50 Fun Facts About Watergate

On what date in 1972 were the burglars caught inside DNC headquarters?

An earlier break-in on May 28 had succeeded; the June return trip was to fix a faulty bug.

The break-in was part of which covert campaign plan devised by Hunt and Liddy?

Earlier Gemstone drafts included kidnapping protesters and a boat full of sex workers to entrap Democrats.

Alongside E. Howard Hunt, which former FBI agent led the burglary operation?

Liddy refused to testify and served the longest sentence of anyone involved.

Bob Woodward's reporting partner at The Washington Post was whom?

Both were novices; editor Barry Sussman paired them with veteran Alfred Lewis on day one.

What nickname did Post editor Howard Simons give Woodward's anonymous source?

It referenced both his deep-background status and a 1972 pornographic film.

Which FBI official was Woodward's key anonymous source, later nicknamed by his editor?

Passed over for director after Hoover's death, he leaked partly to undermine the man who got the job.

Which attorney general appointed Archibald Cox as special prosecutor?

They agreed Cox could only be fired for "extraordinary improprieties", a promise that lasted five months.

Who, as acting attorney general, carried out Nixon's order to fire Cox?

He considered resigning so as not to be seen as "a man who did the President's bidding to save my job".

Who replaced Cox as special prosecutor in November 1973?

A former Nuremberg prosecutor, he was presumed sympathetic to the president and proved anything but.

On what date did Nixon's resignation take effect?

He announced it the evening before; Ford was sworn in at noon.

How many people in total were charged with crimes in connection with Watergate?

They included two cabinet members; most pleaded guilty or were convicted.

Which press secretary resigned in protest at the pardon of Nixon?

The president's approval rating dropped 22 points after the pardon.

Hunt and Liddy's unit burgled the office of Lewis Fielding, whose psychiatrist?

They were hunting for material to discredit the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers.

The White House "Special Investigations Unit" became known by what nickname?

The name came from aide David Young's grandmother, who assumed leaks meant pipes.

Liddy privately dubbed the leak-plugging unit what, after a rumored Nazi SS group?

His later ideas included drugging Ellsberg with LSD at a Washington gala.

Before Watergate, Hunt had helped arrange a 1954 CIA coup in which country?

He also worked on the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, where he met the Cuban exiles he later recruited.

Which Cuban-born CIA veteran and Bay of Pigs figure led the team of burglars?

He had once served under the dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Which burglar was the only non-Cuban on the team, having once fought alongside Castro?

He later fed Seymour Hersh the story that the burglars were receiving hush money.

Which security guard found the taped door and called the police?

He played himself in the 1976 film All the President's Men.

The bugging targeted the office of which Democratic National Committee chairman?

Liddy later claimed the aim was to learn what damaging material O'Brien held on Nixon's side.

How many hours of conversation did Nixon's secret taping system record?

It ran from February 1971 to July 1973 and was hidden even from his secretary.

Who revealed the existence of the Oval Office tapes to Senate investigators in July 1973?

Nixon's own counsel and Vice President Agnew urged him to destroy the tapes; he never did.

Which North Carolina senator chaired the Senate Watergate Committee?

Three in four American households watched the hearings, an average of 30 hours each.

Which White House counsel told Nixon there was "a cancer within" the presidency?

Nixon asked him over 150 questions in the March 21, 1973 meeting, then fired him five weeks later.

Which former attorney general remains the highest-ranking US official ever imprisoned?

At sentencing he joked it could have been worse: a life sentence with his wife Martha.

Martha Mitchell was forcibly restrained while trying to phone which UPI reporter?

She later told Thomas, "I'm black and blue. I'm a political prisoner."

The "smoking gun" tape, in which Nixon orders the CIA to block the FBI, dates from when?

Its release on August 5 extinguished Nixon's remaining support; he resigned four days later.

The 18-and-a-half-minute gap erased a conversation between Nixon and which aide?

Experts found it had been erased in five to nine separate segments using the hand keys.

Which secretary was blamed for accidentally erasing part of the tape?

Her explanation involved reaching for a phone while keeping a foot on the pedal, a pose she could not repeat.

Where was Nixon speaking when he declared "I am not a crook"?

He was addressing Associated Press editors at the Contemporary Resort on November 17, 1973.

Which judge presided over the burglars' trial and later ordered the tapes surrendered?

An Eisenhower appointee, he assigned himself the case and questioned witnesses personally.

Whose March 1973 letter to the court revealed perjury and that others were involved?

He was the CRP's security chief and a former CIA officer.

Who chaired the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment inquiry?

He presented no analysis of the evidence, aiming to look neutral and frustrating readers.

What was the first article of impeachment approved on July 27, 1974?

The committee rejected two further articles, on the Cambodia bombings and on Nixon's taxes.

How did the Supreme Court vote in United States v. Nixon on the tapes subpoena?

The unanimous ruling also affirmed that executive privilege exists.

Who declared "our long national nightmare is over" in an eight-minute East Room speech?

Time's resignation special sold 527,000 copies, a record for a newsweekly.

Nixon's 1977 paid television interviews were conducted by which British journalist?

Nixon was paid $600,000 and told him, "When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal."

Who directed the 1976 film All the President's Men?

The security guard who discovered the break-in played himself.

Which phrase from the 1976 film, absent from the book, entered the American lexicon?

It ranks second only to "I am not a crook" among Watergate quotes.

Nixon's edited transcripts replaced profanity with which two-word phrase?

He released 1,300 pages covering 46 tapes on April 29, 1974; only 20 of 64 subpoenaed talks were included.

Which "Watergate Seven" defendant had first recruited Hunt to the White House?

The seven were indicted on March 1, 1974, on 24 counts of conspiracy, lying and obstruction.

Which deputy campaign manager introduced Liddy as "our man in charge of dirty tricks"?

He burned the Gemstone files at home the day after the arrests, then cooperated with prosecutors in 1973.

Which deputy attorney general refused to fire Cox and was fired himself?

Congress received nearly 500,000 telegrams in the days after the Saturday Night Massacre.

Ford's pardon of Nixon is credited with costing him the 1976 election to whom?

Seven percent of voters said they voted against Ford explicitly because of the pardon.

Which post-Watergate law declared White House papers the property of the public?

The Ethics in Government Act created the mechanism for independent counsel investigations.

Which national security advisor pushed Nixon into a "frenzy" over the Pentagon Papers?

The leaker had been his mentee, which made the fury personal.

Which domestic policy chief told Dean to "deep six" incriminating files in the Potomac?

Dean instead handed the sensitive files to the acting FBI director, who burned them at Christmas.

Which acting FBI director burned Watergate files that Dean had given him?

He admitted at his confirmation hearing to sharing FBI reports with Dean and withdrew his nomination.

Which CIA director agreed to pressure the FBI to drop its investigation?

Deputy director Walters relayed the message but the FBI demanded the request in writing, which never came.

Which Republican senator said of Nixon, "He has lied to me for the last time"?

He told Haig the president had only 12 votes left in the Senate.