Source: Garrett M. Graff. Watergate - A New History (2022)
Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray kept Felt “#2” in the FBI, turning over almost all the day-to-day operations to him, and almost immediately Felt overtly undermined Gray while overtly pledging his loyalty. To Felt, if Gray became the permanent FBI Director, then he was in as “2”, but if Gray failed, he felt certain that he would be nominated and confirmed as “#1”.
Felt led the investigation into the attempted assassination of George Wallace, and it was quickly determined that there was no conspiracy involved, with the motive being fame. It was during that investigation that Felt leaked details of how well the FBI was investigating the attempted assassination to a young Washington Post reporter that he knew, Bob Woodward, which gave the rookie reporter a chance to start to make a name for himself at the newspaper. Felt realized that he had a new weapon to wield in his covert effort to become FBI Director, a “Woodward Weapon”. What Felt needed was for Gray to make a mistake, and then covertly pounce.
During the Spring of 1972, James McCord, the CREEP security director, gathered electronic equipment under Liddy’s guidance for advanced eavesdropping, such as walkie-talkies, radios, tape recorders, etc. That stash of spy supplies would be put to use in Opal, and to help monitor the bugs that would be planted was Al Baldwin, who was available since he had been fired by Martha Mitchell as her bodyguard. Before doing so, Baldwin’s job was to scout out the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate. Baldwin got a room across the street from the Watergate at the Howard Johnson Motor Inn, which was rented under the company McCord and Associates. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) was on the sixth floor of the Watergate.
Felt led the investigation into the attempted assassination of George Wallace, and it was quickly determined that there was no conspiracy involved, with the motive being fame. It was during that investigation that Felt leaked details of how well the FBI was investigating the attempted assassination to a young Washington Post reporter that he knew, Bob Woodward, which gave the rookie reporter a chance to start to make a name for himself at the newspaper. Felt realized that he had a new weapon to wield in his covert effort to become FBI Director, a “Woodward Weapon”. What Felt needed was for Gray to make a mistake, and then covertly pounce.
During the Spring of 1972, James McCord, the CREEP security director, gathered electronic equipment under Liddy’s guidance for advanced eavesdropping, such as walkie-talkies, radios, tape recorders, etc. That stash of spy supplies would be put to use in Opal, and to help monitor the bugs that would be planted was Al Baldwin, who was available since he had been fired by Martha Mitchell as her bodyguard. Before doing so, Baldwin’s job was to scout out the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate. Baldwin got a room across the street from the Watergate at the Howard Johnson Motor Inn, which was rented under the company McCord and Associates. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) was on the sixth floor of the Watergate.
The pricey Watergate featured six buildings consisting of a hotel, two condominium complexes, two office buildings, a shopping center, an underground garage (1200 cars), a bank, a supermarket, etc. After the Election of 1968, the residential complex in the Watergate was populated by a “Who’s Who” of the Nixon administration, such as the Mitchells, RNC chair Bob Dole, SecCommerce Stans, Fed Chair Arthur Burns, as well as Nixon’s loyal personal secretary Rose Mary Woods. However, living there wasn’t as luxurious as it appeared, with appliances not working, as well as lax security.
The Watergate was not supposed to be Liddy’s first break-in, but planting bugs in McGovern’s campaign headquarters proved more difficult than expected. During late-May 1972, the six Cuban members of the Opal burglary team that were recruited by Hunt and Barker scouted the Watergate in-and-out, with Hunt making an impression of the lock on the door entering the DNC. An underground corridor linked the hotel and office complexes, and Baldwin would be able to see when the DNC offices were empty for the night across the street in his room at the Howard Johnson Motor Inn. The first attempt at breaking-in resulted in Hunt and the burglars becoming trapped in a banquet room overnight after a security guard locked them in without realizing they were there. There had been a gala affair that night, and Hunt and the burglars hoped that the banquet room would be their starting point for their covert break-in, but the plan fizzled.
The Watergate was not supposed to be Liddy’s first break-in, but planting bugs in McGovern’s campaign headquarters proved more difficult than expected. During late-May 1972, the six Cuban members of the Opal burglary team that were recruited by Hunt and Barker scouted the Watergate in-and-out, with Hunt making an impression of the lock on the door entering the DNC. An underground corridor linked the hotel and office complexes, and Baldwin would be able to see when the DNC offices were empty for the night across the street in his room at the Howard Johnson Motor Inn. The first attempt at breaking-in resulted in Hunt and the burglars becoming trapped in a banquet room overnight after a security guard locked them in without realizing they were there. There had been a gala affair that night, and Hunt and the burglars hoped that the banquet room would be their starting point for their covert break-in, but the plan fizzled.
The next night wasn’t any better, since one of the Cuban burglars was unable to pick the lock of the DNC door, trying to do so for 45 minutes. On the third night the burglars gained entry to the DNC, where Barker took photos of documents and McCord installed the bugs on the telephones. On 29 May 1972, Liddy told Magruder that the DNC had been successfully penetrated. The Keystone Kops
nature of the Opal mission at the Watergate continued, since the photography guy that was to develop the film from the Watergate for Hunt and Liddy was out of town, so Hunt flew to Miami to have a Barker contact develop the film and make prints: the Barker contact just took the film to a commercial photo store.
Liddy and McCord soon realized that the planted bugs in the DNC were not working properly, with one having failed, and other only worked intermittently, according to Baldwin, which meant that the resulting intercepts from the DNC were embarrassingly insignificant. On 9 June 1972, Magruder called Liddy to complain about the lack of intelligence coming from the DNC, and then on 12 June 1972, Magruder met with Liddy and insisted that the burglary team photograph every DNC document that they could find. Meanwhile, Baldwin actually got a tour of the DNC offices, including the office of DNC chair Lawrence O’Brien, afterwards making as detailed a floor map as he could from memory. By early-June 1972, Nixon’s Presidency was soaring, and his campaign for re-election was going extremely well, while the Democrats were getting weaker by the week, especially after the "dirty tricks" gutting of Senator Edmund Muskie with the "Canuck Letter".
nature of the Opal mission at the Watergate continued, since the photography guy that was to develop the film from the Watergate for Hunt and Liddy was out of town, so Hunt flew to Miami to have a Barker contact develop the film and make prints: the Barker contact just took the film to a commercial photo store.
Liddy and McCord soon realized that the planted bugs in the DNC were not working properly, with one having failed, and other only worked intermittently, according to Baldwin, which meant that the resulting intercepts from the DNC were embarrassingly insignificant. On 9 June 1972, Magruder called Liddy to complain about the lack of intelligence coming from the DNC, and then on 12 June 1972, Magruder met with Liddy and insisted that the burglary team photograph every DNC document that they could find. Meanwhile, Baldwin actually got a tour of the DNC offices, including the office of DNC chair Lawrence O’Brien, afterwards making as detailed a floor map as he could from memory. By early-June 1972, Nixon’s Presidency was soaring, and his campaign for re-election was going extremely well, while the Democrats were getting weaker by the week, especially after the "dirty tricks" gutting of Senator Edmund Muskie with the "Canuck Letter".
Nixon was all-but-guaranteed re-election, so the break-ins were no longer a necessary risk, but they proceeded anyway with no one above Liddy telling him to stop. At around 10 pm on 16 June 1972, McCord reported to Hunt and Liddy that he had taped the latch open of the entrance door from the parking garage, which should not draw unwarranted attention, since it was a common practice used by maintenance and cleaning workers. McCord met with Hunt and Liddy, telling them that on the way to their room in the Watergate he noticed that the tape had been removed, so he redid the tape on the latch of the parking garage door. Hunt wanted to stop the break-in at that point, but Liddy and McCord were undaunted, both wanting to prove their worth to the higher-ups, and Liddy did not have enough money budgeted to keep delaying the break-in.
McCord and the four Cuban burglars (including Barker) left to conduct the break-in while Hunt and Liddy watched a movie in their hotel room. On the balcony outside their room was a radio antennae so they could monitor and communicate with the burglars as well as Baldwin across the street. Frank Wills was the lone nighttime security guard at the Watergate, and in the year he had been on the job, there had only been one attempted burglary on his watch. On his first pass through the complex, he noticed tape keeping a latch open on a door in the underground parking garage, and he removed it, not thinking much about it, and continued his rounds. Coming back 30 minutes later, he noticed the tape was back, which meant that someone besides him was in the building. Wills rushed to the lobby and called the 2nd Precinct of the DC Police to respond to the situation. As it turned out, the patrol officer on duty was actually drunk in his favorite watering hole, and was advised by the owner of the bar to tell dispatch that his car was out of gas and that he needed to fill up before responding.
McCord and the four Cuban burglars (including Barker) left to conduct the break-in while Hunt and Liddy watched a movie in their hotel room. On the balcony outside their room was a radio antennae so they could monitor and communicate with the burglars as well as Baldwin across the street. Frank Wills was the lone nighttime security guard at the Watergate, and in the year he had been on the job, there had only been one attempted burglary on his watch. On his first pass through the complex, he noticed tape keeping a latch open on a door in the underground parking garage, and he removed it, not thinking much about it, and continued his rounds. Coming back 30 minutes later, he noticed the tape was back, which meant that someone besides him was in the building. Wills rushed to the lobby and called the 2nd Precinct of the DC Police to respond to the situation. As it turned out, the patrol officer on duty was actually drunk in his favorite watering hole, and was advised by the owner of the bar to tell dispatch that his car was out of gas and that he needed to fill up before responding.
Therefore, somebody else in the precinct had to take the call, which turned out to be three undercover officers dressed as hippies; so far they had experienced a quiet night on duty. Across the street, Baldwin didn’t think anything of their entrance and presence in the Watergate until the three men reached the sixth floor. Baldwin radioed McCord, telling him that guys that looked like hippies with guns were on their floor, and very soon after the undercover officers shouted “Hands Up”, suspecting that there might be people in the office. The three undercover officers were stunned to see five sets of hands appear from behind desks across the office, and they told the five well-dressed men that they were under arrest.
With growing horror, Hunt and Liddy listened to Baldwin describe what was happening, and it was decided that it was time to disappear, with both men skedaddling from their room. Hunt went to Baldwin across the street and told him it was time to leave his listening/observation post. As he left the Howard Johnson Motor Inn, Hunt saw the five burglars leave the Watergate with the undercover officers. At that point, Hunt wasn’t all that concerned, since he thought all five would be released on bail, and if not, the Attorney General’s office would pull some strings. Liddy went home understanding how much trouble lay ahead, since McCord had been a government employee, which meant his fingerprints would be on file; Liddy assumed he would be going to prison.
The five burglars had 39 rolls of film, a stand on which to photograph documents, bugging equipment, and 24 sequentially-numbered $100 bills, as well as two keys for rooms in the Watergate Hotel (rooms 214 and 314). Given those circumstances, the police called the US Attorney’s Office. On the morning of 18 June 1972, the cover-up started concerning the Watergate break-in on 17 June 1972.
With growing horror, Hunt and Liddy listened to Baldwin describe what was happening, and it was decided that it was time to disappear, with both men skedaddling from their room. Hunt went to Baldwin across the street and told him it was time to leave his listening/observation post. As he left the Howard Johnson Motor Inn, Hunt saw the five burglars leave the Watergate with the undercover officers. At that point, Hunt wasn’t all that concerned, since he thought all five would be released on bail, and if not, the Attorney General’s office would pull some strings. Liddy went home understanding how much trouble lay ahead, since McCord had been a government employee, which meant his fingerprints would be on file; Liddy assumed he would be going to prison.
The five burglars had 39 rolls of film, a stand on which to photograph documents, bugging equipment, and 24 sequentially-numbered $100 bills, as well as two keys for rooms in the Watergate Hotel (rooms 214 and 314). Given those circumstances, the police called the US Attorney’s Office. On the morning of 18 June 1972, the cover-up started concerning the Watergate break-in on 17 June 1972.