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.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
The runners and riders for the Labour deputy leadership
The Explainer Race to replace Angela Rayner likely to come down to Starmer loyalist vs. soft-left MP supported by backbenchers and unions
-
Tom Phillips: the manhunt for forest fugitive and his abducted children
In the Spotlight Three children recovered safely after four-year manhunt ends in police shootout
-
Codeword: September 9, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle