The Arrogance of Power
Page 107
Of those involved directly in the break-ins at the Watergate and the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, we spoke with Howard Hunt, Bernard Barker, and Rolando Martinez.
We are grateful to Lou Campbell, who served at the Nixon White House as an executive protection officer, and to Barry Toll, a former head of one of the battle staff units that stand ready to brief the president and top commanders on procedures in a nuclear crisis, for their patient assistance.
Former Representative Jerome Waldie, who served on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate investigation, gave us access to his “impeachment diary.” Both he and Lowell Weicker, former senator and member of the Senate Watergate Committee and later governor of Connecticut, impressed us with their evident devotion to the core principles of American democracy. John Doar and Jerome Zeifman, special counsel and general counsel, respectively, to the House Judiciary Committee, were both interviewed. Professor Sam Dash, former chief counsel of the Senate Watergate Committee, gave a long interview at his Georgetown University office. Richard Ben-Veniste, former assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, was as impressive in interview as he was in court. James Doyle and John Barker, who worked closely with special prosecutors Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski as public affairs assistants, were both interviewed; Doyle kindly gave us access to his taped Watergate journal. Robert Morgenthau, the veteran district attorney of New York County, was helpful as in the past. Former IRS supervisor Marty Philpott explained the probe into Teamsters’ contributions to the Nixon White House. The family of the late, brilliant IRS agent John Daley allowed us to rummage in the treasure trove of his filing system. Norman Casper, the IRS informant whose field craft led to exposure of Caribbean banking scams, was endlessly cooperative.
President Johnson’s assistant secretary of state, William Bundy, special assistant Joseph Califano, Jr., and national security adviser Walt Rostow threw light on Republican interference with the Vietnam peace initiative in 1968. Anna Chennault and former South Vietnamese ambassador Bui Diem gave detailed accounts of that episode. Although recovering from an operation, Howard Hughes’s longtime troubleshooter Robert Maheu talked with the author at length. Huntington Hartford and Seymour Alter, who were also unwell, offered memories of Nixon’s Paradise Island connection. The brave Elizabeth Newell told, for the first time, what she had learned from a Rebozo bank official of Nixon’s alleged offshore investments. In prison in California, David Silberman offered his account of an alleged Nixonian financial scam. Alvin Kotz, also in jail when interviewed, was informative on stolen securities and much else. The relatives of both men put up with a barrage of questions over many months, as did Silberman’s former secretary, Dee Anne Hill.
The indefatigable Greek journalist Elias Dematrocopoulos sat for many interviews and provided a cornucopia of documentation, especially on the allegation that Nixon accepted an illegal contribution from the Greek dictatorship in 1968.
An investigative book on this scale owes much to the labors of those who have gone before. Special thanks are due to John Rothmann, a sometime Republican activist in California who maintains a unique and extraordinary private archive, and to Michael Ewing, a former congressional investigator with an encyclopedic knowledge of organized crime.
Of the many authors and journalists who have written about Nixon, Roger Morris’s published work on the early years—and the help he gave the author—was invaluable. Charles Elliott, Jr., guided the author through Nixon’s hometown of Whittier. Gil Troy, who has written about Pat Nixon, allowed us to copy his files. John Lowenthal, lawyer and longtime believer in the innocence of Alger Hiss, offered the most evenhanded advice he could muster. Charles Higham and Benjamin Schemmer, respectively published and unpublished biographers of Howard Hughes, readily supplied documentation. Peter Wyden, John Prados, and Evan Thomas, authors knowledgeable on intelligence matters and the Bay of Pigs, were all helpful. So, too, were Jerry Hunt and former reporters who investigated Nixon’s relationship with Marianna Liu. Catherine Forslund, now assistant professor of history at Rockford College, Illinois, made available her dissertation and expertise on the Anna Chennault episode. Alan Block, professor of the administration of justice at Penn State University, opened up his files on organized crime in the Bahamas, as did Jerry Shields. Lisa Gubernick provided unique archival material on Paradise Island. Jeff Gerth’s work on how Nixon’s world intersected with that of organized crime was an important resource, as was that of former Newsday editor Robert Greene and Jonathan Marshall. Professor Joan Hoff gave us access to a mass of material arising from a recent Watergate lawsuit. The author Ron Kessler submitted to a grilling about his sources, and Peter Dale Scott, Berkeley professor and devoted student of the world of intelligence and organized crime, helped once again.
Anthony Lukas, author of a Watergate account no researcher of the subject can be without, died tragically while this book was being written. He had given us thoughtful guidance early in the project. The authors of three other indispensable works on Watergate, Fred Emery, Jim Hougan, and Stanley Kutler—professor of American institutions at the University of Wisconsin—offered every encouragement. Emery dipped into old files, and both Hougan and Kutler opened their archives to us. David Wise lived up to his name and supplied out-of-print congressional volumes. Seymour Hersh allowed us to carry away files by the boxload, and helped with contacts. Former Senate intelligence committee investigator Scott Armstrong dug deep in memory in a lengthy interview. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward were helpful and supportive. Where our path crossed their old Watergate tracks, we concluded that “Woodstein” deserved their accolades.
Of the several skilled journalist-researchers who worked on the project, Robert D. Lamb performed long and sterling service. We thank him especially. Sondra Feldstein, who holds an advanced degree in American history and who worked for us on a previous book, read and annotated judiciously the many books we could not read thoroughly ourselves. The skills of Kari Huus, Greg Murphy, Gus Russo, Phil Stanford, and Julie Ziegler were valuable as we identified tough investigative areas. Cinda Elser especially, and Alex Kramer, traced elusive people and records. Researchers Blair Campbell, Brian Connolly, Mark Herman, James Rosen, and Monisha Saldanha, starting out on their careers, gave us willing help in the early days. In Nassau, Nicki Kelly shared her expertise on the Bahamas. Brenda Brodie and Gordon Winslow gave us the benefit of their knowledge of anti-Castro activities. Bill Pugsley labored to get unreleased material freed up at the Johnson Library, and Warren Rabe trawled the Truman Library on a purely volunteer basis.
Librarians and archivists for the National Archives—Pat Andersen, David Paynter, and Karl Weissenbach of the Nixon Presidential Materials Project at College Park, Maryland, and Paul Wormser of the Nixon Pre-Presidential Papers holdings at Laguna Niguel, California—were most cooperative. So, too, were Lyndon B. Johnson Library director Harry Middleton, David DeLorenzo at Harvard, Tom Harkins at Duke University, Mike Sutherland of the Mary Norton Clapp Library at Occidental College, and Stan Larsen and Nancy Young at the manuscript division of the University of Utah. All were generous with time and facilities, and so, too, once again, was Waterford County Librarian Donal Brady in Ireland.
The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace, in our experience of it, proved less helpful than other presidential or private libraries. Its director, John Taylor, who has often spoken on the record, turned down our interview request. Archivist Susan Naulty did respond helpfully to some specific questions. The overall impression, however, was that the Nixon Library is more committed to promoting the virtues of the late president than to providing a wholly open service to researchers and scholars. We found it disquieting, too, that numerous interviewees told us they felt they needed to “check with the Library” before being interviewed. In the end, we did not visit the Library.
James Lesar, an attorney and Freedom of Information Act wizard, once again did battle with recalcitrant agencies. Terry Murphy worked magic on o
ld photographs, as did John Lombard on computers. Patrick Farren of Alex International made vast quantities of books and paper travel backward and forward across the Atlantic. Simi Kerman and Stephen Aaron and Nancy Pulley stored our research in the basements of their homes. Larry and Lesley McDonald offered hospitality in Delaware, and Michael and PJ Dempsey gave us refuge after we were robbed at gunpoint.
Against all the odds, Jeanette Mundy is still prepared to work as our assistant after more than ten years, and Zvenka Kleinfeld ran the office during research stints in the United States. Jennifer O’Leary struggled with the earliest chapters in Cork. Pauline Lombard was mistress of the file and tape system and myriad related books at our Irish base. Jenny and Sally Brittain, Jenny Barlow, Breeda O’Connell, Ann Dalton, and Anne-Marie Ronayne photocopied hundreds of thousands of pages of documents over the years. James Ronayne drove thousands of miles to and from airports and courier offices. A trusty friend, Tiddy Rowan, flew in to the rescue when more hands were needed.
Sincere thanks to my editor at Viking, the talented Rick Kot, his assistant, Brett Kelly, and to Tory Klose, the managing editor who made a crazed schedule work. That extraordinary New York publishing potentate Phyllis Grann ensured that the book and its author survived its grueling five-year birth process. Wayne Lawson got it right, once again, at Vanity Fair. My effective agents, Sterling Lord in New York and Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis Brown in London, supplied business sense and friendship in equal measure. Former BBC colleague Bill Cran, at the helm of his own distinguished freelance documentary film company, Invision Productions, fashioned two fine films for the BBC and the History Channel from the clay of our draft manuscript.
The true sustaining strength behind us, however, has been that of our family. The love and understanding of Bob and Terry Swan, Robbyn’s parents, have been central to keeping our spirits up. Our five fine children, from the eldest to the youngest, have good reason to resent the five-year presence of the Nixon project in their lives. In many different senses, though, the effort has been for them.
A.S. and R.S.
Ireland, 2000
Photo Credits
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Whittier College
The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace
The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace
Whittier College
Whittier College
Whittier College
AP/Wide World Photos
Whittier Daily News
The Washington Post
Bettmann/CORBIS
Private Collection
AP/Wide World Photos
AP/Wide World Photos
AP/Wide World Photos
Courtesy of Carmine Schiavone Studios
James Shepley/TimePix
Bettmann/CORBIS
AP/Wide World Photos
AP/Wide World Photos
AP/Wide World Photos
AP/Wide World Photos
Bettmann/CORBIS
Keystone/CORBIS Sygma
AP/Wide World Photos
Hank Walker/TimePix
AP/Wide World Photos
Ralph Crane/TimePix
Bettmann/CORBIS
Hong Kong Standard
Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library
Bettmann/CORBIS
Stanley Toogood/Courtesy of Michael A. Toogood Photography
Private Collection
Courtesy of Adnan Khashoggi
George Silk/TimePix
Black Star
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
Bettmann/CORBIS
Courtesy of Herb Klein
TimePix
Fred J. Maroon
Bettmann/CORBIS
National Archives
AP/Wide World Photos
Arthur Schatz/TimePix
Bettmann/CORBIS
National Archives
National Archives
Fred J. Maroon
The New York Times
Fred J. Maroon
National Archives
National Archives
Bettmann/CORBIS
Bettmann/CORBIS
Bettmann/CORBIS
AP/Wide World Photos
CORBIS
Courtesy of Anna Chennault
Courtesy of Elias Demetracopoulos
Courtesy of Cora Cummins
Courtesy of Sam Kay
FBI Archives
Bettmann/CORBIS
National Archives
CBS News Photos
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Laffont/CORBIS Sygma
Bettmann/CORBIS
National Archives
AP/Wide World Photos
Dirck Halstead/TimePix
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Bill Pierce/TimePix
Courtesy of Lester Sloan
Korody/CORBIS Sygma
CORBIS Sygma
AP/Wide World Photos
TimePix
AP/Wide World Photos
Selected Bibliography
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Books About Richard Nixon
Abrahamsen, David, M.D. Nixon vs. Nixon. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1977.
Aitken, Jonathan. Nixon: A Life. Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 1993.
Allen, Gary. Richard Nixon. Boston: Western Islands, 1971.
Ambrose, Stephen E. Nixon: The Education of a Politician, 1913–1961. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.
———. Nixon: The Triumph of a Politician, 1962–1972. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
———. Nixon: Ruin and Recovery, 1973–1990. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
Andrew, Christopher. For the President’s Eyes Only. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.
Andrews, Philip. This Man Nixon. Philadelphia: John Winston, 1952.
Anson, Robert Sam. Exile. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984.
Brodie, Fawn M. Richard Nixon. New York: W. W. Norton, 1981.
Cavan, Sherri. 20th Century Gothic: America’s Nixon. San Francisco: Wigan Pier Press, 1979.
Chesen, Eli S., M.D. President Nixon’s Psychiatric Profile. New York: Peter Wyden, 1973.
Costello, William. The Facts About Nixon. New York: Viking, 1960.
Crowley, Monica. Nixon Off the Record. New York: Random House, 1997.
———. Nixon in Winter. New York: Random House, 1998.
Elliott, Charles, Jr. Whittaker College: The First Century on the Poet Campus. Redondo Beach, CA: Legends Press, 1986.
Evans, Rowland and Robert D. Novak. Nixon in the White House. London: Davis-Poynter, 1971.
Gardner, Richard. Fighting Quaker. Unpub. ms. held at Whittier College, Whittier, CA.
Gellman, Irwin, F. The Contender: Richard Nixon, The Congress Years 1946–1952. New York: The Free Press, 1999.
Hamburg, Eric, ed. Nixon: An Oliver Stone Film. New York: Hyperion, 1995.
Higgins, George V. The Friends of Richard Nixon. New York: Ballantine, 1974.
Hoff, Joan. Nixon Reconsidered. New York: Basic Books, 1994.
Hoyt, Edwin P. The Nixons: An American Family. New York: Random House, 1972.
Korff, Baruch. The President and I. Providence, RI: Baruch Korff Foundation, 1995.
Kornitzer, Bela. The Real Nixon. New York: Rand McNally, 1960.
Lurie, Leonard. The Running of Richard Nixon. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1972.
Mankiewicz, Frank. Perfectly Clear. New York: Quadrangle, 1973.
Mazlish, Bruce. In Search of Nixon. New York: Basic Books, 1972.
Mazo, Earl. Richard Nixon. New York: Avon, 1960.
——— and Stephen Hess. President Nixon: A Political Portrait. London: McDonald, 1968.
Morris, Roger. Richard Milhous Nixon. New York: Henry Holt, 1990.
Oudes, Bruce. From: The President. London: André Deutsch, 1989.
Parmet, Herbert S. Richard Nixon and His America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1990.
Price, Raymond. With Nixon. New York: Viking, 1977.
Rather, Dan and Gary Paul Ga
tes. The Palace Guard. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.
Safire, William. Before the Fall. New York: Belmont Tower Books, 1975.
Schell, Jonathan. The Time of Illusion. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1975.
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. The Imperial Presidency. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973.
Schulte, Renée K. The Young Nixon: An Oral Inquiry. Fullerton, CA: California State University, 1978.
Spalding, Henry D. The Nixon Nobody Knows. New York: Jonathan David, 1972.
Strober, Gerald S. and Deborah Hart Strober. Nixon: An Oral History of His Presidency. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
Sulzberger, C.L. The World and Richard Nixon. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1987.
Toledano, Ralph de. Nixon. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearse, 1960.
———. One Man Alone: Richard Nixon. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1969.
Turner, William. Nixon’s Vendetta and the Old Boy Network, Part VII. Unpub. ms. 1986.
Volkan, Vamik, Norman Itzkowitz, and Andrew Dod. Richard Nixon: A Psychobiography. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
Voorhis, Jerry. The Strange Case of Richard Milhous Nixon. New York: Popular Library, 1973.
Wicker, Tom. One of Us. New York: Random House, 1991.
Wills, Garry. Nixon Agonistes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970.
Witcover, Jules. The Resurrection of Richard Nixon. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1970.
Woodstone, Arthur. Nixon’s Head. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1972.
On Richard Nixon’s Campaigns
Alsop, Stewart. Nixon and Rockefeller. New York: Doubleday, 1960.
Chester, Lewis, Godfrey Hodgson, and Bruce Page. An American Melodrama: The Presidential Campaign of 1968. New York: Viking, 1969.
Crouse, Timothy. The Boys on the Bus. New York: Ballantine, 1973.
Harris, Mark. Mark the Glove Boy. New York: Macmillan, 1964.
Pearl, Arthur. Landslide: The Hows and Whys of Nixon’s Victory. Seacaucus, NJ: Citadel, 1973.