Washington, D.C.
One of Richard Nixon’s aides said that the late president personally ordered the 1972 Watergate break-in. The former aide, Jeb Stuart Magruder, long held that it was Nixon’s attorney general, John Mitchell, who approved sending burglars to tap phones at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate hotel. But in a PBS documentary broadcast this week, Magruder revealed that he heard Nixon give Mitchell the green light over the phone. Magruder, who served seven months in prison for his role in the scandal that led to Nixon’s resignation, said he never meant to keep Nixon’s role secret. “Nobody ever asked me,” he said. Historian Stanley Kutler said the claim was nothing but “the dubious word of a dubious character.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for February 10Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include halftime hate, the America First Games, and Cupid's woe
-
Why is Prince William in Saudi Arabia?Today’s Big Question Government requested royal visit to boost trade and ties with Middle East powerhouse, but critics balk at kingdom’s human rights record
-
Wuthering Heights: ‘wildly fun’ reinvention of the classic novel lacks depthTalking Point Emerald Fennell splits the critics with her sizzling spin on Emily Brontë’s gothic tale
