I recently heard on audible, All the President’s Men. Although I had read the book many years ago, I do not believe that at the time I appreciated the incredible investigative journalism that was involved in bringing down the Nixon Administration. In brief, this book is a “thriller” that deserves our attention.

I hope that this short write-up will encourage some of you to reread All the President’s Men.

The story begins with the break-in the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in the Watergate Complex. The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into DNC headquarters on June 17, 1972.

The FBI investigated and discovered a connection between cash found on the burglars and a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CREEP). Overtime, Bernstein and Woodward linked President Nixon, his administration, and related persons to attempting a massive cover up.

Overtime, it was proven that more than 100 people were involved in “dirty tricks” such as

Bugging the offices of political opponents of the Nixon administration,

(2) Sabotaging potential nominees of the Democratic Party—Edward Muskie, George McGovern, and Hubert Humphrey

(3) Breaking into the psychiatrist office of the doctor treating Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers)

(4) Discouraging and disrupting investigations by the FBI and the Department of Justice

In brief, from June 1972 until Nixon’s resignation, some two years later, key members of the Nixon administration, including the President, used a variety of tools—illegal, and unethical—to obstruct justice.

Incredibly, Nixon enjoyed a 25% polling lead over George McGovern, but still could not restrain his instincts to destroy his enemies because of his paranoia.

In the end, these were just some of people in the Nixon Administration who served prison terms:

Dwight Chapin, Deputy Assistant to the President

Charles Colson, Chief Counsel for the President

John Dean, White House Counsel

John Erlichman, Assist to the President for Domestic affairs

H.R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff

Howard Hunt, President’s Special Investigation’s Unit

John Mitchell, Attorney General

Richard Nixon and his team were truly vicious who felt that they were above the law. They felt no scruples and threatened to destroy the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine, etc. The book implies, but does not specifically state, that Nixon might have been psychologically unfit to serve as President near the end of his term. At times, he was inebriated.

Originally published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune