32y yo lo dije
23:33que esta iba a ser
23:34la última operación
23:35que yo así.
23:44There were actually
23:46a few attempts
23:47made before
23:47June 17th
23:48to break into
23:49the DNC headquarters
23:50at Watergate.
23:54Eso fue un banquete
23:56que dio para
23:57decir que era
23:58Meritas,
23:59una compañía
24:00que teníamos nosotros,
24:02un amigo nuestro,
24:04en Miami.
24:08en una comida
24:09allí
24:10en el restaurante
24:11del Watergate.
24:13Pero lo hicimos
24:15para entrar
24:15en el Watergate
24:16y buscar los documentos
24:17porque se decían
24:19que el partido
24:20demógrata
24:21estaba ayudando
24:23a Castro
24:24y a los gobernantes.
24:26Sepan que se van
24:28a enfrentar
24:28con hombres.
24:32Pero en esa particular
24:34noche
24:34los staffers
24:35trabajaron tarde
24:36preveniendo
24:37cualquier oportunidad
24:37de romper
24:38en su oficio.
24:48A few weeks
24:49después,
24:50después de otra
24:50failed attempt,
24:52se obtuvieron
24:52la oportunidad.
24:53La operación fue tarde.
24:57Y yo fui después,
24:58llegué tarde.
25:01Figúrense,
25:02nosotros estábamos
25:02bien vestidos
25:03todos con traje
25:04y con todas esas cosas.
25:07Eduardo llevó
25:08unos pantalones
25:09muy raros
25:10y es allí
25:11Gordon Leader
25:12lo mandó
25:12para la casa
25:13a cambiarse
25:13de ropa.
25:16Lo mandó
25:17a cambiarse
25:19de ropa
25:19y ponerse
25:20más
25:21available.
25:25Nosotros
25:26estábamos allí
25:27y
25:28no necesitamos
25:30poner
25:30los tapes
25:31en las puertas
25:32porque
25:32teníamos
25:33un hombre
25:33que abría
25:33las puertas
25:34sin necesidad,
25:36Virgilio González,
25:37era un cerrajero,
25:39pero mientras tanto
25:40ellos ponían
25:41un tape,
25:41salían al frente
25:42y ponían
25:43un tape
25:44en las puertas.
25:44y los tapes
25:45esos fueron
25:46los que nos
25:46denunciaron
25:48a nosotros.
25:49En hacer
25:49un check de seguridad,
25:51encontré
25:52que el
25:52lato
25:53en la puerta
25:54había sido
25:55taped.
25:55nos volvieron
25:56y encontré
25:57que la misma
25:58puerta
25:58había sido
26:00retenida
26:00de nuevo,
26:01el lato.
26:02En ese momento
26:03se quedó
26:04arriba
26:04para hacer
26:05un llamado
26:05a la policía policial.
26:10Estábamos allí
26:11y teníamos
26:11un lookout
26:12en el
26:13Howard Johnson,
26:15pero nos dejaron
26:17solos
26:17y entonces
26:17llegó la policía
26:18y nos prendió
26:19y no estaban
26:20ellos allí
26:21que podían
26:22habernos
26:22resuelto
26:23el problema,
26:24ni Gordon
26:24Leedy
26:25ni Howard
26:26ojón.
26:29Me quité
26:30el saco,
26:30lo puse
26:31en el suelo
26:31y entonces
26:32yo dije
26:33a los muchachos
26:33esto va
26:34para largo,
26:35tenía
26:36la experiencia
26:36que eso
26:37iba a complicarse.
26:44Nosotros
26:44no teníamos
26:45que ir
26:45esa noche allí.
26:51On that same night,
26:52just a few blocks
26:53away,
26:54Roger Stone
26:54was house-sitting
26:55for Creep
26:56Scheduling Director
26:57Bart Porter
26:59when he heard
27:00the telephone ring.
27:04Jim McCord
27:05was on the line
27:07and he said
27:07this is Jim McCord,
27:08is Porter there?
27:10I said
27:10no sir,
27:11he's away
27:11from the weekend,
27:12could I take
27:13a message?
27:14And he said
27:15damn.
27:17All right,
27:17you expect
27:18to hear from him?
27:19I said
27:19well I really
27:20don't,
27:20but if I do
27:21I'll be happy
27:22to relay a message.
27:23He said
27:24no,
27:24never mind
27:25and he hung up.
27:29about an hour
27:30later
27:31Gordon Liddy
27:31called
27:34looking for Porter.
27:35I said
27:35he's not here.
27:37Where is he?
27:37He said
27:37he's on the west coast
27:38I'm just house-sitting.
27:40He said
27:40do you expect
27:41to hear from him?
27:41I said
27:42no.
27:42He said
27:43well if you do
27:43tell him
27:44Liddy's looking
27:44for him.
27:45I said
27:45yes sir.
27:47The next morning
27:48of course
27:48I saw
27:49the Washington
27:49Post
27:50headlines
27:50that men
27:52had broken
27:53into the water gate.
27:57A spokesman
27:58for the committee
27:58to re-elect
27:59the president
27:59said that this
28:01had no connection
28:02to the committee
28:03and they knew
28:04nothing about it.
28:05I immediately
28:06began to suspect
28:06because of those
28:07two calls
28:08that was not the case.
28:10Five men
28:11were arrested
28:11early Saturday
28:12while trying
28:13to install
28:14eavesdropping equipment
28:15at the Democratic
28:16National Committee
28:17and it turns out
28:18that one of them
28:19has an office
28:20of the headquarters
28:21of the committee
28:22for the re-election
28:23of the president.
28:24The government
28:25is coming back
28:25to provide security
28:26to the president.
28:27This is a very big story
28:28to break in
28:29at the water gate.
28:30Another man
28:31that was arrested
28:32was Eugene Martinez.
28:33He's listed
28:34as a real estate agent
28:36and a soldier
28:37of fortune.
28:38When the first
28:39Washington Post
28:40stories about
28:40what happened
28:41at the water gate
28:42landed in American
28:43living rooms
28:43they barely registered
28:45as a blip.
28:45No detergent
28:46gets out everything.
28:47Cotton,
28:48how Sheila,
28:49punched
28:50with number
28:51clean as cotton.
28:55It was the height
28:56of the primary season
28:57for the 72
28:58Nixon re-election
28:59campaign.
29:01So most of the bureau
29:02was assigned
29:03to different candidates
29:05out there.
29:05So the bureau
29:07was pretty empty.
29:07They had very little
29:08choice but to send me.
29:11I'm Leslie Stahl.
29:12First story I covered
29:13for CBS
29:14was Watergate.
29:16I was just sent
29:17to cover the
29:18arraignment
29:19of the burglars.
29:20There was only
29:21one other reporter
29:23in the whole courtroom
29:25and it just so
29:26happened that it
29:27was Bob Woodward
29:28who was the other
29:29reporter covering
29:30for the Metro page
29:32of the Washington Post
29:33not even for their
29:34main section.
29:36That's how
29:37insignificant
29:37all the news
29:39outlets thought
29:39it was.
29:41Hello sir
29:42how come you're
29:43all here today?
29:44Deposition's
29:45being taken.
29:46How come
29:46all these people
29:47are here to take
29:48deposition?
29:50But with each
29:51tick
29:52it got a little
29:53more and a little
29:54more suspicious.
29:55Bob particularly
29:57had the feeling
29:58almost immediately.
30:00We knew we were
30:01on to quite a story
30:02that very first day.
30:05My name is
30:06Barry Sussman.
30:07I was the editor
30:08in charge of
30:09Watergate coverage
30:09for the Washington
30:10Post.
30:11Our police reporter
30:13was told in advance
30:14that he might be
30:15allowed to look
30:16at some of the
30:17belongings
30:17of the arrested
30:19men.
30:21And he sought
30:22address books.
30:23One of them had
30:24in it the name
30:25Howard Hunt
30:26W.H.
30:28They also
30:29found a check
30:30for $6.36
30:33that Howard Hunt
30:34had left behind
30:35in one of their
30:35hotel rooms.
30:40Woodward called
30:41the White House
30:41asked to speak
30:42to Howard Hunt.
30:47Hunt answered
30:48the phone
30:48and Woodward said
30:50do you mind
30:51telling me
30:51why was your name
30:53in the address
30:54of these men
30:55who were arrested
30:56at the Watergate?
30:58And Hunt said
30:59something like
31:01oh as shit
31:03saying this matter
31:04is under adjudication
31:05and I can't
31:06speak to you.
31:08The break-in
31:09was Saturday.
31:10This is now
31:12Monday afternoon
31:13and we had
31:14the links
31:14to the White House
31:15the links
31:15to the re-election
31:16committee
31:17down cold.
31:19This set the stage
31:20for the most
31:20consequential
31:21cat-and-mouse
31:22game probably
31:23ever played
31:23in American
31:24politics.
31:25On one side
31:26were the
31:26journalists
31:26tasked with
31:27uncovering
31:28what really
31:28happened
31:29and on the
31:30other
31:30was the
31:30White House
31:31where the
31:31staff was
31:32doing all
31:32they could
31:33to make
31:33sure they
31:34failed.
31:35It was really
31:35just the
31:35company line.
31:36We don't know
31:37anything about
31:37this.
31:38We're not
31:39involved in
31:39this.
31:40Go back
31:40to your
31:41surrogate
31:41scheduling
31:41and don't
31:42worry about
31:42it.
31:43Neither
31:43the president
31:44obviously
31:44or anybody
31:45in the
31:45White House
31:46or anybody
31:46in authority
31:47and any
31:48of the
31:48committees
31:48working for
31:49the re-election
31:49of the
31:50president
31:50have any
31:51responsibility
31:52for it
31:53and therefore
31:53there's no
31:53reason why
31:54it should be
31:55a matter of
31:56concern to
31:57the American
31:58public.
31:58The White House
31:59today simply
31:59refused to
32:00comment.
32:01Presidential
32:01Press Secretary
32:02Ronald Ziegler
32:02refused comment
32:04a total of
32:0423 times.
32:06The president's
32:07press secretary
32:07said of this
32:08incident I'm not
32:09going to comment
32:10from the White
32:10House on a
32:11third-rate
32:12burglary
32:12attempt.
32:13When Ron
32:14Ziegler said
32:15it was just
32:16a third-rate
32:16burglary it
32:17became one of
32:18those great
32:19Watergate
32:19phrases.
32:20A third-rate
32:21burglary.
32:22That's all it
32:23was.
32:24I'm Connie
32:25Chung.
32:25I covered
32:26Watergate for
32:27CBS News.
32:28It's sort
32:28of like
32:29no collusion.
32:30It kept
32:31getting repeated
32:32and repeated
32:33and repeated
32:33and that
32:34was the
32:34White House
32:35line.
32:36Presidential
32:36Press Secretary
32:37Ronald Ziegler
32:38called the
32:39bugging a
32:39third-rate
32:40burglary
32:40attempt.
32:41I think
32:41the American
32:42public has
32:42a better
32:43perspective
32:43on the
32:44relative
32:45insignificance
32:46of the
32:46Watergate
32:47matter.
32:47The Post
32:48said the
32:48Republicans
32:48had a
32:49secret
32:49fund
32:50to pay
32:50for
32:50political
32:50spying
32:51and
32:51sabotage.
32:52The
32:52White House
32:52denied it.
32:53The Post
32:53has
32:54maliciously
32:54sought
32:55to give
32:55the
32:55appearance
32:55of a
32:56direct
32:57connection
32:57between
32:57the
32:57White House
32:58and the
32:58Watergate.
32:59The
32:59administration
33:00fought it,
33:01tried to
33:01come down
33:02hard on
33:03The
33:03Washington
33:03Post,
33:04make it
33:05seem like
33:05we were
33:05an
33:05instrument
33:06of the
33:07Democratic
33:07campaign.
33:32It was
33:33a deft
33:34media
33:34strategy
33:34that
33:35paid
33:35off.
33:36Especially
33:36since,
33:37if you
33:37were
33:37wondering
33:38just how
33:38far up
33:39the
33:39chain
33:39Watergate
33:40went,
33:40the
33:41man at
33:41the
33:41top
33:42was
33:42doing
33:42all
33:42he
33:43could
33:43to
33:43keep
33:43his
33:43distance.
33:44The
33:45reporters
33:45couldn't
33:46get to
33:46Nixon,
33:47but one
33:48day I
33:49walked into
33:49the
33:50West
33:50Gate,
33:51and all
33:52of a
33:52sudden I
33:53see
33:53Nixon
33:53standing
33:54there.
33:56And he's
33:56been in
33:57the bunker.
33:57You have
33:58not been
33:58able to
33:59either see
34:00or hear
34:00from him
34:01at all.
34:01And here
34:02he was
34:02standing
34:03in his
34:04normal,
34:04you know,
34:05sort of
34:05position.
34:06And Secret
34:07Service
34:08around.
34:08They swarmed
34:09around me,
34:09but I kept
34:10walking directly
34:11up to him,
34:12and they
34:12didn't rustle
34:13me down
34:13or anything.
34:14So I began
34:15to talk to him
34:16and I began
34:17asking him
34:17questions.
34:19I was afraid
34:21to take out
34:21my notebook
34:22because I was
34:23afraid he
34:23wouldn't talk
34:24to me if I
34:25wrote things
34:25down.
34:26So I was
34:27trying to
34:27remember what
34:28he was saying.
34:29Well, he
34:29didn't really
34:30say very much.
34:31I was asking
34:32him all kinds
34:33of Watergate
34:33questions,
34:34and he would
34:35dance around.
34:36And finally,
34:37he said to
34:38me,
34:38how much
34:39money do
34:40you make?
34:42And I
34:43said,
34:44what?
34:44And he
34:45said,
34:46how much
34:46money do
34:47you make?
34:48Well,
34:49I make
34:49$27,000 a
34:51year,
34:51but if I
34:52do a
34:53Cronkite news
34:54report,
34:55I get an
34:55extra $35.
34:56So if I
34:57turn the radio
34:58spots out,
34:59I can get
34:59my salary up
35:00to maybe
35:01$29,000 a
35:02year,
35:03almost $30,000
35:04a year.
35:05And he
35:05listened to
35:06this ridiculous
35:07rendition of
35:08how much I
35:09made,
35:09and he
35:10said,
35:11you know
35:11what?
35:11You have
35:12to make
35:13more money.
35:18And then
35:19he walked
35:19away.
35:21With an
35:22election coming
35:22up,
35:23Nixon was
35:23working hard
35:24to beat
35:24back the
35:25story of
35:25Watergate.
35:26And it
35:27was working.
35:28I think
35:28Nixon has
35:29done a good
35:30job with
35:30us so far.
35:31What about
35:32the Watergate
35:33incident?
35:33I don't
35:34know what
35:34that means.
35:36What was
35:37frustrating
35:37mainly was
35:39that the
35:39public interest
35:40in this
35:41wasn't
35:42heightened.
35:43What were
35:43those men
35:44after at
35:44the Watergate?
35:45Who sent
35:46them?
35:46How were
35:47they paid?
35:48And I
35:49guess we
35:50were more
35:50curious than
35:51frustrated.
35:52Why aren't
35:53the American
35:54people as
35:55upset and
35:57affected by
35:58this as
35:59we are?
36:01we do
36:02live in a
36:02little fish
36:02bowl in
36:03Washington
36:04and what
36:06was going
36:06on right
36:07outside the
36:08environs
36:09frustrated us
36:11or what
36:12wasn't going
36:12on.
36:16One
36:17evening
36:18there was a
36:19knock on
36:19my door
36:21and it
36:22was Carl
36:22Bernstein.
36:23He literally
36:24put his foot
36:24in the door
36:25so I couldn't
36:26close it
36:26and he
36:27said I
36:27want to
36:28ask you
36:28about the
36:28committee
36:29to re-elect
36:29the president
36:30and I
36:32said I
36:32have nothing
36:32to say.
36:33I then
36:34realized that
36:35Watergate was
36:36not over
36:36and that
36:37they were
36:38going to
36:38continue to
36:39dig.
36:42Carl
36:43Bernstein
36:43called
36:44John
36:45Mitchell
36:45to question
36:46Mitchell's
36:46involvement
36:48and he
36:48apparently
36:49woke Mitchell
36:50up.
36:50Mitchell
36:50said what
36:51time is
36:52it?
36:53And
36:53Bernstein
36:54said it's
36:5511 o'clock.
36:57Bernstein
36:58told him
36:58then why
36:58he was
36:59calling
36:59and Mitchell
37:01said you
37:01guys are
37:02doing some
37:02story on
37:03us,
37:03huh?
37:03Well we're
37:04going to
37:04do one
37:05story on
37:05you when
37:06all this
37:06is over.
37:07He said
37:08Katie Graham
37:09is going
37:10to get
37:10her tit
37:11caught
37:11in a
37:11ringer.
37:18Hello.
37:18Mr.
37:19Ziegler,
37:19sir.
37:20Hi.
37:20Hi, Ron.
37:21Yes,
37:22Mr.
37:22President.
37:23I want
37:23to clearly
37:24understood
37:24that from
37:25now on
37:27never
37:27no reporter
37:29from the
37:29Washington
37:29Post is
37:30ever to
37:31be in
37:31the White
37:31House.
37:32Is that
37:32clear?
37:32Absolutely.
37:33Unless it's
37:34a press
37:34conference.
37:34Yes, sir.
37:35Never in
37:36the White
37:36House.
37:37No church
37:37service and
37:38no photographer
37:39either.
37:40No photographer.
37:41Is that
37:41clear?
37:42Yes, sir.
37:42None.
37:43That is a
37:44total order
37:44and if
37:46necessary,
37:47I'll fire
37:47you.
37:48You understand?
37:48I do
37:49understand.
37:50Okay.
37:50All right.
37:51Good.
37:55It was
37:56around that
37:56time that
37:58I remember
37:59looking back
37:59and saying,
38:01uh-oh,
38:02we're way
38:03out on a
38:03limb,
38:04aren't we?
38:04And we'll
38:04never get
38:05back.
38:06And from
38:07that period
38:07on, I
38:08began to
38:09think of
38:09the story
38:10as not
38:11a story
38:11about a
38:13break-in,
38:13about campaign
38:14contributions,
38:15but about
38:16Nixon.
38:20We're
38:21way out
38:22on a
38:22limb
38:22is a
38:22great
38:23way
38:23to
38:23understand
38:24the
38:24stakes.
38:24Because
38:25at that
38:25time,
38:26the idea
38:27that the
38:27president
38:27could be
38:28involved
38:28in a
38:28criminal
38:29conspiracy
38:29was just
38:31unimaginable.
38:32In two
38:32centuries,
38:33only 36
38:34tenants have
38:34occupied the
38:35White House
38:35on temporary
38:37lease from
38:37that most
38:38demanding and
38:39generous of
38:39landlords,
38:40the people
38:41of the
38:41United States.
38:42The man
38:43who occupies
38:44this historic
38:44office must
38:45fulfill many
38:46roles,
38:47statesman,
38:47strategist,
38:48ceremonial
38:49leader,
38:50guardian of
38:50the nation's
38:51spirit and
38:51honor.
38:52This compulsion
38:53to believe
38:53that we're
38:54led by
38:54honorable men,
38:55that our
38:55nation is
38:56honorable,
38:57very much
38:58drove an
39:00almost willful
39:00inability for
39:02Americans to
39:04accept that
39:04this might have
39:05had anything to
39:06do with
39:06Richard Nixon.
39:10Now,
39:11that might
39:11sound like a
39:12lofty
39:12interpretation
39:12of Nixon,
39:14but that's
39:14because we
39:15think of him
39:15through the
39:15lens of
39:16Watergate and
39:17everything that
39:17it revealed.
39:18When he was
39:19first elected,
39:20Americans saw
39:21him in a
39:21much different
39:22light.
39:23The night is
39:24long and it
39:24is still dark
39:26as far as
39:27civilization goes,
39:29but we will
39:30never be
39:30perfect,
39:31for man is
39:32not perfect,
39:34but we are
39:35on the way.
39:36On the day
39:37Nixon was
39:37sworn into
39:38office in
39:39January of
39:391969,
39:41a rabbi
39:42named Edgar F.
39:43Magnin offered
39:44this blessing.
39:45Our father's
39:45God,
39:46to the author
39:46of liberty,
39:47to thee we
39:47sing,
39:49long may our
39:50land be bright
39:51with freedom's
39:52holy light.
39:54Protect us
39:55by thy might.
39:56I think it's a
39:57good window into
39:58the expectations
39:58that people had
39:59for Nixon as
40:00an American
40:00president.
40:01There are few
40:02faint streets
40:02of pink in
40:03the sky.
40:05We await
40:07the dawn.
40:08Almighty God
40:09bless our
40:10country and
40:10him who will
40:11be our
40:11leader and
40:13our guide in
40:13the coming
40:14years.
40:15Amen.
40:16By the way,
40:17this rabbi who
40:18offered the
40:19stirring prayer
40:19for Nixon was
40:21actually May
40:22Brussels'
40:23father.
40:27Now, if on
40:28that day,
40:29Brussels shared
40:30her father's
40:30hopes for the
40:31president.
40:32Four years
40:32later, they
40:33had been
40:33thoroughly dashed.
40:35Mr. Nixon,
40:36President Nixon,
40:37I call him
40:38Mr. because I
40:39do not recognize
40:40him.
40:40He's my
40:41president.
40:42He may be
40:42yours, but I
40:43call him Mr.
40:43Nixon.
40:47Despite her
40:48insistence that a
40:49conspiracy was
40:50afoot, there was
40:51every indication
40:52that Richard Nixon
40:53would stand on
40:53that same podium
40:54and be sworn in
40:55for a second
40:56term.
40:57But there was
40:58someone else,
40:59someone with a
41:00much bigger
41:00audience than
41:01Mae Brussel,
41:01who was also
41:02trying to get
41:03in the way.
41:06At first,
41:07it was called
41:08the Watergate
41:09caper.
41:09Five men
41:10apparently caught
41:11in the act of
41:12burglarizing and
41:13bugging Democratic
41:14headquarters in
41:15Washington.
41:16But the episode
41:17grew steadily more
41:18sinister.
41:19No longer a
41:20caper, but the
41:21Watergate affair.
41:22At first, it was
41:23called the
41:24Watergate caper.
41:25Five men
41:26apparently caught
41:28in the act of
41:28burglarizing and
41:29bugging Democratic
41:30headquarters in
41:31Washington.
41:33Cronkite was the
41:34man that everybody
41:35watched on
41:36television.
41:37My family used to
41:38sit around and
41:39watch Walter
41:40Cronkite.
41:41We were CBS News
41:42devotees.
41:43We gathered together
41:45and watched Uncle
41:46Walter every night.
41:48Good evening.
41:48This is Walter
41:49Cronkite at CBS News
41:50headquarters in New
41:51York.
41:52And at the end,
41:52he would say,
41:53and that's the
41:53way it is.
41:54And that's the
41:55way it is.
41:56Monday, September
41:5611th, 1972.
41:59He was incredible.
42:00We loved Walter.
42:02America loved
42:03Walter Cronkite.
42:06As weeks and
42:07months passed and
42:09television had no
42:09coverage of
42:10Watergate, Walter
42:12Cronkite kind of got
42:13fed up.
42:14Most of what is
42:15known of the
42:15Watergate affair has
42:17emerged in puzzling
42:18bits and pieces
42:19through digging by the
42:20nation's press and
42:21television newsmen.
42:22And on a Friday
42:23night, not long
42:24before the election,
42:26Walter Cronkite spent
42:27maybe 20 minutes of
42:28his half-hour show
42:29reporting Watergate.
42:31Watergate was only
42:32part of, in the
42:33Washington Post's
42:34words, a broad
42:35campaign of political
42:36espionage and
42:37sabotage against the
42:39Democratic Party.
42:40There were individuals
42:42with 20 years'
42:43experience in the
42:44CIA and several
42:45years with the
42:46FBI, and we were
42:47working for the
42:48former attorney
42:48general.
42:49So I couldn't
42:49question the
42:50legality of what
42:51was going on.
42:51I just took my
42:52orders and did what
42:53I was instructed to
42:53do.
42:54There was no news
42:55in it.
42:55It was all stuff
42:57that we had in the
42:57Washington Post.
42:58But to many of the
43:00viewers nationwide,
43:01it was news.
43:02In our next report,
43:03the money behind the
43:05Watergate affair.
43:06Cronkite announced on
43:07that Friday night that
43:09he was going to have a
43:09follow-up story on
43:10Monday.
43:12Cronkite's first report
43:13on Watergate terrified
43:15Nixon.
43:17This was a man, after
43:18all, who once said,
43:20the American people
43:21don't believe anything's
43:22real until they see it
43:23on television.
43:25Shadows, as usual.
43:26And I think he really
43:27bent that.
43:29Yeah, but it is.
43:31It's hard to see it.
43:32I see the page as well.
43:35I'm moving around.
43:38See, the shadow comes
43:40directly on the page.
43:42See what I mean?
43:43If you just knock it
43:43off the page, I can read
43:46a little bit easier.
43:47Nixon was very much
43:48like our current
43:49president in that
43:50respect.
43:52He understood the
43:53impact of television,
43:54and so does our
43:55current president.
43:59Well, I'll just put it,
44:00I'll move it over to
44:01the side here a little.
44:01That's all right.
44:03I'll sit and read it
44:04from this way.
44:04That's all right.
44:05You can get a good
44:05picture, can't you?
44:06The thing that's really
44:07striking about Richard
44:08Nixon's relationship to
44:10the medium of television
44:11is that in the
44:13it really created him
44:14as a national hero
44:16during the Checkers
44:16speech in 1952.
44:18Ladies and gentlemen,
44:20Senator Richard Nixon.
44:21When she looked the
44:22American people in the
44:23eye and convinced them
44:24that he had not
44:25committed financial
44:27improprieties.
44:28We did get something,
44:29a gift, after the
44:31election.
44:32It was a little
44:33cocker spaniel dog,
44:35and our little girl,
44:36Tricia, the six-year-old,
44:37named it Checkers.
44:38And I just want to say
44:40this right now,
44:41that regardless of what
44:42they say about it,
44:43we're going to keep him.
44:45It probably undid his
44:47presidential campaign in
44:481960.
44:50I costed out the cost of
44:51the Democratic platform.
44:52His infamous debate in
44:54which he kind of broke out
44:55in a sweat and was kind of
44:57stammering compared to this
44:58confident, handsome, young
45:00John F. Kennedy.
45:02This was the week that
45:04changed the world.
45:05It made him a hero again
45:07when he was in China,
45:09and people saw these
45:10glorious, sumptuous images
45:12of him, you know, making
45:13peace with America's
45:15ancient enemy.
45:16The president departs for
45:17home after his historic
45:19week in China.
45:20He thought very deliberately
45:21and very consciously and
45:23very obsessively about how
45:25he came across on
45:26television.
45:30Okay.
45:33All right, all set?
45:37And so, with the prospect
45:39of another Cronkite report
45:40on Watergate, Nixon launched
45:42a behind-the-scenes
45:43counterattack that at the
45:45time, I think only a
45:46conspiracy theorist could
45:47have conjured.
46:08The second part was ready to air.
46:11Walter Cronkite was ready to
46:13deliver it.
46:14All of a sudden, the White House
46:16apparently called William
46:18Paley, the owner of CBS.
46:22We got a call saying,
46:24we need to cut it down for time.
46:27It was very suspicious.
46:31Why did Paley stop him?
46:34I don't know why Paley
46:35stopped him.
46:35I think if Paley were alive
46:37today and somebody asked him,
46:38why did you stop him?
46:39He would most likely say,
46:41I made a mistake.
46:45And that was it.
46:46That was the extent of the
46:47television coverage of
46:48Watergate before the election.
46:53It was so smoothly handled,
46:55no one really noticed.
46:56Not even Mae Brussel.
46:58Walter Cronkite did 15 minutes
47:00this week on the funding of
47:02the Watergate.
47:02And I think one or two years
47:04from now, people are going to
47:05be sorry that they didn't
47:07take those allegations
47:08seriously.
47:10And just a few weeks later,
47:12Richard Nixon was re-elected
47:14president in one of the biggest
47:15landslides in American history.
47:17I simply want to say from the
47:19bottom of my heart,
47:21thanks for making
47:23our last campaign
47:25the very best one of all.
47:29When Nixon was re-elected
47:31after all this,
47:34it was hard to believe.
47:35Yeah, it was frustrating
47:37to those people
47:38who saw that he was involved
47:41with a lot of this.
47:43How about that?
47:44The election's over
47:45and we made it.
47:47We've survived a couple of days,
47:48almost a week.
47:49For Mae,
47:50she never felt like
47:51she was finished.
47:53It wasn't over.
47:54She still needed to do more.
47:56It was almost business
47:58as usual the day after
47:59at the White House,
48:00but not quite.
48:02News Secretary Ron Ziegler
48:03described the mood here
48:04as one of satisfaction.
48:06For anyone who believed
48:07that Nixon had something
48:08to do with Watergate,
48:10his re-election made
48:11the burden of proof
48:12that much heavier.
48:14And as 1972 turned to 1973,
48:18most people just seemed
48:19to move on.
48:21Rousing America
48:22from its national indifference
48:23to Watergate
48:24was going to require
48:25a serious jolt.
48:29Seven men went on trial today
48:31in a Washington federal court
48:32charged with the break-in
48:33and burglary
48:34of Democratic National Headquarters
48:36in the Watergate building
48:37last June.
48:39Two are former White House aides.
48:41The other five
48:42were about three.
48:43In January of 1973,
48:46the grand jury trial
48:47for the Watergate burglary
48:48began.
48:49The five men
48:50caught breaking in,
48:52plus the two men
48:53who orchestrated it,
48:54Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt,
48:55were all charged
48:56with burglary
48:57and conspiracy.
48:58But seeing as no one
49:00higher up
49:00was brought to trial,
49:02interest in the story
49:03continued to lag.
49:06If you watch
49:07the Watergate trial,
49:08they call 60 witnesses here,
49:10but they're calling 60 people
49:12that had nothing
49:13to do with the case.
49:14They're not calling
49:14Martha Mitchell,
49:15they're not calling
49:16John Mitchell.
49:17In these early court hearings,
49:19each time a new bit
49:21of information
49:21would come out,
49:22I would run
49:24to a payphone.
49:25This is the way
49:25we did our reporting
49:27in those days.
49:28I would run
49:29to a payphone
49:30and put a dime in
49:35and do my radio report
49:37on the phone.
49:38And by the time
49:39I got to the payphone
49:40on the third floor
49:41of the courthouse,
49:43I was out of breath.
49:44So all my reports
49:46sounded as if it was
49:48a five-alarm fire,
49:50like that.
49:53And I learned
49:55that not one
49:56of those reports
49:57was ever put on radio.
49:59They would take them in
50:00and not use them.
50:04After 16 days
50:05and more than 100 pieces
50:06of evidence,
50:07the seven men charged
50:09were convicted
50:09of conspiracy,
50:11burglary,
50:11and wiretapping
50:12the Democratic Party's
50:13Watergate headquarters.
50:14I think when
50:15the record in this
50:17case becomes known,
50:19anybody who has
50:20a fair mind about it
50:21and is looking
50:22at it objectively
50:24would be able
50:25to conclude
50:25that this has been
50:27the most comprehensive,
50:29deep, thorough investigation
50:31that the FBI
50:32has ever made.
50:34And were it not
50:35for Judge John Sirica,
50:36that story
50:37might have stuck.
50:39Judge John Sirica
50:40indicated he was
50:41going to be tough
50:42to avoid
50:43any accusations
50:44of whitewash.
50:45When Hunt's lawyers
50:46objected,
50:47he said,
50:47I don't want to hear you.
50:48You can argue
50:49till doomsday.
50:50He set a sentencing date
50:51for March 23rd,
50:52and given his demeanor
50:54throughout the trial,
50:55it seemed to be
50:56a safe bet
50:56that he was going
50:57to throw the book
50:58at them.
50:59He was known
51:00as a hard-nosed judge
51:01who liked to take
51:03the big ones
51:03on his own.
51:15He was basically
51:16chastising
51:17the prosecutor
51:18for not asking
51:20more pointed questions
51:21and continuing
51:23to ask these burglars.
51:24I remember this.
51:25Who were the higher-ups?
51:27You weren't the top
51:28of this pyramid.
51:29Who were the higher-ups?
51:31And it was as if
51:32Sirica knew
51:33it went into
51:34the White House.
51:37And he was insistent,
51:38and I thought,
51:39this is inappropriate.
51:40A judge shouldn't
51:41be doing that.
51:43I was kind of appalled
51:44at it,
51:45but it did the trick.
51:47Up until the trial,
51:49Howard Hunt
51:50had been willing
51:50to keep quiet
51:51for Nixon.
51:52But facing
51:53what could be
51:54extended jail time,
51:55the cost of his silence
51:57skyrocketed.
51:58Hunt sent a threat
52:00to me directly
52:01through one of
52:02the re-election
52:03committee lawyers.
52:05He said,
52:05you just tell Dean
52:06this.
52:07If he isn't paid
52:08$120,000,
52:11like yesterday,
52:13he's going to have
52:14seamy things to say
52:16about what he did
52:17for John Ehrlichman.
52:20We don't know
52:21exactly what happened,
52:22but Hunt did not
52:24break.
52:25Believer in the law,
52:27I understood then
52:29and understand now
52:30the consequences
52:31of breaking it.
52:34Tenían,
52:35lo que nos presentaron
52:36a nosotros fue
52:37que nos declaráramos
52:38preso,
52:39que entonces el
52:40presidente nos
52:41nos libertaría
52:43enseguida.
52:44Todo eso fue
52:44una,
52:45una mentira.
52:48Another one
52:49of the men
52:49on trial,
52:50James McCord,
52:51who had been
52:52in charge
52:52of the bugging
52:52portion of the job,
52:54likely received
52:55a similar offer.
52:56He had been
52:57sort of an
52:57electronics janitor
52:59at the CIA
53:01where he was
53:02responsible that
53:03nobody was bugging
53:05the Langley
53:05headquarters.
53:07When he retired,
53:09he was going
53:10to set up
53:10a private
53:11consulting
53:12and security
53:13firm.
53:15Those plans
53:16were in jeopardy
53:17now that he'd
53:17been found
53:18guilty of a
53:18federal crime.
53:20Although he was
53:20hoping for the
53:21best,
53:22he as well as
53:23I was not
53:25shocked at the
53:25verdict.
53:26And with a full
53:27two months
53:27before the
53:28sentencing date,
53:29McCord had ample
53:30time to remember
53:31how he got there
53:32in the first place.
53:33All he knew
53:33was what Liddy
53:34told him
53:36and a lot
53:37of it was false.
53:38Liddy needed
53:39a wire man
53:40as he called it,
53:41somebody who knew
53:43how to conduct
53:43electronic surveillance.
53:45And it appears
53:47he got McCord
53:47to do it by,
53:49in essence,
53:50lying to him
53:50about, you know,
53:51what the authority
53:52was and paying him,
53:54paying him a lot
53:55of money.
53:57McCord needed
53:58the extra money
53:59because he had
54:00a handicapped
54:02child.
54:04And so I think
54:06that's how
54:06McCord got sucked
54:07into it.
54:09McCord
54:18everything came
54:19to a head
54:20on the day
54:20of sentencing,
54:22March 23rd,
54:231973.
54:24Judge Sirica
54:25was ill that day.
54:27The court
54:27started late.
54:28The judge
54:29was going
54:29into his offices
54:31to take
54:31Pepto-Bismol
54:32or something.
54:33His stomach
54:33was really
54:34bothering him.
54:35And he said,
54:36I'm going to have
54:37something for you
54:37in 10 minutes.
54:39So we had
54:40no idea
54:41what it was.
54:45What would
54:46happen
54:46transformed
54:47Watergate
54:48from something
54:48history probably
54:49would have
54:49remembered
54:50as a third-rate
54:50burglary
54:51and turned it
54:52into the rich
54:53political epic
54:54that we now
54:54know it to be.
54:56Good morning,
54:57Mr. McCord.
55:01Judge Sirica
55:02revealed that
55:04one of the
55:04defendants,
55:05James McCord,
55:06had written
55:07him a letter.
55:09Judge John Sirica
55:10opened by saying
55:11he had received
55:12the letter
55:12from McCord.
55:13McCord wrote
55:14that several
55:15members of his
55:15family expressed
55:16fear for his
55:17life for disclosing
55:18what he knows.
55:19Then came the
55:20bombshells.
55:21There was
55:21political pressure
55:22on the defendants
55:23to plead guilty
55:24and to remain
55:24silent,
55:25wrote McCord.
55:26Perjury occurred
55:27during the trial.
55:28Others involved
55:29in the Watergate
55:30operation were not
55:31identified during
55:32the trial.
55:33When he read
55:34James McCord's
55:35letter,
55:35it broke a big
55:38dam.
55:38There was a
55:39sensational development
55:40in the Watergate
55:41trial today.
55:42One of the key
55:43defendants says
55:44there was political
55:45pressure and perjury
55:46involved in the
55:47trial.
55:48Reporters were
55:49stunned.
55:49Nobody knew this
55:50was coming and
55:51they ran out of
55:52the courtroom to
55:52make phone calls.
55:53This was supposed
55:54to be the finale
55:55for the seven
55:56Watergate defendants
55:57the day of
55:57sentencing.
55:58But instead,
55:59the case broke
56:00wide open again.
56:01Mr. McCord,
56:02you did say in
56:03your letter that
56:04your family had
56:04been afraid for
56:05your life and
56:06that you too had
56:07feared retaliation.
56:08What did you
56:09mean by that?
56:10Sorry, I'll have
56:11no further comment.
56:11The man who
56:12had a special
56:13Senate investigation,
56:14North Carolina's
56:15Sam Irvin, said
56:16he hopes the
56:17White House will
56:17now be more
56:18cooperative in
56:19bringing out all
56:19the facts.
56:20The McCord
56:21letter was the
56:22tipping point of
56:22the Watergate
56:23saga.
56:24But apart from
56:25lighting the fuse
56:25that would
56:26eventually burn
56:27down Nixon's
56:27administration,
56:29it did something
56:30else pretty
56:30extraordinary.
56:31At least for
56:32one day,
56:33it aligned the
56:34May Brussels of
56:35the world with
56:36the Woodward's
56:36and Bernstein's.
56:37It was a very
56:38important day for
56:39the Watergate group
56:40because now we're
56:41in a different
56:41ballgame.
56:42The McCord
56:42letter made
56:43Watergate a
56:44conspiracy,
56:45officially.
56:46This has caused
56:47shockwaves in
56:48Washington and
56:48we'll have
56:49detailed coverage.
56:50And all of a
56:51sudden, everyone
56:52who disregarded
56:53the odd
56:53coincidences of
56:54the Flight 553
56:55crash in Chicago,
56:57and in the end,
56:57that's all they
56:58proved to be,
56:59mere coincidences.
57:00They had to now
57:01start paying
57:02closer attention
57:03to the widening
57:04scope of this
57:04story, because
57:06Watergate now
57:07had legs.
57:08We're right in
57:09the middle of a
57:09very important
57:11time in American
57:11history, and I
57:13tried to turn
57:14people on to the
57:14history of their
57:15times.
57:15That's what this
57:16is all about.
57:19I have mixed
57:20feelings about
57:21May Brussels.
57:22I think she was
57:23looking for answers
57:24to better understand
57:25a world that she
57:25didn't trust, answers
57:27that she believed
57:28would protect her
57:29children.
57:30But that effort
57:31led her and her
57:32listeners to some
57:33dark and unlikely
57:34conclusions.
57:35In this instance,
57:36though, Watergate
57:38proved her right.
57:39The government
57:40really did lie and
57:41cheat and steal.
57:43And it abandoned
57:45its people to
57:46maintain power.
58:14The stage was now
58:15set for the next
58:16chapter of Watergate.
58:17And, much to the
58:19horror of Richard
58:19Nixon, it would
58:21all play out on
58:22live television.
58:23The Senate Watergate
58:24hearings, just weeks
58:26away, were about to
58:27become the greatest
58:28show on Earth.
58:32Programs regularly
58:33scheduled for this
58:33time will not be
58:34seen today in order
58:36that we might bring
58:36you the following
58:37NBC News special
58:38report.
58:44Good morning.
58:45This is the Senate
58:46caucus room in
58:47Washington, D.C.
58:48And it's jammed
58:49this morning, jammed
58:50with spectators,
58:51newsmen, senators,
58:52and their aides.
58:53And the scene adds
58:54to the sense of
58:55drama as the Senate
58:56opens what is likely
58:57to become the most
58:58serious investigation
58:59it has ever made.
59:01An investigation of
59:02the American political
59:03system and the
59:04presidency itself.
59:17of the first
59:17military
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