Summary
Overview
This episode begins a four-part series examining the CIA's role in Watergate, exploring how President Nixon's paranoia and determination to stop leaks led to the creation of the 'Plumbers' unit and eventually to illegal break-ins involving CIA resources. The episode establishes Nixon's troubled relationship with the intelligence community, his response to the Pentagon Papers leak, and how former CIA officer E. Howard Hunt became central to operations that would ultimately lead to the biggest political scandal in American history.
Richard Nixon: The Paranoid President
Nixon's personality and background are crucial to understanding Watergate. Born in 1913 to a Quaker family, he overcame rejection from Harvard and elite law firms to become vice president at 39. His narrow 1960 loss to JFK left him suspicious of the CIA, which he believed had helped Kennedy win. When he won the presidency in 1968, he returned as an isolated, paranoid figure who ate the same lunch daily, had only two real friends, and saw enemies everywhere within the government.
- Nixon rejected by Harvard, New York law firms, and even the FBI - developed a major chip on his shoulder
- Lost narrowly to JFK in 1960 and suspected CIA helped Kennedy win the election
- Nixon ate the same lunch daily: tinned pineapple, cottage cheese, crackers, and milk flown from California
- Nixon was a loner who bowled alone, walked alone, took vacations alone, and had difficulty with human connection
- After his 1960 loss, Nixon wandered the political wilderness before making an improbable comeback to win in 1968
" What is this cocksucking story? Find out who leaked it and fire him. "
" He doesn't know how to spell the name of one of his aides, a guy who's going to feature prominently in the story, Ehrlichman, and just writes it E. His chief of staff will later say that he doesn't think Nixon knew how many kids he had. "
The Culture of Paranoia and Domestic Threats
Nixon's presidency was marked by genuine domestic turmoil alongside his personal paranoia. The Weather Underground and other militant groups were conducting bombings at an alarming rate, with Nixon's memoirs claiming over 40,000 bombings and bomb threats in his first two years - averaging 80 per day. This atmosphere, combined with leaks about the secret bombing of Cambodia, drove Nixon to demand wiretaps and surveillance. When FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover resisted some requests due to recent scrutiny, Nixon began looking for alternative ways to conduct domestic intelligence operations.
- Nixon authorized secret bombing of Cambodia, concealed from public, Congress, and even air crews
- After Cambodia bombing leaked to New York Times, Nixon ordered FBI wiretaps on 17 people including NSC staff and journalists
- Nixon's memoirs count over 40,000 bombings, attempted bombings, and bomb threats in first two years - average of 80 per day
- Hoover had ended 'black bag jobs' (break-ins) in 1966 after Congressional hearings on FBI wiretapping
- Weather Underground members blew themselves up in Greenwich Village townhouse in March 1969
" One man's revolution is another man's domestic conspiracy. And I think for Nixon, I think he has a tendency to take this information in and say, I am both the center of attention, the narcissism, and also the victim. "
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