Former White House counsel and author of The Nixon Defense, 78, interviewed by Rick Perlstein
If I think back on my experience in the Nixon White House, I’ve never been sure whether my situation was a “frog in the boiling water” story or “ignorance is bliss.”
I really believed there was a new Nixon, that “Tricky Dick” had grown up, and it’d be a great place to work. But I was dumbfounded by the way the president’s aides handled Watergate. I really thought when I tried to stop the cover-up that they would all do the right thing. Well, I really misread them. Maybe, though, I was at an age where I knew I could start again, and they knew that they couldn’t.
I learned, from my proximity to power, that very few people in Washington really have power. And those who do are generally compromised by the time they get it.
This story is from the September 2017 edition of Esquire.
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This story is from the September 2017 edition of Esquire.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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