The inadequate term Watergate has come to encompass all the wrongdoing of which Richard Nixon and other members of his Administration stand accused—and in many cases convicted—including the politicization of federal agencies, misuse of federal funds for private purposes, attempted bribery by milk producers, misprision of felony, subornation of perjury, obstruction of justice. This catalogue of crimes and misdeeds did not begin with the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, but were it not for that bungled burglary and the subsequent coverup, most or all of the offenses might have gone unnoticed and unpunished. Why the President allowed himself to become entrapped in the web of events that followed the crime is a puzzle. Indeed, there is a great deal about Watergate that will only be sorted out after much time has passed. But much is already known. Here is a recapitulation of the critical events that destroyed Nixon's presidency.
I The Break-In
Planning for the Watergate operation begins in January 1972. In his office, Attorney General John Mitchell, along with Presidential Counsel John Dean and Acting Director of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President (C.R.P.) Jeb Stuart Magruder, listens as G. Gordon Liddy, general counsel to C.R.P., spells out a $1 million intelligence plan: electronic surveillance, abduction of radical leaders, muggings, the use of call girls to obtain information from leading Democrats. According to Magruder, Mitchell tells Liddy to come up with something more "realistic." On March 30, Mitchell, now director of C.R.P., meets with Magruder to discuss a $250,000 proposal. Magruder later says that Mitchell approved the plan; Fred LaRue, a special assistant to Mitchell who was present at the meeting, says it was tabled for future discussion; Mitchell denies ever giving his approval. Two crucial questions remain: Who gave final O.K. for the burglary? What were they seeking that would justify so bizarre a crime?
An intelligence-gathering operation is set into motion. Checks worth $89,000, illegal corporate contributions, are laundered through a Mexican bank and transmitted to Bernard Barker, who deposits them in his Miami bank. He also deposits a $25,000 check given to C.R.P. by Kenneth Dahlberg, Republican finance chairman in the Midwest. This money will help uncover the C.R.P. involvement in Watergate.
Liddy takes charge of the operation, aided by former CIA Agent E. Howard Hunt and C.R.P. Security Coordinator James McCord. Several Cuban refugees are recruited: Barker, Eugenio Martinez, Virgilio Gonzalez and Frank Sturgis. The stage is set.
After two botched attempts, the burglars on May 27 get into the D.N.C. offices. McCord places wiretaps on the phones of Democratic National Chairman Lawrence O'Brien and Executive Director of Democratic State Chairmen R. Spencer Oliver Jr. Soon transcripts of Oliver's conversations are being passed to Magruder and through him to Mitchell. As Magruder later testifies, Mitchell orders Liddy to get better information.