Watergate: High Crimes in the White House

>> Secretary: MR. COLSON

MR. PRESIDENT.

>> President Richard Nixon: YEAH.

>> Charles Colson: YES, SIR, MR. PRESIDENT.

>> Nixon: I REALLY GOT TO TEND TO THE BUSINESS OF THE COUNTRY,

YOU KNOW.

I'M TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM KEEPING ME OUT OF THE

GODDAMN THING BECAUSE I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT.

>> Colson: I THINK YOU SHOULD KEEP OUT OF THIS, MR. PRESIDENT.

THE BIGGEST NEGATIVE TO THE WATERGATE, IN MY MIND,

EVENTUALLY IT'S GOING TO COME OUT.

THERE'S TOO DAMN MANY PEOPLE INVOLVED.

>> Nixon: OH, SURE, THE WHOLE GODDAMN STORY'S GOING TO

COME OUT.

>> Mike Wallace: EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO ME, WILL YOU,

MR. EHRLICHMAN?

BREAKING AND ENTERING, WIRETAPPING...

>> Bob Woodward: FIVE BURGLARS.

BUSINESS SUITS.

$100 BILLS IN THEIR POCKETS.

>> Walter Cronkite: ...CAUGHT IN THE ACT OF BURGLARIZING AND

BUGGING DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON.

>> Nixon: I HAD NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WATERGATE

BREAK-IN.

>> Cronkite: ...BUT THE EPISODE GREW STEADILY MORE SINISTER...

>> Wallace: ...CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT KIDNAPPING, DESTRUCTION

OF GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS...

>> John Dean: I REMEMBER WELL HIS INSTRUCTIONS.

HE TOLD ME TO SHRED THE DOCUMENTS AND "DEEP SIX" THE

BRIEFCASE.

>> Alexander Butterfield: IT WAS, IN MANY WAYS, A CESSPOOL.

>> Wallace: ...SECRET SLUSH FUNDS, LAUNDERING MONEY IN

MEXICO, PAYOFFS TO SILENCE WITNESSES...

>> Nixon: YOU COULD GET A MILLION DOLLARS.

AND YOU COULD GET IT IN CASH.

I KNOW WHERE IT COULD BE GOTTEN.

>> Stahl: NIXON WAS DARK AND PARANOID.

HE TRIED TO USE THE F.B.I.

HE TRIED TO USE THE C.I.A.

>> Woodward: IT IS A LEVEL OF UNIMAGINABLE CORRUPTION.

>> Carl Bernstein: IT WAS INTENDED TO UNDERMINE THE VERY

BASIS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: FREE AND UNFETTERED ELECTIONS.

>> Wallace: ...SPYING BY UNDERCOVER AGENTS, PLANS TO

FIREBOMB A BUILDING, CONSPIRACY TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE...

>> Hugh Sloan: IT'S A CAUTIONARY TALE, AND I THINK IT'S ONE OF

THE REASONS YOU'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT IT 50 YEARS LATER.

>> Wallace: ...ALL OF THIS BY THE LAW-AND-ORDER ADMINISTRATION

OF RICHARD NIXON.

>> John Ehrlichman: IS THERE A QUESTION IN THERE SOMEWHERE?

>> John Ehrlichman: IS THERE A QUESTION IN THERE SOMEWHERE?

>> Richard Nixon: AMERICA IS IN TROUBLE TODAY, NOT BECAUSE HER

PEOPLE HAVE FAILED, BUT BECAUSE HER LEADERS HAVE FAILED.

AND WHAT AMERICA NEEDS ARE LEADERS TO MATCH THE GREATNESS

OF HER PEOPLE.

>> Stahl: EVERY COUPLE OF

>> Stahl: EVERY COUPLE OF

GENERATIONS, WE GET A MOMENT OF SCANDAL...

>> Nixon: I SHALL RESIGN THE PRESIDENCY, EFFECTIVE AT NOON

TOMORROW.

>> Stahl: LOSS OF CONFIDENCE IN OUR LEADERSHIP, LOSS OF

CONFIDENCE OUR SYSTEM.

>> President Bill Clinton: I DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH

THAT WOMAN, MS. LEWINSKY.

>> Dan Rather: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME AN ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE

UNITED STATES HAS BEEN IMPEACHED BY THE HOUSE.

>> Stahl: THE PERSON AT THE TOP INFECTS EVERYTHING BELOW.

>> President Donald Trump: OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, WE'VE

AMASSED OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE ABOUT A FAKE ELECTION.

>> Stahl: WE'VE SEEN IT.

WE'VE SEEN IT RECENTLY, AND WE LIVED THROUGH IT DURING

WATERGATE.

I CAME ALONG IN APRIL OF 1972-- BRAND NEW.

I HAD JUST STARTED.

TOMORROW, UNITED STATES PILOTS WILL ASK THE INTERNATIONAL

PILOTS ASSOCIATION TO JOIN THEM IN A WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT OF

COUNTRIES THAT HARBOR HIJACKERS.

LESLEY STAHL, CBS NEWS, WASHINGTON.

THE WASHINGTON BUREAU OF CBS WAS HUGE.

BUT, IT WAS ALSO THE MIDDLE OF THE 1972 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.

SO, MOST OF THE REPORTERS WERE OUT COVERING CANDIDATES.

>> Reporter: IT IS THE CONSENSUS OF REPUBLICAN OPINION HERE THAT

RICHARD NIXON IS THE ONE WHO WILL WIN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE

PRIMARY.

THE QUESTION IS, BY HOW MUCH?

>> Ted Kennedy: I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF

THE UNITED STATES, GEORGE McGOVERN!

>> Stahl: IT'S JUNE 17, 1972.

>> Stahl: IT'S JUNE 17, 1972.

THERE'S A CRACKLE OF NOISE ON THE POLICE RADIOS THAT THERE'S A

BREAK-IN AT THE WATERGATE, AT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

HEADQUARTERS.

>> Charles Osgood: GOOD EVENING.

WE HAVE A MYSTERY STORY OUT OF WASHINGTON.

FIVE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH BREAKING INTO

THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE IN

THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

>> Stahl: VERY FEW NEWS ORGANIZATIONS THOUGHT IT

REGISTERED AS A STORY AT ALL, BUT CBS HAD A SORT OF SCENT

ABOUT THIS.

THE ASSIGNMENT EDITOR SEIZES A BREAK-IN AT THE NATIONAL

DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE.

HE LOOKS AROUND THE NEWSROOM, THERE'S NO ONE.

SO HE SENDS THE NEW KID.

>> Daniel Schorr: POLICE ARRESTED FIVE MEN IN THE

WATERGATE WITH BUGGING EQUIPMENT AND COPYING CAMERAS.

>> George Herman: ARRESTED AT GUNPOINT, THE MEN REFUSED TO

GIVE THEIR NAMES, OR TO SAY WHY THEY HAD BROKEN IN.

THE FIVE MEN ALSO HAD ON THEM 11 CRISP NEW $100 BILLS, ALL WITH

CONSECUTIVE SERIAL NUMBERS, AS THOUGH SOMEONE HAD GONE TO THE

BANK AND CASHED A LARGE CHECK ALL IN $100 BILLS.

>> Angelo Lano: I WAS CALLED IN 00 THAT MORNING.

THE ARRESTS HAD ALREADY BEEN MADE.

I WOULD SAY THAT IT WAS NOT THE BEST ORGANIZED BURGLARY.

THE QUESTION WAS, WHO ARE THESE INDIVIDUALS?

SO, MY PARTNER AND I WENT TO THE LOCKUP AND ATTEMPTED TO

INTERVIEW THE ARRESTEES, AND THEY REFUSED TO SAY ANYTHING.

>> Stahl: THEY SENT ME TO THE ARRAIGNMENT.

AS THE TESTIMONY WENT FORWARD, YOU BECAME MORE AND MORE

SUSPICIOUS.

THERE WERE $100 BILLS WITH CONSECUTIVE NUMBERS.

THESE GUYS WERE CUBANS.

YOU KEPT SITTING UP, THINKING, "MY, THIS IS NOT JUST A

THIRD-RATE BURGLARY."

THERE WERE ONLY TWO OTHER REPORTERS THERE.

I TURNED TO THE GUY FROM THE "WASHINGTON POST" NEXT TO ME,

AND I KEPT SAYING "AM I HEARING THIS RIGHT?"

AND HE SAID, "YOU ARE.

MY NAME IS BOB WOODWARD."

>> Woodward: I WAS ASLEEP, AND I GOT A CALL FROM THE

"WASHINGTON POST" ON THIS WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY

MORNING, JUNE 17, 1972.

SAID THERE HAD BEEN A BURGLARY AT THE DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS.

COULD I COME IN?

>> Bernstein: I SAW ALL THIS COMMOTION OUT AT THE CITY DESK

AND HEARD ABOUT THIS BREAK-IN AT THE DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS.

I SAID, THIS IS A BETTER STORY THAN THE ONE I'M WORKING ON.

AND SO I TOLD-- I SAID TO THE CITY EDITOR, WHAT IF I JUST MAKE

A FEW PHONE CALLS?

>> Lawrence O'Brien: THERE WERE TAPS ON AT LEAST TWO TELEPHONES.

IT BECOMES CLEARER BY THE DAY THAT A MOST SERIOUS CRIME HAS

BEEN COMMITTED.

>> Schorr: THIS FILE CABINET WAS FOUND WITH THE LOCK PICKED,

THE BAR THAT HOLDS THE CABINET IN PLACE LYING ON THE FLOOR, A

DRAWER OPEN.

>> Bernstein: THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN THE FILES.

THEY WANTED TO FIND OUT EVERYTHING THEY COULD ABOUT THE

CAMPAIGN.

>> Woodward: THEY'D GONE IN IN MAY, THE MONTH BEFORE, TO PLANT

EAVESDROPPING DEVICES.

IT WAS A BASIC NIXON OPERATION.

GET DIRT ON THE OTHER SIDE THAT CAN BE USED AS LEVERAGE.

>> Wallace: ONE OF THE MEN APPREHENDED YESTERDAY WHILE

ALLEGEDLY ATTEMPTING TO BUG THE OFFICES OF THE DEMOCRATIC

NATIONAL COMMITTEE IN WASHINGTON HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE

SECURITY COORDINATOR FOR THE PRINCIPAL REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE

TO RE-ELECT PRESIDENT NIXON.

>> Woodward: WHEN THE ARRAIGNMENT JUDGE ASKED JAMES

McCORD, "WHERE DID YOU WORK?" McCORD WENT...

AND THE JUDGE SAID, "SPEAK UP."

FINALLY, McCORD SAID "C.I.A.," AND I THINK I BLURTED OUT,

"HOLY ( BLEEP )."

>> Schorr: THE FIRST ARRESTS WERE DISMISSED BY THE WHITE

HOUSE AS A MINOR INCIDENT.

THE WATERGATE AFFAIR BEGAN TO LOOK LESS MINOR WHEN, ALONG

WITH THE FIVE, TWO OTHER MEN WERE INDICTED WHO HAD ESCAPED

IMMEDIATE ARREST.

G. GORDON LIDDY, FINANCE COUNSEL TO THE NIXON CAMPAIGN

ORGANIZATION, EX-F.B.I., EX-TREASURY, EX-WHITE HOUSE

CONSULTANT; AND E. HOWARD HUNT JR., EX-

C.I.A., EX-BAY OF PIGS PLANNER, EX-WHITE HOUSE CONSULTANT.

>> Woodward: THERE WAS THIS ENTRY IN THE ADDRESS BOOKS OF

THE WATERGATE BURGLARS.

"H.HUNT-DASH-W.HOUSE."

SO I CALLED THE WHITE HOUSE AND ASKED FOR H. HUNT, WHO TURNED

OUT TO BE HOWARD HUNT.

I SAID, "HOW IS IT THAT YOUR NAME AND PHONE NUMBER IS IN THE

ADDRESS BOOKS OF TWO OF THE BURGLARS CAUGHT AT THE

WATERGATE?" AND HUNT SCREAMED OUT, "GOOD

GOD," HUNG UP THE PHONE AND LEFT TOWN.

>> H.R. Haldeman: THE BIG FLAP OVER THE WEEKEND HAS BEEN NEWS

A GROUP OF FIVE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CAUGHT BREAKING INTO THE

DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS.

THE REAL PROBLEM HERE IS WHETHER ANYTHING IS TRACEABLE TO GORDON

LIDDY.

>> Wallace: HALDEMAN WAS THE GATEKEEPER FREQUENTLY CRITICIZED

FOR ISOLATING THE PRESIDENT.

HE ONCE SAID, "EVERY PRESIDENT NEEDS AN S.O.B., AND I'M

NIXON'S."

>> Haldeman: THE PRESIDENT WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT OUR

COUNTERATTACK IS, OUR P.R.

OFFENSIVE TO TOP THIS.

WE'VE GOT TO HOPE THAT THE F.B.I. DOESN'T GO BEYOND THE

NECESSARY IN DEVELOPING EVIDENCE, AND THAT WE CAN KEEP A

LID ON THAT.

>> Lano: PEOPLE WERE BEING CALLED, QUESTIONED BY THE F.B.I.

WE DID THE JOB THAT WE WERE ASKED TO DO, AND LET THE CHIPS

FALL WHERE THEY MAY.

AND IF IT LED TO THE WHITE HOUSE, LET IT FALL.

>> E. Howard Hunt: I HAVE NO COMMENT TO MAKE.

>> Stahl: AS WE GO THROUGH THE VARIOUS MOMENTS IN THIS STORY...