Fifty years ago today, five men were discovered breaking into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate in Washington, DC. President Nixon, desperate to shut down the FBI’s investigation of the crime, sought the support of CIA Director Richard Helms.
To mark this anniversary, join us for a discussion with Jefferson Morley, author of the new book, Scorpion’s Dance: The President, the Spymaster, and Watergate, and James Rosen, author of The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate. In conversation, Morley and Rosen will explore the concealed, deadly power struggle between Nixon and Helms, two Cold Warriors whose edgy relationship dated back to the 1950s. Both president and spymaster knew secrets about the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba as well as off-the-books American government and CIA plots to remove Fidel Castro and other leaders in Latin America. Both had enough information on each other to ruin their careers.
Nixon knew that most of the Watergate burglars were retired CIA agents, contractors, or long-term assets with deep knowledge of the Agency's most sensitive secrets. Nixon and Helms circled each other like scorpions, defending themselves with the threat of lethal attack. Morley and Rosen, both veteran Washington reporters, will discuss the various theories of Watergate and the long-neglected evidence Morley has uncovered to give a new perspective on one of America’s most notorious presidential scandals.
Following the discussion, you’ll be able to ask questions via our online platform.
Auto-generated closed captioning will be available for this program.
