The Santa Ana Register, a conservative daily in California's Orange County, caused quite a stir last month. It reported that federal investigators were looking into whether President Nixon had used as much as $1,000,000 in unreported 1968 campaign contributions to buy his opulent San Clemente estate. The White House instantly denounced the report as "totally unfounded" and promised to supply a full explanation within 24 hours.
The statement was finally released eleven days laterbut was so full of complex figures and tortured explanations that it raised many questions. It did reveal that...