Watergate: The Downfall of Richard Nixon

The Break In

Just after midnight on June 17th 1972, a criminal gang broke into a room on the 6th floor of the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. Across the street, in a separate hotel, they’d placed their spotter, Alfred Baldwin. His job was to keep a lookout for police. The problem was that when the police arrived, Alfred wasn’t doing his job. He was distracted by a horror film which had just come on TV. When he finally tore his eyes from the screen, he saw his gang being led to waiting police cars. Though the cops couldn’t know it then, they had just tipped the first in a long line of political dominoes.

Why the Watergate Building?

At the time of the break-in, Richard Nixon was coming to the end of his presidential term and seeking reelection. Scarred by what he perceived as cheating during his 1960 election loss and outraged by a 7,000-page leak of secret files from the Pentagon in 1971, Nixon became paranoid. In response, he created an organisation akin to a secret police force (called the Committee for the Re-election of the President).

It was Nixon’s team that broke into Watergate. Their objective was to bug the Democratic National Committee's headquarters so they could monitor the opposition's election campaign. Obviously, that didn’t quite work out as intended.

The Investigation

The morning after the break-in, two reporters from The Washington Post, Bob Woodward and his colleague, Carl Bernstein, were alerted to the news. At first, it didn’t seem like anything too different to the hundreds of other break-ins across the city. But then, several exciting details caught their attention: the gang’s leader was a former CIA operative. The intruders were carrying expensive surveillance equipment. And, perhaps juiciest of all, one of them had a notepad containing the phone number of an office at the White House…

They covered this as a crime story. They weren't covering it as a big political story, and they certainly didn't know what they would let themselves in for.

Michael Dobbs, author of King Richard: Nixon and Watergate, an American tragedy

An Insider

Before becoming a reporter, Bob Woodward had been a lieutenant in the US Navy. During a trip to the White House, he became friendly with a man named Mark Felt, who worked for the FBI. As Bob’s career in journalism took off, Felt provided sensitive information on the strict understanding that he would never be revealed as a source. When the Watergate story broke, Felt - then associate director of the FBI - agreed to keep delivering insider information. To make sure his identity never got out, he was assigned the nickname Deep Throat.The first Watergate report appeared on the front page of the Washington Post on June 18th, 1972, the day after the arrests. It was a short piece, just a couple of paragraphs long. Though the former CIA connection of one of the gang members was mentioned, the Post was cautious not to jump to conclusions. But, the two journalists sensed an iceberg beneath the tip of this strange story.

Mark Felt famously told them to follow the money. If they succeeded in finding out who had funded the break-in, then the whole conspiracy would become clear.

Michael Dobbs, author of King Richard: Nixon and Watergate, an American tragedy

Woodward and Bernstein's first breakthrough came a month later. In August 1972, the reporters found a paper trail proving that the Committee to Re-elect the President had paid one of the Watergate burglars $25,000 in hush money. The story escalated from curiosity to conspiracy. The journalists were able to prove that corruption existed in the White House. But now they needed to show that this went all the way to the very top.

The opportunity came in March 1973. James McCord Jr., a former CIA operative and one of the Watergate burglars, hinted during the ensuing court case that there was political pressure to keep quiet from very high up. Rumours circulated about Nixon’s involvement. Keen to refute these, Nixon went on TV to deliver his famous “I’m not a crook” speech. He’d come to regret that decision the following year…

Richard Nixon’s Undoing

Richard Nixon was a man obsessed with his legacy. After retirement, he planned to write his memoirs, portraying himself in a favourable light. To ensure he didn’t forget anything, he had the White House rigged with recording devices to capture important meetings. Even though Nixon knew about the tapes, he seemed to forget that all his conversations were being recorded for posterity.

In August 1974, the Supreme Court decided unanimously that the tapes were not private documents. They were evidence in the investigation of a crime and must be released. The recordings were damning, with over 200 hours worth of conversations concerning Watergate and Nixon’s attempts to cover up his part in it. A day after the tapes were released, Nixon went on television again, this time to resign. 

Gerald Ford stepped up to be inaugurated as President. He immediately pardoned Nixon for any involvement in the Watergate cover-up. Nonetheless, the name Nixon quickly became synonymous with conspiracy and corruption. The age of trusting Presidents and Prime Ministers was over.

Woodward and Bernstein gave birth to a whole new breed of investigative reporter. Watergate ended the age of innocence in American politics.

Michael Dobbs, author of King Richard: Nixon and Watergate, an American tragedy