What Nixon knew
The week's news at a glance.
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.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to 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.
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published