Watergate : A New History

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Do we need still another Watergate book? The answer turns out to be yes—this one." — The Washington Post * "Dazzling." — The New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky , comes the first definitive narrative history of Watergate—"the best and fullest account of the crisis, one unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon" ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review)—exploring the full scope of the scandal through the politicians, investigators, journalists, and informants who made it the most influential political event of the modern era. In the early hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard named Frank Wills enters six words into the log book of the Watergate office complex that will change the course of history: 1:47 AM Found tape on doors; call police . The subsequent arrests of five men seeking to bug and burgle the Democratic National Committee offices—three of them Cuban exiles, two of them former intelligence operatives—quickly unravels a web of scandal that ultimately ends a presidency and forever alters views of moral authority and leadership. Watergate, as the event is called, becomes a shorthand for corruption, deceit, and unanswered questions. Now, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Garrett M. Graff explores the full scope of this unprecedented moment from start to finish, in the first comprehensive, single-volume account in decades. The story begins in 1971, with the publication of thousands of military and government documents known as the Pentagon Papers, which reveal dishonesty about the decades-long American presence in Vietnam and spark public outrage. Furious that the leak might expose his administration's own duplicity during a crucial reelection season, President Richard M. Nixon gathers his closest advisors and gives them implicit instructions: Win by any means necessary. Within a few months, an unsteady line of political dominoes are positioned, from the creation of a series of covert operations code-named GEMSTONE to campaign-trail dirty tricks, possible hostage situations, and questionable fundraising efforts—much of it caught on the White House's own taping system. One by one they fall, until the thwarted June burglary attracts the attention of intrepid journalists, congressional investigators, and embattled intelligence officers, one of whom will spend decades concealing his identity behind the alias "Deep Throat." As each faction slowly begins to uncover the truth, a conspiracy deeper and more corrupt than anyone thought possible emerges, and the nation is thrown into a state of crisis as its government—and its leader—unravels. Using newly public documents, transcripts, and revelations, Graff recounts every twist with remarkable detail and page-turning drama, bringing readers into the backrooms of Washington, chaotic daily newsrooms, crowded Senate hearings, and even the Oval Office itself during one of the darkest chapters in American history. Grippingly told and meticulously researched, Watergate is the defining account of the moment that has haunted our nation's past—and still holds the power to shape its present and future. From Garrett Graff, comes the first definitive narrative history of Watergate, exploring the full scope of the scandal through the politicians, investigators, journalists, and informants who made it the most influential political event of the modern era. In the early hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard named Frank Wills enters six words into the log book of the Watergate office complex that will change the course of history: 1:47 AM Found tape on doors; call police . The subsequent arrests of five men seeking to bug and burgle the Democratic National Committee officesthree of them Cuban exiles, two of them former intelligence operativesquickly unravels a web of scandal that ultimately ends a presidency and forever alters views of moral authority and leadership. Watergate, as the event is called, becomes a shorthand for corruption, deceit, and unanswered questions. Now, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Garrett M. Graff explores the full scope of this unprecedented moment from start to finish, in the first comprehensive, single-volume account in decades. The story begins in 1971, with the publication of thousands of military and government documents known as the Pentagon Papers, which reveal dishonesty about the decades-long American presence in Vietnam and spark public outrage. Furious that the leak might expose his administrations own duplicity during a crucial reelection season, President Richard M. Nixon gathers his closest advisors and gives them implicit instructions: Win by any means necessary. Within a few months, an unsteady line of political dominoes are positioned, from the creation of a series of covert operations code-named GEMSTONE to campaign-trail dirty tricks, possible hostage situations, and questionable fundraising effortsmuch of it caught on the White Houses own taping system. One by one they fall, until the thwarted June burglary attracts the attention of intrepid journalists, congressional investigators, and embattled intelligence officers, one of whom will spend decades concealing his identity behind the alias Deep Throat. As each faction slowly begins to uncover the truth, a conspiracy deeper and more corrupt than anyone thought possible emerges, and the nation is thrown into a state of crisis as its governmentand its leaderunravels. Using newly public documents, transcripts, and revelations, Graff recounts every twist with remarkable detail and page-turning drama, bringing readers into the backrooms of Washington, chaotic daily newsrooms, crowded Senate hearings, and even the Oval Office itself during one of the darkest chapters in American history. Grippingly told and meticulously researched, Watergate is the defining account of the moment that has haunted our nations pastand still holds the power to shape its present and future. From Garrett Graff, the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky , the first definitive narrative history of Watergate?"the best and fullest account of the crisis, one unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon" ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review)?exploring the full scope of the scandal through the politicians, investigators, journalists, and informants who made it the most influential political event of the modern era. In the early hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard named Frank Wills entered six words into the log book of the Watergate office complex that would change the course of history: 1:47 AM Found tape on doors; call police . The subsequent arrests of five men seeking to bug and burgle the Democratic National Committee offices quickly unravels a web of scandal that ultimately ends a presidency and forever alters views of moral authority and leadership. Watergate, as the event is called, becomes a shorthand for corruption, deceit, and unanswered questions. Now, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Garrett M. Graff explores the full scope of this unprecedented moment from start to finish, in Watergate: A New History , the first single-volume account in decades. It begins in 1971, with the publication of thousands of military and government documents known as the Pentagon Papers, which reveal dishonesty about the decades-long American presence in Vietnam and spark public outrage. Furious that the leak might expose his administration's own duplicity during a crucial reelection season, President Richard M. Nixon gathers his closest advisors and gives them implicit instructions: Win by any means necessary. Within a few months, an unsteady line of political dominoes are positioned, from the creation of a series of covert operations code-named GEMSTONE to campaign-trail dirty tricks, possible hostage situations, and questionable fundraising efforts?much of it caught on the White House's own taping system. One by one they fall, until the thwarted June burglary attracts the attention of journalists, investigators, and intelligence officers, one of whom will spend decades concealing his identity behind the alias "Deep Throat." As each faction slowly begins to uncover the truth, a conspiracy deeper and more corrupt than anyone thought possible emerges, and the nation is thrown into a state of crisis as its government?and its leader?unravels. Using newly public documents, transcripts, and revelations, Graff recounts every twist with remarkable detail and page-turning drama, bringing readers into the backrooms of Washington, chaotic daily newsrooms, crowded Senate hearings, and even the Oval Office itself during one of the darkest chapters in American history From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky, the first definitive narrative history of Watergate, exploring the full scope of the scandal through the politicians, investigators, journalists, and informants who made it the most influential political event of our modern era. In the early hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard named Frank Wills entered six words into the log book of the Watergate office complex that would change the course of history: 1:47 AM Found tape on doors; call police. The five ?men?Virgilio Gonzalez, Bernard Baker, James McCord, Eugenio Martinez, and Frank Sturgis?arrested and charged with attempted burglary that night kicked off the biggest scandal in American politics. Over the next two years, that single thwarted break-in would lead to dozens more arrests, an alleged kidnapping, FBI and congressional investigations, a Senate hearing, and bombshell testimonies from the highest levels of political power that ultimately would reveal a cover-up, sink a vice-president and a half-dozen Cabinet officials, lead to the jailing of an FBI director, end a presidency, and alter our views of moral authority and leadership. Watergate defined a decade, and a nation. And yet, recent revelations like the release of more Nixon tapes and the identity of "Deep Throat" himself, means that the full story has never been told from start to finish. Now, in Watergate, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Garrett M. Graff explores the full sweep of the scandal that would come to define all others, from the release of The Pentagon Papers in 1971?the first signs of trouble for the White House?and the 1972 DNC break-in to the denials, trials, hearings, and eventual downfall of the Nixon Administration three years later?the implications of which we still feel today. Watergate, Graff shows, is a much bigger and much weirder story than America remembers. Along the way, he introduces a vibrant cast of characters, including the psychologically tortured President and his doomed inner circle, special prosecutors Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski, the Congressional committees led by Sam Ervin and Peter Rodino, groundbreaking reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and Mark Felt, an Associate Director of the FBI who would conceal his identity for decades behind the name "Deep Throat," as well a host of others whose involvement has been forgotten?from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to a young impeachment aide named Hillary Rodham. Grippingly told, meticulously researched, and featuring new details and never-told stories, Watergate is the defining, behind-the-scenes look at the era that upended the course of American politics?and life?as we knew it Contents Introduction The Pentagon Papers The Kindling 1971 All the President’s Men “Ellsberg? I’ve never heard of Him” The Chennault Affair The Huston Plan Burglarizing Bookings The Plumbers The Enemies List Sandwedge The Match 1972 The Committee to Re-Elect The Dita Beard Memo “He’s Our Hitler” Third-Rate Burglars “A Crime That Could Destroy Us All” “Boys Will Be Boys” “Stay the Hell Out of This” “Keep My Mouth Shut” The Arrival of Mr. Rivers The Dahlberg Check The Patman Probe “A Hell of a Story” “I Can’t Talk About Segretti” Landslide BrushFire January-June 1973 “Something Was Rotten” Guilty Pleas The “Country Lawyer” Enters “Twist Slowly, Slowly in the Wind” “Perjury Occurred” “What Meat Do They Eat?” “Voice of Doom” The End of Mark Felt “A No-Win Job” “A Russian Novel” Firestorm July-December 1973 “We Need You Today” Butterfield’s Bombshell Must-See TV Spiro “An Upheaval in Washington” Mud-Wrestling “He Is Essentially Alone” “The Mahogany Coffin” The Massacre “We Have No Functional President” The Patriotic Monkey “I Am Not a Crook” The Rose Mary Stretch “Do I Fight?” Inferno 1974 Flutter and Wow Le Grand Frommage “Don’t Miss Page 503” The United States v. Richard M. Nixon Impeachment The Smoking Pistol The Final Days “A Day for Tears” “I Shall Resign” Nixon’s Curse Acknowledgments and Methodology Notes Index Image Credits "From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Plane in the Sky, the first definitive narrative history of Watergate, exploring the full scope of the scandal through the politicians, investigators, journalists, and informants who made it the most influential political event of our modern era." -- In the early hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard found tape on doors at the Watergate office complex, and called the police. The arrests of five men seeking to bug and burgle the Democratic National committee offices unraveled a web of scandal that ultimately ended a presidency and forever altered views of moral authority and leadership. Graff explores the full scope of this unprecedented moment, from the 1971 publication of the Pentagon Papers through a conspiracy deeper and more corrupt than anyone thought possible, a conspiracy that threw the nation into a state of crisis and created one of the darkest chapters in American history. -- adapted from jacket As the thirty-seventh occupant of his office, Richard Nixon had settled into the White House under a new reality: Washington, D.C., had changed dramatically since World War II, as what had once been a relatively sleepy southern town conducting a part-time business had morphed into the all-consuming locus of federal power, directing the world's largest economy and driving foreign affairs the world over. A complete story of the Watergate scandal from Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign until his resignation in 1974, incorporating several decades of new material.