Source: Garrett M. Graff. Watergate - A New History (2022)
On 15 September 1972, the government finally announced indictments concerning the Watergate break-in, and it seemed to be a near-total victory for Nixon, the White House, and CREEP, as well as the cover-up. Justice Department prosecutors only charged the five burglars plus Hunt and Liddy. Those indictments were baffling to anyone that had followed the events and stories since 17 June 1972, since there was no mention of the campaign finance violations, the $89k from Mexico, Dahlberg’s $25k check, or the $350m slush fund at CREEP.
The indictments were announced in the courtroom of US District Court Judge John Sirica, who rose to the federal bench in a rags-to-riches story. Sirica was appointed as a federal judge in 1957 after helping the Eisenhower campaigns in 1952 and 1956, garnering support from Italian-American voters. Sirica’s friend (and best man at his wedding), was one of the most famous sports superstars in US History, the boxer Jack Dempsey, who attended Sirica’s swearing-in ceremony. As a federal judge, Sirica was not well-regarded, being seen as near the bottom in terms of his depth of legal knowledge, and it didn’t help that he looked like a bus driver in judicial robes.
As the District of Columbia’s chief judge, Sirica oversaw grand juries, and could select the trials that interested him. Sirica loved publicity, and the Watergate indictments were sure to put the spotlight on Sirica. The formal arraignments of the seven men charged in the Watergate break-in was a media circus. When it was his turn in the courtroom, Liddy surrendered his passport, and his mother put up the $1000 for him to make bail. Nixon and his inner circle celebrated their good fortune, thinking that their cover-up was working, and that it would continue to hold.
The indictments were announced in the courtroom of US District Court Judge John Sirica, who rose to the federal bench in a rags-to-riches story. Sirica was appointed as a federal judge in 1957 after helping the Eisenhower campaigns in 1952 and 1956, garnering support from Italian-American voters. Sirica’s friend (and best man at his wedding), was one of the most famous sports superstars in US History, the boxer Jack Dempsey, who attended Sirica’s swearing-in ceremony. As a federal judge, Sirica was not well-regarded, being seen as near the bottom in terms of his depth of legal knowledge, and it didn’t help that he looked like a bus driver in judicial robes.
As the District of Columbia’s chief judge, Sirica oversaw grand juries, and could select the trials that interested him. Sirica loved publicity, and the Watergate indictments were sure to put the spotlight on Sirica. The formal arraignments of the seven men charged in the Watergate break-in was a media circus. When it was his turn in the courtroom, Liddy surrendered his passport, and his mother put up the $1000 for him to make bail. Nixon and his inner circle celebrated their good fortune, thinking that their cover-up was working, and that it would continue to hold.
Later during the night of 15 September 1972, Dean was invited to the Oval Office for a discussion
with Nixon and Haldeman. Dean was thrilled to see both men relaxing and reclining in their chairs when he entered, which was yet another sign to Dean that he was now part of Nixon’s inner circle. Dean predicted that there would not be any surprises concerning Watergate, and Nixon, in his own way, congratulated Dean.
Due to the investigative reporting and strategic leaks from Felt, the idea that Watergate would end with the indictments of the seven directly involved in the break-in was sure to be proven wrong. Another factor in play was that the Post remained focused on Watergate when other newspapers moved on to other stories. A variable in play at the Post that allowed the newspaper to focus on Watergate was that both Woodward and Bernstein didn’t have home lives. Woodward was divorced and Bernstein was in the process of being divorced, so both reporters could work very long hours into the night and on weekends.
Woodward and Bernstein kept separate lists of people they would regularly call to see if there was any new information, with over a hundred people contacted on a regular basis. Both used unannounced home visits when phone conversations were deemed too risky, or if they didn’t have any existing connection with a person of interest. Making house calls was a violation of an unwritten rule in DC journalism, but it paid off enough, sometimes very much so, and those home visits became part of the investigative strategy of Woodward and Bernstein.
with Nixon and Haldeman. Dean was thrilled to see both men relaxing and reclining in their chairs when he entered, which was yet another sign to Dean that he was now part of Nixon’s inner circle. Dean predicted that there would not be any surprises concerning Watergate, and Nixon, in his own way, congratulated Dean.
Due to the investigative reporting and strategic leaks from Felt, the idea that Watergate would end with the indictments of the seven directly involved in the break-in was sure to be proven wrong. Another factor in play was that the Post remained focused on Watergate when other newspapers moved on to other stories. A variable in play at the Post that allowed the newspaper to focus on Watergate was that both Woodward and Bernstein didn’t have home lives. Woodward was divorced and Bernstein was in the process of being divorced, so both reporters could work very long hours into the night and on weekends.
Woodward and Bernstein kept separate lists of people they would regularly call to see if there was any new information, with over a hundred people contacted on a regular basis. Both used unannounced home visits when phone conversations were deemed too risky, or if they didn’t have any existing connection with a person of interest. Making house calls was a violation of an unwritten rule in DC journalism, but it paid off enough, sometimes very much so, and those home visits became part of the investigative strategy of Woodward and Bernstein.
Those home visits got the attention of Clark MacGregor at CREEP, who called Ben Bradlee, the Post’s Chief Editor to complain, who backed his reporters. The more Woodward and Bernstein learned from their home visits, the more puzzled they became over the cursory investigation from the Justice Department. Key CREEP witnesses hadn’t been questioned, and those that had were not asked key questions, and the questioning almost always was at CREEP with campaign officials and/or lawyers present. As a result, Woodward broke Felt’s rule about telephone contact, calling him to discuss the FBI’s knowledge that senior CREEP officials were involved by funding the Watergate burglars. Felt told Woodward that “You can go much stronger”, and Felt confirmed a Bernstein lead that the $350k slush fund had not only financed Liddy and the Watergate break-in, but “other intelligence gathering activities” as well.
The Woodward and Bernstein article in the Post the next morning led with news that 15 “principle assistants” under Mitchell had access to a secret fund in excess of $300k, which was designated for sensitive political projects. Very soon, Woodward and Bernsten worked it out that Liddy, Magruder, and Porter had received large cash amounts from the slush fund from Stans, with all receiving $100 bills. Again Woodward called Felt, but this time he was not cooperative, since Felt was very worried about his anonymity with his leaks. Felt promised he would stay in contact with Woodward, but on his terms.
The next Woodward and Bernstein byline had the headline “2 Linked to Secret GOP Fund”, which included an on-the-record denial by Magruder. That denial by Magruder was probably the first time a CREEP official had directly addressed any of the allegations against the campaign, which increased the paranoia inside the White House. The FBI investigators were also paranoid, thinking that somehow, some way Woodward and Bernstein had access to sensitive documents in the FBI.
The Woodward and Bernstein article in the Post the next morning led with news that 15 “principle assistants” under Mitchell had access to a secret fund in excess of $300k, which was designated for sensitive political projects. Very soon, Woodward and Bernsten worked it out that Liddy, Magruder, and Porter had received large cash amounts from the slush fund from Stans, with all receiving $100 bills. Again Woodward called Felt, but this time he was not cooperative, since Felt was very worried about his anonymity with his leaks. Felt promised he would stay in contact with Woodward, but on his terms.
The next Woodward and Bernstein byline had the headline “2 Linked to Secret GOP Fund”, which included an on-the-record denial by Magruder. That denial by Magruder was probably the first time a CREEP official had directly addressed any of the allegations against the campaign, which increased the paranoia inside the White House. The FBI investigators were also paranoid, thinking that somehow, some way Woodward and Bernstein had access to sensitive documents in the FBI.
Woodward and Bernstein next pursued why Hugh Sloan resigned as CREEP treasurer, being tipped that it was due to his extreme discomfort with the campaign’s subterfuge. Bernstein plaid Sloan a visit at his home in McLean (VA). Sloan told Bernstein that so far he hadn’t talked to the press, and he refused to allow Bernstein to quote him. Bernstein assured Sloan that nothing would be attributed to him, after which Sloan unburdened himself, providing details of suspicious campaign spending and the post-break-in cover-up at CREEP. Sloan’s bombshell was that six ledgers that documented all the campaign donations before the new campaign finance law went into effect (7 April 1972) had been destroyed.
The next story from Woodward and Bernstein stated that Mardian and LaRue led the effort to destroy CREEP documents as well as ordering staffers to close ranks and circle the wagons against investigators. Again Bernstein visited Sloan at home, this time with Woodward. Sloan told them that he had called Mitchell often to get approval for disbursements from the CREEP slush fund. Sloan provided some confirmation that Mitchell had knowingly authorized illegal campaign activities. Before finalizing the story, Bernstein called Mitchell at his hotel suite in NYC just before midnight. After reading the leading sentences of the story to Mitchell on the phone, Mitchell responded by threatening
Katharine Graham, as well as Bernstein and Woodward, if the story was published. Mitchell ended the call by telling Bernstein to call his law office in the morning.
Bernstein was scared as well as energized by Mitchell’s threats, and he picked up the phone and called Bradlee. While Bradlee listened to Bernstein recount his conversation with Mitchell, Bradlee wondered if he should call Graham to inform her of Mitchell’s threat, that she’s “Gonna get her t*# in a big fat ringer if that’s published”. When the story ran the next day, Graham laughed off Mitchell’s threat to her anatomy. As the Fall of 1972 unfolded, Graham and the Post became aware that they were pretty much the only one in the media pursuing Watergate, with only the Los Angeles Times and Time magazine on the Watergate beat as well.
The next story from Woodward and Bernstein stated that Mardian and LaRue led the effort to destroy CREEP documents as well as ordering staffers to close ranks and circle the wagons against investigators. Again Bernstein visited Sloan at home, this time with Woodward. Sloan told them that he had called Mitchell often to get approval for disbursements from the CREEP slush fund. Sloan provided some confirmation that Mitchell had knowingly authorized illegal campaign activities. Before finalizing the story, Bernstein called Mitchell at his hotel suite in NYC just before midnight. After reading the leading sentences of the story to Mitchell on the phone, Mitchell responded by threatening
Katharine Graham, as well as Bernstein and Woodward, if the story was published. Mitchell ended the call by telling Bernstein to call his law office in the morning.
Bernstein was scared as well as energized by Mitchell’s threats, and he picked up the phone and called Bradlee. While Bradlee listened to Bernstein recount his conversation with Mitchell, Bradlee wondered if he should call Graham to inform her of Mitchell’s threat, that she’s “Gonna get her t*# in a big fat ringer if that’s published”. When the story ran the next day, Graham laughed off Mitchell’s threat to her anatomy. As the Fall of 1972 unfolded, Graham and the Post became aware that they were pretty much the only one in the media pursuing Watergate, with only the Los Angeles Times and Time magazine on the Watergate beat as well.
The LA Times assigned the best-and-most-feared investigative reporters to pursue Watergate: Jack Nelson, Ronald Ostrow, and Bob Jackson. Nelson in particular had a track record of getting to the bottom of things, including going after FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and the lackluster initial FBI investigation in Mississippi after the Ku Klux Klan murdered three civil rights workers in 1964. As October 1972 began, Nelson tried to land an interview with Baldwin, who had been located by Ostrow. Nelson tried to convince Baldwin that a West Coast newspaper would be the best home for his interview, since it would and could not be influenced by powerful figures in DC. But it wasn’t until a Congressional subpoena for Baldwin was lifted that he agreed to be interviewed by Nelson. Baldwin took Nelson step-by-step through what he had seen, done, as well as what he knew, telling the same story he told the FBI when questioned. At 3 am, Nelson was called by Baldwin’s lawyer, informing the reporter that Earl Silbert of the Justice Department wanted the story stopped, using Sirica’s gag order as ammunition.
The LA Times published the article with the byline of Nelson and Ostrow on 5 October 1972, revealing the first direct link between the burglars and CREEP, using Baldwin’s interview as the main focus of their story. Their second article featured far more from Nelson’s interview with Baldwin, which proved to be a far more powerful and informative article compared to the first, in that anyone that started reading the second article was sure to finish it. Nelson’s interview with Baldwin rocked DC, since Baldwin had brought Watergate to the doorstep of the White House.
The LA Times published the article with the byline of Nelson and Ostrow on 5 October 1972, revealing the first direct link between the burglars and CREEP, using Baldwin’s interview as the main focus of their story. Their second article featured far more from Nelson’s interview with Baldwin, which proved to be a far more powerful and informative article compared to the first, in that anyone that started reading the second article was sure to finish it. Nelson’s interview with Baldwin rocked DC, since Baldwin had brought Watergate to the doorstep of the White House.