Abuse of Power

From the Introduction

The year of events following the Watergate break-in is at the heart of this story. Prophetically, at the outset, Nixon and Haldeman discussed their special secret—the taping system—on June 20, 1972. The President thought that it "complicates things all over." Haldeman replied: "They say it's extremely good. I haven't listened to the tapes." And Nixon quietly said: "They're kept for future purposes."

The arrest of E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA operative, following the Watergate break-in, filled Nixon with foreboding. On June 22, 1972, Haldeman told Nixon that Hunt, who had been involved in the Watergate break-in, "is in the process of disappearing." The next day, Nixon remarked that Hunt had "done a lot of things." Meanwhile, the first cover-up appears at the same time when Nixon learned of an attempt to pin it all on G. Gordon Liddy ("Is Liddy willing?" Nixon queried). A year later (April 10), Nixon worried that Hunt would expose "an earlier venture"—meaning the Plumbers and their illegal activities. Typically, such insights alternated with the President's remarks about the "comic opera" an ... read full excerpt from: Abuse of Power ebook