Hunt, Liddy and McCord

Look at who was in that room. McCord had a long career at the CIA and left only in 1970. Hunt was a career CIA officer and a veteran of the Bay of Pigs. Liddy was a former FBI agent. TIME reported in 1974 that five of the seven burglars had been involved with the agency at one time or another. [1]

Yet the operation was full of basic mistakes. The door latch was taped horizontally, where a guard could see it, and taped again after the guard removed it. Men carried address books with Hunt’s name and White House number. McCord, a professional security officer, was the man whose job could be traced straight to the campaign.

Then McCord turned. His letter to Judge Sirica in March 1973 blew the cover-up open. And the CIA had helped Hunt before, with a disguise and photo development for the Fielding job. [2][3]

To believers, the pattern points one way: men who knew better either wanted to be caught or were following someone else’s plan.

Each man’s role is proven. Hunt and Liddy planned and supervised both the Fielding and Watergate operations. McCord did the electronics and was arrested inside. Hunt pleaded guilty in January 1973. Liddy and McCord were convicted on 30 January. Liddy refused to testify for years. [3][5]

Their past is real too. McCord worked for the CIA until 1970; Hunt left the same year and went to work for the Robert R. Mullen Company, a public relations firm that also provided cover for the CIA. The CIA helped Hunt in 1971 at the White House’s request. [1][4]

McCord’s letter, dated 19 March 1973 and read in court on 23 March, said there had been political pressure to plead guilty and keep quiet, that perjury had been committed at the trial, and that others were involved. It pointed at the campaign and the White House, not at the CIA. [2]

Investigators looked hard for a CIA hand. The Rockefeller Commission and Senator Baker’s report found contacts, destroyed papers and slow disclosure, but no evidence that the agency planned or carried out the burglary. Senator Ervin’s summary: Watergate “came directly out of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, with the assistance of certain White House aides.” [1][4]

The sloppiness has an ordinary explanation too: a rushed second entry to fix a faulty tap, run by men who had got away with the first.