In the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC.
The break-in was originally labeled as a “third-rate burglary” by President Richard Nixon’s press secretary. Ultimately, reporters from multiple outlets, including CBS News, were able to trace the break-in and subsequent cover-up all the way to the Oval Office.
The United States Senate formed a subcommittee to investigate the Watergate affair and the House of Representatives was preparing to vote on an article of impeachment when Mr. Nixon resigned as President on August 9, 1974.
In the ensuing decade, 60 Minutes continued to report on Watergate. Throughout the week, we’ll publish a collection of interviews 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace conducted with some of the characters central to the affair. You can view them below.
John Ehrlichman: The 60 Minutes Watergate Interview (1973)
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In June 1973, John Ehrlichman, the chief domestic affairs advisor to President Nixon, was interviewed by 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace about his role in and knowledge of the break-in at Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex in Washington and the ensuing cover-up.
Ehrlichman, who began working for Mr. Nixon in 1960, told Wallace about Watergate, “The White House had no interest, as such, in covering this thing up. It had no exposure.”
It turned out to be a lie.
Ehrlichman served 18 months in prison for obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and perjury related to his role in the Watergate scandal.