1 00:00:32,198 --> 00:00:34,743 Is the country gonna right itself now? 2 00:00:35,744 --> 00:00:37,203 Do we have Watergate behind us? 3 00:00:37,787 --> 00:00:39,914 We'll never have Watergate behind us, I hope, 4 00:00:39,998 --> 00:00:41,458 because in a way, it's been good. 5 00:00:41,541 --> 00:00:44,711 We're teaching the politicians to be straight and not crooked. 6 00:00:49,090 --> 00:00:51,801 I'm convinced if it hadn't been for Martha, 7 00:00:53,053 --> 00:00:54,679 there'd have been no Watergate. 8 00:01:01,186 --> 00:01:03,146 Mrs. Mitchell! 9 00:01:03,229 --> 00:01:06,441 Is this democracy, where people are not allowed 10 00:01:06,524 --> 00:01:08,485 to speak their own mind and the truth? 11 00:01:08,568 --> 00:01:10,028 You know I love the press. 12 00:01:11,780 --> 00:01:13,698 So if I have something on my mind, 13 00:01:13,782 --> 00:01:16,493 I'm not going out and yell it to anybody, 14 00:01:16,576 --> 00:01:20,330 unless I believe that it's what should be done or said. 15 00:01:33,927 --> 00:01:37,764 When you arrived at London Airport yesterday morning, 16 00:01:37,847 --> 00:01:42,185 you said, "Richard Nixon shattered my marriage." 17 00:01:42,268 --> 00:01:47,023 Now, how did Richard Nixon have so much effect on your whole life? 18 00:01:48,441 --> 00:01:51,986 Ooh, David, you've opened up a kettle of worms. 19 00:01:52,695 --> 00:01:55,323 And I don't know whether I could really explain it 20 00:01:55,406 --> 00:01:58,118 in the length of time you and I have together. 21 00:01:58,201 --> 00:01:59,911 Well, we've got at least 30 minutes. 22 00:02:00,537 --> 00:02:03,081 It dates back from the beginning. 23 00:02:11,631 --> 00:02:13,716 John Newton Mitchell, attorney general, 24 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,512 lived with his wife Martha in Washington's Watergate Apartments. 25 00:02:18,054 --> 00:02:19,973 The world seemed good to them. 26 00:02:21,516 --> 00:02:24,269 I know that the president is very fond of my husband. 27 00:02:24,352 --> 00:02:27,397 They've been law partners. They've been very close. 28 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,941 Mitchell is a former bond lawyer, 29 00:02:30,024 --> 00:02:33,444 who before he managed Mr. Nixon's 1968 campaign 30 00:02:33,528 --> 00:02:35,363 had never ventured into politics. 31 00:02:35,947 --> 00:02:37,365 Now as attorney general, 32 00:02:37,448 --> 00:02:40,201 he has been dealing with some of the most controversial issues 33 00:02:40,285 --> 00:02:41,578 of our time. 34 00:02:41,661 --> 00:02:43,371 Some say that your husband 35 00:02:43,454 --> 00:02:46,499 is the second most powerful man in Washington. 36 00:02:46,583 --> 00:02:48,626 Could you tell us what he's really like? 37 00:02:48,710 --> 00:02:51,254 My husband is probably one of the most 38 00:02:51,337 --> 00:02:53,548 intelligent men in this whole country. 39 00:02:54,382 --> 00:02:56,092 In the world I would even say. 40 00:02:58,636 --> 00:03:01,014 Mr. Mitchell, how did you meet your wife? 41 00:03:01,097 --> 00:03:02,432 Was it a blind date? 42 00:03:02,515 --> 00:03:05,977 Neither one of us were blind, apparently, because it worked out all right. 43 00:03:08,563 --> 00:03:13,026 I was just plain Mrs. Mitchell living in Rye, New York. 44 00:03:14,068 --> 00:03:17,322 Washington was almost like another country. 45 00:03:30,210 --> 00:03:33,379 Being semiofficial here in Washington, 46 00:03:33,463 --> 00:03:35,298 there are so many things 47 00:03:35,381 --> 00:03:39,344 requested and required of me as a cabinet wife. 48 00:03:42,055 --> 00:03:46,184 I would like to better the relations of America 49 00:03:46,267 --> 00:03:48,311 with the other nations of the world, 50 00:03:48,853 --> 00:03:52,106 to try to put a little love into the world. 51 00:03:53,483 --> 00:03:56,486 Well, I've often said to young candidates as to how to win, 52 00:03:56,569 --> 00:03:58,321 first pick the right wife. 53 00:04:00,406 --> 00:04:04,035 Doesn't make as much news, and she must recognize that, 54 00:04:04,118 --> 00:04:06,537 that the husband is going to make the news. 55 00:04:09,624 --> 00:04:13,169 {\an8}Washington was a male-dominated city. 56 00:04:14,087 --> 00:04:17,382 It was run by white men at the White House, 57 00:04:17,882 --> 00:04:21,052 and men at every single cabinet level. 58 00:04:22,804 --> 00:04:28,184 Women who were part of the Washington social scene were hostesses. 59 00:04:28,268 --> 00:04:31,396 Women went into the other room and had coffee 60 00:04:31,479 --> 00:04:34,649 while the men talked about the important things. 61 00:04:34,732 --> 00:04:37,944 But Martha Mitchell wasn't playing the Washington game. 62 00:04:38,945 --> 00:04:40,571 She was not gonna be just the wife 63 00:04:40,655 --> 00:04:43,324 who sits in the background and not say anything. 64 00:04:45,785 --> 00:04:49,080 A political wife isn't like a normal person 65 00:04:49,664 --> 00:04:52,041 that can do and say what they please. 66 00:04:52,542 --> 00:04:55,086 - But I do say what I please. - Yes. 67 00:04:55,169 --> 00:04:56,879 Well, sweetie, I tell you what. 68 00:04:56,963 --> 00:04:59,048 I've seen that in the paper today, 69 00:04:59,132 --> 00:05:02,051 and I don't think you all have been home and doing your homework. 70 00:05:03,928 --> 00:05:06,264 If Martha was coming to a dinner at the White House, 71 00:05:06,347 --> 00:05:08,725 people were on alert. 72 00:05:09,309 --> 00:05:13,604 Women were more reserved then, but not Martha. 73 00:05:15,565 --> 00:05:18,359 The president obviously was aware of it. 74 00:05:18,443 --> 00:05:21,237 It wasn't that he didn't like women. 75 00:05:21,321 --> 00:05:25,908 It was that he didn't like loud women. 76 00:05:28,953 --> 00:05:31,789 Oh, I used to have a lot of fun with the president. 77 00:05:31,873 --> 00:05:34,709 He didn't know when I was kidding and when I wasn't. 78 00:05:35,376 --> 00:05:38,629 He found me a rather strange person. 79 00:05:39,714 --> 00:05:42,133 She would on occasion drink too heavily, 80 00:05:42,842 --> 00:05:47,138 and then she'd get on the telephone and start calling official Washington. 81 00:05:50,016 --> 00:05:52,310 {\an8}She liked to call the president. 82 00:05:52,894 --> 00:05:55,813 She liked to call, quote, "My president." 83 00:05:56,731 --> 00:05:58,608 Did you call President Nixon 84 00:05:58,691 --> 00:06:01,402 and talked to him on the telephone recently, Martha? 85 00:06:01,486 --> 00:06:05,782 - Did you call and tell him what to do? - Oh, I advise him every once in a while. 86 00:06:10,244 --> 00:06:11,871 Martha Mitchell said today 87 00:06:11,954 --> 00:06:14,457 those who advocate violent revolution in the United States 88 00:06:14,540 --> 00:06:16,751 should be kicked out of this country. 89 00:06:16,834 --> 00:06:19,837 She did not say where she wanted them kicked to. 90 00:06:20,922 --> 00:06:24,175 At 2 a.m., she called theArkansas Gazette in Little Rock, 91 00:06:24,258 --> 00:06:27,053 demanding that Senator Fulbright be crucified. 92 00:06:27,136 --> 00:06:30,431 Mrs. Mitchell's become a kind of character around here, 93 00:06:30,515 --> 00:06:33,976 and it's rather interesting. 94 00:06:34,060 --> 00:06:37,438 I've always thought that Mr. Fulbright... If you wanna call him that. 95 00:06:37,522 --> 00:06:39,399 I have an awful time calling him that. 96 00:06:39,482 --> 00:06:42,610 He's either half-bright... He's now down to quarter-bright. 97 00:06:45,238 --> 00:06:46,906 One of the GOP Senate leaders, 98 00:06:46,989 --> 00:06:49,867 asked if he had heard the Martha Mitchell story, replied, 99 00:06:49,951 --> 00:06:51,953 "Oh my God, was she on the phone again?" 100 00:06:52,578 --> 00:06:54,539 Ladies and gentlemen! 101 00:06:55,998 --> 00:06:58,501 I don't think there's any question that early, 102 00:06:58,584 --> 00:07:02,088 they enjoyed Martha getting the attention that she got. 103 00:07:02,964 --> 00:07:04,966 She was good. She was on message. 104 00:07:06,342 --> 00:07:08,302 Even though she was pro-Nixon, 105 00:07:08,386 --> 00:07:10,763 she was completely untethered. 106 00:07:12,181 --> 00:07:15,518 And Mitchell seemed to go along with it, which was even more interesting. 107 00:07:15,601 --> 00:07:19,105 I can neither control what she says or what she does. 108 00:07:21,691 --> 00:07:25,319 In fact, she is getting to be known as "the unguided missile." 109 00:07:26,821 --> 00:07:28,489 Sweetie, let me tell you something. 110 00:07:28,573 --> 00:07:31,451 If I'm doing anything wrong in this government, 111 00:07:31,534 --> 00:07:33,161 just tell me about it. 112 00:07:33,661 --> 00:07:35,788 Anytime, really. 113 00:07:44,088 --> 00:07:47,717 The whole administration was completely anti-press, 114 00:07:48,217 --> 00:07:52,013 and that's one reason that I became so friendly with the press. 115 00:07:52,096 --> 00:07:53,931 How's my boyfriends? 116 00:07:54,015 --> 00:07:55,391 When I came along, 117 00:07:55,475 --> 00:07:58,144 the American people related to me in certain ways. 118 00:07:58,895 --> 00:08:01,230 The administration couldn't believe it. 119 00:08:02,231 --> 00:08:04,650 "What are we gonna do with Martha Mitchell?" 120 00:08:07,153 --> 00:08:11,282 And wife of the attorney general of the United States, Martha Mitchell! 121 00:08:12,325 --> 00:08:16,954 We have voted you the person who has done the most for Ma Bell, 122 00:08:17,038 --> 00:08:21,083 and your prize is a telephone in the shape of the Supreme Court. 123 00:08:22,251 --> 00:08:24,795 Well, that'll make hanging it up a real pleasure. 124 00:08:38,726 --> 00:08:41,646 Martha Mitchell hit this town like a bombshell. 125 00:08:45,274 --> 00:08:46,484 She was so refreshing, 126 00:08:48,027 --> 00:08:51,405 and every reporter in town wanted to interview her, including myself. 127 00:08:53,074 --> 00:08:55,952 I remember once coming back from California, 128 00:08:56,035 --> 00:08:58,246 and the Mitchells were onboard. 129 00:09:00,373 --> 00:09:02,375 We were on the backside of the plane, 130 00:09:02,458 --> 00:09:04,418 and the men were playing cards, 131 00:09:04,502 --> 00:09:06,420 {\an8}and Martha Mitchell came back. 132 00:09:06,504 --> 00:09:09,590 I said, "Well, you know, what did you think of the miniskirts?" 133 00:09:09,674 --> 00:09:12,552 "Why don't you ask me something important?" 134 00:09:12,635 --> 00:09:16,347 I said, "Okay, what do you think of the Vietnam war?" 135 00:09:16,430 --> 00:09:18,307 She said, "It stinks." 136 00:09:19,642 --> 00:09:23,437 The men stopped playing cards and grabbed their notebooks. 137 00:09:24,355 --> 00:09:28,150 And then she was barred from Air Force One. 138 00:09:33,197 --> 00:09:37,952 Vietnam was the quintessential war that the United States got involved in. 139 00:09:38,035 --> 00:09:41,372 Several administrations inherited it, 140 00:09:41,455 --> 00:09:44,750 and Nixon was stuck with it. 141 00:09:45,626 --> 00:09:49,213 So Martha's comments were beyond awkward. 142 00:09:49,297 --> 00:09:53,217 Nobody else who was remotely connected to the administration 143 00:09:53,301 --> 00:09:55,595 would ever say anything like that. 144 00:09:56,304 --> 00:09:59,640 I'm sure you realize that could be dangerous for a political party, 145 00:09:59,724 --> 00:10:01,058 a wife speaking out. 146 00:10:01,601 --> 00:10:04,353 - That's always been, "Don't let her talk." - Not really. 147 00:10:04,437 --> 00:10:06,105 - Really? - I don't think so. 148 00:10:06,188 --> 00:10:09,358 It's just unusual for a woman to speak her piece of mind. 149 00:10:16,907 --> 00:10:20,745 Martha is not nuts. Martha knows exactly what she is doing. 150 00:10:24,123 --> 00:10:26,334 Well, she's not a concern. 151 00:10:26,917 --> 00:10:28,586 Isn't she? 152 00:10:40,556 --> 00:10:44,935 She's always a pain in the ass... it scares me. I just can't stand it. 153 00:11:05,873 --> 00:11:09,835 The year 1972 is the year of opportunity for peace 154 00:11:10,419 --> 00:11:13,631 such as America has never had in its whole history. 155 00:11:29,021 --> 00:11:31,941 Good evening. Attorney General John Mitchell resigned today, 156 00:11:32,024 --> 00:11:34,694 effective March 1st, to go back to his old job 157 00:11:34,777 --> 00:11:37,613 running Richard Nixon's presidential campaign. 158 00:11:40,032 --> 00:11:44,286 In 1972, John Mitchell was the campaign manager. 159 00:11:44,870 --> 00:11:47,915 Martha Mitchell was definitely chomping at the bit 160 00:11:47,998 --> 00:11:50,835 to go out and make campaign appearances. 161 00:11:51,711 --> 00:11:54,797 I was one of the first at CREEP, 162 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,967 which was the Committee to Reelect the President. 163 00:11:59,051 --> 00:12:02,012 Magruder, Porter, and myself 164 00:12:02,096 --> 00:12:04,807 were the first three people that opened up CREEP. 165 00:12:05,808 --> 00:12:08,310 I had my own staff, my own office. 166 00:12:08,811 --> 00:12:11,397 I was involved in the whole campaign. 167 00:12:12,523 --> 00:12:15,276 I knew Martha through my mother, June Dankworth, 168 00:12:15,359 --> 00:12:17,319 who had been working with CREEP. 169 00:12:18,112 --> 00:12:20,698 Over the years, they became very close friends. 170 00:12:20,781 --> 00:12:23,033 And to me, she was Aunt Martha. 171 00:12:23,951 --> 00:12:26,662 They liked Martha because the public liked her. 172 00:12:26,746 --> 00:12:30,166 She was always kind of the show pony that went on the road. 173 00:12:31,542 --> 00:12:34,336 I'm out all around the country, 174 00:12:35,212 --> 00:12:40,301 working day in and day out to make this man president. 175 00:12:41,469 --> 00:12:44,847 She's been very loyal to the party and to the president 176 00:12:44,930 --> 00:12:48,976 and seemed, at first, to enjoy her public appearances. 177 00:12:49,810 --> 00:12:52,146 But she was getting more and more programmed. 178 00:12:55,649 --> 00:12:58,486 Changed your feelings about him? At one time, 179 00:12:58,569 --> 00:13:00,905 {\an8}you believed in Richard Nixon, you and your husband. 180 00:13:01,489 --> 00:13:02,323 What happened? 181 00:13:02,907 --> 00:13:04,241 California. 182 00:13:08,537 --> 00:13:11,373 I didn't want to come out here that particular time, 183 00:13:11,457 --> 00:13:15,085 and I was made to come out here on that trip at the last minute. 184 00:13:23,928 --> 00:13:26,764 Hello, everybody. What are you doing tonight? 185 00:13:28,140 --> 00:13:29,683 John Mitchell and I 186 00:13:29,767 --> 00:13:33,896 and some others from the campaign were in Los Angeles. 187 00:13:33,979 --> 00:13:35,648 We were having a fundraiser. 188 00:13:37,441 --> 00:13:41,403 A waiter comes over with a phone, and I find out what happened. 189 00:13:45,199 --> 00:13:48,202 Five men were arrested early Saturday while trying to install 190 00:13:48,285 --> 00:13:51,664 eavesdropping equipment at the Democratic National Committee. 191 00:13:51,747 --> 00:13:54,375 The intruders gained entrance to committee offices, 192 00:13:54,458 --> 00:13:57,253 where files were ransacked and papers removed. 193 00:13:57,336 --> 00:13:59,296 After the break-in was detected, 194 00:13:59,380 --> 00:14:01,507 five men were arrested at gunpoint. 195 00:14:07,847 --> 00:14:10,391 John left me in California... 196 00:14:12,726 --> 00:14:14,645 and not to my wishes at all. 197 00:14:18,357 --> 00:14:21,694 And then I read the newspaper for the first time in five days. 198 00:14:26,657 --> 00:14:29,952 This is a police photograph of James W. McCord. 199 00:14:30,035 --> 00:14:33,122 He is one to five persons surprised and arrested yesterday 200 00:14:33,205 --> 00:14:34,331 {\an8}inside the headquarters 201 00:14:34,415 --> 00:14:36,876 of the Democratic National Committee in Washington. 202 00:14:36,959 --> 00:14:38,586 {\an8}And guess what else he is? 203 00:14:38,669 --> 00:14:42,131 A consultant to President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign committee. 204 00:14:46,302 --> 00:14:48,262 I knew McCord, you see. 205 00:14:50,347 --> 00:14:53,726 James McCord had been a bodyguard for her 206 00:14:53,809 --> 00:14:55,853 and took her daughter to school. 207 00:14:57,021 --> 00:15:01,525 John Mitchell had hired him to be an assistant to his family. 208 00:15:05,112 --> 00:15:09,074 John Mitchell comes back from California over to Washington. 209 00:15:10,284 --> 00:15:12,786 At that point, he did have a big problem. 210 00:15:12,870 --> 00:15:15,748 He had clearly authorized this bungled burglary. 211 00:15:18,083 --> 00:15:19,543 Today, John Mitchell, 212 00:15:19,627 --> 00:15:21,712 the chairman of President Nixon's reelection committee, 213 00:15:21,795 --> 00:15:23,797 denied any connection with the incident. 214 00:15:25,925 --> 00:15:28,802 Why did they let me go all this time 215 00:15:28,886 --> 00:15:31,472 without knowing about the break-in at Watergate? 216 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,726 Why did they leave me out here in California? 217 00:15:36,936 --> 00:15:39,063 Now, I'm inclined to believe 218 00:15:39,146 --> 00:15:43,525 that these characters must have gotten me out of Washington 219 00:15:43,609 --> 00:15:45,152 because of Watergate. 220 00:15:47,363 --> 00:15:49,657 I immediately picked up the telephone, 221 00:15:49,740 --> 00:15:53,160 called Washington to find out what it was all about. 222 00:15:54,703 --> 00:15:58,082 I meet with John Mitchell in his apartment. 223 00:15:59,416 --> 00:16:02,294 There are calls from Martha then. 224 00:16:02,378 --> 00:16:06,924 She was outraged that John had left her in California 225 00:16:07,007 --> 00:16:09,510 and not given her the full story. 226 00:16:11,095 --> 00:16:14,974 All I heard is that Martha was out of hand, 227 00:16:15,057 --> 00:16:17,393 that she had been hysterical. 228 00:16:21,730 --> 00:16:24,441 We were in a villa at the hotel. 229 00:16:25,025 --> 00:16:27,611 I'm sitting on the bed, I'm calling Helen Thomas, 230 00:16:28,195 --> 00:16:29,697 and the bodyguard came in. 231 00:16:32,408 --> 00:16:35,285 He said, "Mrs. Mitchell is on the phone with Helen Thomas." 232 00:16:38,497 --> 00:16:41,417 "She's telling her a bunch of stuff about Watergate." 233 00:16:41,917 --> 00:16:43,085 "What should I do?" 234 00:16:45,546 --> 00:16:49,008 Pretty soon, I heard her saying, "Get away." 235 00:16:49,091 --> 00:16:52,344 I didn't know what was happening, and then there was a phone disconnect. 236 00:17:02,521 --> 00:17:05,274 I was a doctor that was on call for the hotel. 237 00:17:07,776 --> 00:17:09,737 I just went to a private room. 238 00:17:11,572 --> 00:17:12,990 There were people in the room, 239 00:17:13,073 --> 00:17:16,118 and they were beside themselves about her yelling and screaming. 240 00:17:17,494 --> 00:17:19,204 They wanted to calm her down. 241 00:17:20,706 --> 00:17:24,501 She was held down, and I did give her an injection, tranquilizer. 242 00:17:30,132 --> 00:17:32,217 This whole thing was very unusual, right? 243 00:17:33,093 --> 00:17:36,180 But when some high official from the government calls, 244 00:17:36,263 --> 00:17:37,264 well, then you do it. 245 00:17:38,932 --> 00:17:42,811 And that was the beginning of my being held a prisoner. 246 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:45,105 You really were held a prisoner? 247 00:17:45,189 --> 00:17:48,400 Literally held a prisoner within four walls. 248 00:17:51,028 --> 00:17:53,739 Following the embarrassing Watergate bugging affair, 249 00:17:53,822 --> 00:17:57,493 Martha Mitchell is talking again. Late yesterday, she told a reporter 250 00:17:57,576 --> 00:18:00,871 she'd become a captive of her husband's security guards. 251 00:18:00,954 --> 00:18:04,333 When she used the phone, she said, five of them tore it out of the wall, 252 00:18:04,416 --> 00:18:08,629 then, quote, "Threw me down on a bed and stuck a needle in my behind." 253 00:18:10,506 --> 00:18:13,425 I don't think there are many women in this country 254 00:18:13,509 --> 00:18:14,718 who call you up and say, 255 00:18:14,802 --> 00:18:17,012 "Look, I'm being held a political prisoner." 256 00:18:17,096 --> 00:18:18,806 So you did have this feeling that 257 00:18:18,889 --> 00:18:22,101 {\an8}there were certain hostile forces. 258 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:25,562 She displayed bruises on her arms, 259 00:18:25,646 --> 00:18:28,148 and she said she had more bruises on her thighs. 260 00:18:28,232 --> 00:18:31,985 She said, quote, "I was a patriot until I got assassinated." 261 00:18:38,659 --> 00:18:41,537 The president got into a number of political things today. 262 00:18:41,620 --> 00:18:45,707 His principal concern was the Martha Mitchell question. 263 00:18:47,084 --> 00:18:50,379 The president feels that John's got to close her down somehow 264 00:18:50,462 --> 00:18:51,296 or lock her up. 265 00:18:51,380 --> 00:18:54,216 That he can't just leave her speaking out like this. 266 00:18:54,299 --> 00:18:56,885 It's gonna create a major national problem. 267 00:19:01,014 --> 00:19:03,225 Martha Mitchell is telling reporters 268 00:19:03,308 --> 00:19:06,603 she is leaving her husband until he decides to get out of politics. 269 00:19:07,688 --> 00:19:10,190 {\an8}She said, "I love my husband very much, 270 00:19:10,274 --> 00:19:13,819 but I'm not going to stand for all those dirty things that go on." 271 00:19:22,828 --> 00:19:24,413 I frankly believe that if it hadn't been for Martha, 272 00:19:24,496 --> 00:19:27,541 John probably wouldn't have let this Watergate thing get out of hand. 273 00:19:30,627 --> 00:19:33,046 We've got a lid on it, but it may not stay on, 274 00:19:33,130 --> 00:19:37,050 and his getting out might just be a good move on that. 275 00:19:42,139 --> 00:19:45,475 The Martha fans will think, "Isn't that a wonderful thing?" 276 00:19:45,976 --> 00:19:47,644 The man has given up his - you know, 277 00:19:47,728 --> 00:19:49,271 it's kind of like the Duke of Windsor 278 00:19:49,354 --> 00:19:51,940 giving up his throne for the woman he loves. 279 00:19:54,276 --> 00:19:56,028 The poor woman isn't well and all, 280 00:19:56,111 --> 00:19:58,739 and he's gonna be by her side, and all that. 281 00:19:58,822 --> 00:20:02,409 And we would leak out the factthat she's not well - very strongly.We have to. 282 00:20:02,492 --> 00:20:04,161 We're already doing that. 283 00:20:06,413 --> 00:20:10,209 All of a sudden, these rumors start flying out of the White House. 284 00:20:11,251 --> 00:20:14,296 And the first thing I know, it's in print that I'm crazy, 285 00:20:14,379 --> 00:20:16,215 that I'm this, that I'm that. 286 00:20:18,759 --> 00:20:20,844 The resignation is going to be a positive story. 287 00:20:20,928 --> 00:20:23,305 It's gonna hang totally on Martha. 288 00:20:23,388 --> 00:20:25,265 I mean, I think you should do it. 289 00:20:25,349 --> 00:20:27,017 Call in the press. 290 00:20:29,561 --> 00:20:31,480 John Mitchell, the former attorney general, 291 00:20:31,563 --> 00:20:34,149 has quit as President Nixon's campaign director. 292 00:20:35,275 --> 00:20:37,819 He told the president that his reason for resigning 293 00:20:37,903 --> 00:20:39,154 was Mrs. Mitchell. 294 00:20:39,655 --> 00:20:42,658 Some Democrats maintain that the burglary of their headquarters 295 00:20:42,741 --> 00:20:45,410 carried out by, among others, a member of Mitchell's staff, 296 00:20:45,494 --> 00:20:46,620 may have been a factor. 297 00:20:46,703 --> 00:20:49,122 Republicans flatly and vehemently deny this. 298 00:20:49,206 --> 00:20:52,167 They say the one and only reason is Mrs. Mitchell. 299 00:20:52,251 --> 00:20:55,837 A Justice Department friend of the Mitchells said after that, quote, 300 00:20:55,921 --> 00:20:57,589 "Martha has a special problem." 301 00:20:57,673 --> 00:21:00,634 "Obviously, it has gotten more serious," unquote. 302 00:21:07,140 --> 00:21:09,893 I was mortified, hurt, 303 00:21:10,811 --> 00:21:13,397 and I didn't know whom had really hurt me. 304 00:21:16,149 --> 00:21:19,069 I think the California incident was kind of the beginning. 305 00:21:21,446 --> 00:21:23,532 That's when she realized 306 00:21:23,615 --> 00:21:27,327 that, for whatever reason, she was being silenced. 307 00:21:29,997 --> 00:21:31,915 Martha Mitchell has ended up 308 00:21:31,999 --> 00:21:35,252 describing herself as a political prisoner. 309 00:21:38,380 --> 00:21:42,884 I think that all of us have some obligation to free Martha Mitchell. 310 00:21:44,845 --> 00:21:47,556 Free Martha Mitchell! 311 00:21:47,639 --> 00:21:51,018 Free Martha Mitchell! 312 00:21:51,101 --> 00:21:53,103 - Come on! - Free Martha Mitchell! 313 00:21:53,186 --> 00:21:55,022 Free Martha Mitchell! 314 00:21:57,357 --> 00:22:01,028 The story of how she was held against her will 315 00:22:01,111 --> 00:22:03,030 seemed so fanciful. 316 00:22:04,448 --> 00:22:06,158 Did people really believe her? 317 00:22:06,658 --> 00:22:08,744 I doubt anybody did. 318 00:22:19,046 --> 00:22:21,381 I'm staying in my own little apartment, 319 00:22:21,465 --> 00:22:24,134 hiding because I am so embarrassed. 320 00:22:25,927 --> 00:22:30,223 I just completely resigned myself from politics 321 00:22:30,724 --> 00:22:33,018 while they were trying every way under the sun 322 00:22:33,101 --> 00:22:35,187 to get Watergate out of the way. 323 00:22:46,198 --> 00:22:50,243 Watergate was not just a burglary, by any means. 324 00:22:55,248 --> 00:22:59,127 What Watergate was, was a massive campaign 325 00:22:59,211 --> 00:23:03,590 that played dirty tricks on people to win reelection. 326 00:23:07,052 --> 00:23:11,348 It was the mad scramble to cover up and conceal, 327 00:23:11,431 --> 00:23:16,186 as much as possible, at least until the '72 election. 328 00:23:23,902 --> 00:23:26,613 Four more years! 329 00:23:26,696 --> 00:23:28,448 And it succeeded. 330 00:23:28,532 --> 00:23:30,409 Nixon won by a landslide. 331 00:23:37,749 --> 00:23:41,461 Hate was the theme of his presidency. 332 00:23:43,672 --> 00:23:49,678 Let's use the power of the presidency as an instrument of revenge 333 00:23:49,761 --> 00:23:53,056 against anyone who was in his way, 334 00:23:53,140 --> 00:23:55,225 including Martha Mitchell. 335 00:24:07,904 --> 00:24:11,533 With the election, the Watergate story dried up 336 00:24:11,616 --> 00:24:12,993 and went to bed basically. 337 00:24:14,911 --> 00:24:18,165 And it wasn't resurrected until McCord. 338 00:24:21,501 --> 00:24:23,712 James McCord, the man who told the judge 339 00:24:23,795 --> 00:24:26,798 that there was a lot more to be said about the Watergate case, 340 00:24:26,882 --> 00:24:30,051 today went before a Senate committee to tell what he knows. 341 00:24:31,386 --> 00:24:32,888 McCord had said 342 00:24:32,971 --> 00:24:35,765 John Mitchell had advanced knowledge of Watergate. 343 00:24:36,266 --> 00:24:39,978 Mr. Mitchell, you were once virtually a symbol of law and order... 344 00:24:40,061 --> 00:24:42,814 I still am. You better believe it. 345 00:24:49,529 --> 00:24:52,365 John Mitchell is out of the administration at that point. 346 00:24:52,449 --> 00:24:53,992 He's a private citizen. 347 00:24:54,075 --> 00:24:57,245 But Martha started talking to friends in the press. 348 00:24:57,871 --> 00:25:00,957 Fred LaRue told me to be careful when calling 349 00:25:01,041 --> 00:25:04,002 because Martha picked up the phone and would listen in. 350 00:25:04,586 --> 00:25:07,130 So be very careful what you say. 351 00:25:15,263 --> 00:25:18,099 Did you see what Martha Mitchell did? 352 00:25:18,934 --> 00:25:20,560 No. Did she call somebody? 353 00:25:20,644 --> 00:25:22,437 She called The New York Times. 354 00:25:29,069 --> 00:25:30,278 And told them what? 355 00:25:30,779 --> 00:25:32,822 She went through a whole thing of, "They're framing John, 356 00:25:32,906 --> 00:25:34,616 and I'm not gonna let them do it." 357 00:25:35,325 --> 00:25:37,285 She says, "They're not gonna pin anything on him." 358 00:25:37,369 --> 00:25:39,371 "I won't let them, and I don't give a damn who gets hurt." 359 00:25:39,454 --> 00:25:40,789 "I can name names." 360 00:25:44,292 --> 00:25:48,755 I think she was angry at Nixon for putting John in this whole situation. 361 00:25:48,838 --> 00:25:50,674 She wanted to protect John, 362 00:25:50,757 --> 00:25:54,511 but I don't think she knew how involved John really was. 363 00:25:55,262 --> 00:25:58,014 I think her love for John was her blindside. 364 00:25:58,807 --> 00:26:03,562 I am sick and tired of people saying I'm after publicity. 365 00:26:03,645 --> 00:26:09,943 But if I have to get publicity in order to clear two guiltless people, 366 00:26:10,026 --> 00:26:11,653 {\an8}my husband and myself... 367 00:26:12,153 --> 00:26:16,199 And you can place all the blame right on the White House. 368 00:26:16,283 --> 00:26:18,326 What do you mean "on the White House"? 369 00:26:19,911 --> 00:26:22,038 What do I mean "on the White House"? 370 00:26:22,122 --> 00:26:23,832 The blame on the White House. 371 00:26:23,915 --> 00:26:26,418 Well, where do you think all of this originated? 372 00:26:26,501 --> 00:26:28,753 Do you think my husband's that stupid? 373 00:26:29,379 --> 00:26:31,798 And whom do you think he's been protecting? 374 00:26:32,632 --> 00:26:33,633 Whom? 375 00:26:33,717 --> 00:26:35,135 I have no idea. Who? 376 00:26:36,136 --> 00:26:38,888 Mr. President, he has been protecting, 377 00:26:39,389 --> 00:26:42,100 under no uncertain circumstances. 378 00:26:44,269 --> 00:26:46,521 I'll tell them all. And you know what they're gonna do, 379 00:26:46,605 --> 00:26:48,690 they'll probably end up killing me. 380 00:26:48,773 --> 00:26:53,028 But I depend on you, the press, to protect me. 381 00:26:57,574 --> 00:27:00,201 I was in Madison, Wisconsin, 382 00:27:00,285 --> 00:27:02,162 and she tracked me down. 383 00:27:02,245 --> 00:27:04,623 And then she said Nixon should resign. 384 00:27:04,706 --> 00:27:06,916 She was the first to say so. 385 00:27:08,418 --> 00:27:10,253 The wife of the former Nixon campaign manager 386 00:27:10,337 --> 00:27:14,049 said her husband and the president spent many evenings planning strategy. 387 00:27:14,132 --> 00:27:15,925 And in Mrs. Mitchell's words, 388 00:27:16,009 --> 00:27:18,845 "Mr. President always knew what was going on." 389 00:27:19,596 --> 00:27:24,768 Here is a president telling we Americans 390 00:27:24,851 --> 00:27:27,520 he doesn't know about all these horrible things 391 00:27:27,604 --> 00:27:29,564 that are happening underneath his nose? 392 00:27:31,107 --> 00:27:33,443 This man knew what was going on, 393 00:27:33,526 --> 00:27:38,114 or he was negligent in being president. 394 00:27:39,658 --> 00:27:41,117 She smelled it. 395 00:27:42,535 --> 00:27:44,996 She knew something dirty was going on. 396 00:27:46,289 --> 00:27:50,835 Carl Bernstein and I started to realize she was a Greek chorus of one, 397 00:27:50,919 --> 00:27:53,129 because she was telling the truth. 398 00:27:54,464 --> 00:27:59,135 When you're married to someone who's in serious legal trouble, 399 00:27:59,219 --> 00:28:01,930 like John Mitchell was, you know. 400 00:28:03,515 --> 00:28:06,309 The only thing that John Mitchell got mad about 401 00:28:06,393 --> 00:28:10,146 was when I said that I thought that Mr. President should resign. 402 00:28:11,606 --> 00:28:15,068 And I think perhaps he got a little backtalk from the White House. 403 00:28:17,237 --> 00:28:18,488 Martha told John Mitchell, 404 00:28:18,571 --> 00:28:21,449 "If you stick with Nixon, you're going to jail." 405 00:28:22,242 --> 00:28:25,161 "And the man who caused it all is going free." 406 00:28:31,668 --> 00:28:34,796 Former Attorney General John Mitchell has left his wife 407 00:28:34,879 --> 00:28:37,048 and has moved into a New York hotel. 408 00:28:37,924 --> 00:28:42,220 Newsweek says this is the result of a recent series of violent outbursts 409 00:28:42,303 --> 00:28:45,098 in which Mrs. Mitchell threw her husband's clothes 410 00:28:45,181 --> 00:28:47,308 into the hall of their apartment building. 411 00:28:47,392 --> 00:28:51,146 Friends claim Mitchell has told them his wife is a sick woman, 412 00:28:51,229 --> 00:28:54,691 but that he cannot bring himself to take the legal steps necessary 413 00:28:54,774 --> 00:28:56,067 to have her committed. 414 00:29:16,629 --> 00:29:18,923 She was by herself after he left. 415 00:29:20,759 --> 00:29:22,844 Her daughter, Marty, wasn't there. 416 00:29:22,927 --> 00:29:28,433 And I know that when they were estranged, that was a hole in Martha's heart. 417 00:29:30,977 --> 00:29:32,979 I've been under the most trying things, 418 00:29:33,062 --> 00:29:36,775 and if anybody could turn out to be an alcoholic, I should. 419 00:29:36,858 --> 00:29:37,901 But I'm not. 420 00:29:46,284 --> 00:29:48,286 I think she was scared all the time 421 00:29:48,369 --> 00:29:50,872 that something else might happen to her. 422 00:29:51,581 --> 00:29:54,834 She said, "I know they're doing this because they think I know too much." 423 00:29:59,547 --> 00:30:01,216 I have been doped. 424 00:30:03,635 --> 00:30:06,721 They've tried to put me in the mental institution twice. 425 00:30:10,683 --> 00:30:12,018 They've tried to kill me. 426 00:30:14,229 --> 00:30:15,772 I was scared to death. 427 00:30:20,109 --> 00:30:23,822 Because every day, I wake up and I think, "What's gonna happen today?" 428 00:30:32,121 --> 00:30:36,918 I don't know why I didn't realize, to some extent, 429 00:30:37,001 --> 00:30:39,254 what was going on, but I didn't. 430 00:30:44,634 --> 00:30:46,344 ...until I found out 431 00:30:46,427 --> 00:30:49,222 Richard Nixon and Mitchell sat in the Oval Office 432 00:30:49,305 --> 00:30:51,724 and planned all this mess on me. 433 00:30:51,808 --> 00:30:53,268 It was in the tapes. 434 00:30:53,810 --> 00:30:56,563 It was only last week that the Senate Watergate Committee 435 00:30:56,646 --> 00:30:58,690 learned of the existence of tape recordings 436 00:30:58,773 --> 00:31:00,483 of President Nixon's conversations, 437 00:31:00,567 --> 00:31:03,319 including conversations bearing on Watergate. 438 00:31:05,613 --> 00:31:09,909 John Mitchell, as I thought, resigned because of me, 439 00:31:10,410 --> 00:31:14,122 but the tapes say, to the contrary, 440 00:31:14,205 --> 00:31:18,334 that he and Richard Nixon controlled me, 441 00:31:18,418 --> 00:31:21,421 and therefore they had planned 442 00:31:21,504 --> 00:31:25,884 exactly how Mitchell would get out of the campaign. 443 00:31:39,689 --> 00:31:44,360 She really went over the brink this time around. 444 00:31:45,695 --> 00:31:49,449 We've created something of a Frankenstein with the press, you know. 445 00:31:49,949 --> 00:31:51,409 She's a... She's a celebrity. 446 00:31:51,492 --> 00:31:53,411 That is correct. 447 00:31:54,954 --> 00:31:57,332 I can try to keep a lid on it and keep things quiet. 448 00:31:58,499 --> 00:32:01,628 With you taking this move, it will be a surprise. 449 00:32:01,711 --> 00:32:02,670 Otherwise... 450 00:32:02,754 --> 00:32:05,798 You're right, it will be tied right into Watergate. 451 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:15,683 Nixon's closest political associates 452 00:32:15,767 --> 00:32:17,977 were placed under criminal indictment today 453 00:32:18,061 --> 00:32:21,189 in a climactic moment for the long Watergate investigation. 454 00:32:21,272 --> 00:32:22,440 John Mitchell, 455 00:32:22,523 --> 00:32:24,484 former attorney general and campaign director, 456 00:32:24,567 --> 00:32:28,988 now charged with obstruction of justice, lying to the grand jury and the FBI, 457 00:32:29,072 --> 00:32:30,490 faces 30 years in prison. 458 00:32:34,035 --> 00:32:37,121 I'm sure Mitchell thought he was gonna get a pardon, 459 00:32:37,747 --> 00:32:41,084 but then, of course, Nixon left without pardoning him. 460 00:32:44,128 --> 00:32:46,714 Throughout the long and difficult period of Watergate, 461 00:32:46,798 --> 00:32:49,342 I have felt it was my duty to persevere. 462 00:32:51,010 --> 00:32:54,180 However, it has become evident to me 463 00:32:55,348 --> 00:32:59,602 that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress. 464 00:33:00,228 --> 00:33:03,481 I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. 465 00:33:21,916 --> 00:33:25,044 The night that Nixon resigned 466 00:33:25,128 --> 00:33:31,175 was the first time I really felt the whole thing. 467 00:33:32,218 --> 00:33:37,932 And that was the beginning of I had to stand up. 468 00:33:41,227 --> 00:33:42,895 There was a time people thought 469 00:33:42,979 --> 00:33:45,356 that Martha Mitchell was amusing and outrageous, 470 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,693 with her outspoken opinions and midnight telephone calls. 471 00:33:48,776 --> 00:33:51,696 Then came her frank angry statements on the Watergate, 472 00:33:51,779 --> 00:33:55,074 and the chilling realization that Martha Mitchell was telling the truth. 473 00:34:00,955 --> 00:34:02,999 Welcome to Panorama. I'm Maury Povich. 474 00:34:03,082 --> 00:34:06,544 And would you please welcome our co-host this week, Martha Mitchell. 475 00:34:16,345 --> 00:34:20,516 The White House was telling reporters such as myself, 476 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,186 John Mitchell was resigning 477 00:34:23,269 --> 00:34:26,397 because he had to go take care of his wife who had flipped. 478 00:34:26,481 --> 00:34:29,150 - Poor John had to take care of me. - That's right. 479 00:34:32,904 --> 00:34:35,239 People say you started the whole Watergate thing. 480 00:34:35,323 --> 00:34:38,201 {\an8}- You let everybody know. - That's absolutely right. 481 00:34:38,284 --> 00:34:41,120 - Are you happy with the outcome? - Thank you... I am indeed. 482 00:34:41,204 --> 00:34:42,747 Do you think that if President... 483 00:34:42,830 --> 00:34:45,041 It's been the greatest thing in the world for this country. 484 00:34:45,124 --> 00:34:47,168 We're going to get all the politicians 485 00:34:47,877 --> 00:34:50,004 real true blue again. 486 00:34:50,088 --> 00:34:51,923 They're not going to be dishonest. 487 00:34:52,006 --> 00:34:56,219 The men who were closest to Richard Nixon, in the White House and in politics, 488 00:34:56,302 --> 00:35:00,139 today were sentenced to prison for their role in the Watergate cover-up. 489 00:35:01,599 --> 00:35:03,893 For many people, it was the grand finale 490 00:35:03,976 --> 00:35:05,228 of the Watergate drama. 491 00:35:06,229 --> 00:35:08,397 Afterward, John Mitchell had a comment. 492 00:35:08,481 --> 00:35:09,816 It could've been a lot worse. 493 00:35:09,899 --> 00:35:12,068 He might've sentenced me to live with Martha Mitchell, 494 00:35:12,151 --> 00:35:14,278 so I think I'm on the plus side since then. 495 00:35:18,241 --> 00:35:20,243 Are you bitter at all about this? 496 00:35:20,326 --> 00:35:21,786 Extremely so. 497 00:35:34,257 --> 00:35:35,508 Martha Mitchell, 498 00:35:35,591 --> 00:35:39,053 a lady who has been famous for dispensing much talk at the White House, 499 00:35:39,137 --> 00:35:41,639 has taken up selling dresses at the Pink House. 500 00:35:42,849 --> 00:35:45,685 She sued John Mitchell for overdue support payments, 501 00:35:45,768 --> 00:35:48,938 and within the last two weeks, a court document described her 502 00:35:49,021 --> 00:35:53,234 as desperately ill, without funds and without friends. 503 00:35:54,318 --> 00:35:58,197 When she got sick, she didn't wanna see a lot of her friends. 504 00:35:58,698 --> 00:36:01,367 The one person who she did wanna see, refused to see her. 505 00:36:19,302 --> 00:36:21,596 About 400 people in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 506 00:36:21,679 --> 00:36:22,805 turned out this morning 507 00:36:22,889 --> 00:36:25,725 to pay their final respects to Martha Mitchell. 508 00:36:28,477 --> 00:36:31,814 Her candor got her in trouble with the Nixon administration 509 00:36:32,315 --> 00:36:34,150 and with her own husband. 510 00:36:35,610 --> 00:36:38,404 But it earned her many admirers back at home. 511 00:36:38,487 --> 00:36:40,323 Some of them sent flowers. 512 00:36:40,865 --> 00:36:44,410 One arrangement in white chrysanthemums spelled out this message, 513 00:36:44,493 --> 00:36:46,204 "Martha was right." 514 00:36:46,287 --> 00:36:47,622 There was no card. 515 00:36:58,299 --> 00:37:00,009 Was she a crazy lady? 516 00:37:01,636 --> 00:37:03,095 I certainly don't think so. 517 00:37:03,179 --> 00:37:04,972 I think that she was a terrific person, 518 00:37:05,056 --> 00:37:08,226 and I think she was a visionary in a sense. 519 00:37:08,768 --> 00:37:10,019 Prophetic. 520 00:37:17,401 --> 00:37:19,946 Mrs. Mitchell, you're certainly going to appear 521 00:37:20,029 --> 00:37:21,447 in the history books here and there. 522 00:37:21,530 --> 00:37:23,407 How would you like people to think of you? 523 00:37:24,784 --> 00:37:26,994 Well, if I ever do any good, Barbara, 524 00:37:27,078 --> 00:37:31,832 I would like to go down as doing some good for my country, that's all. 525 00:37:31,916 --> 00:37:34,043 That would be the greatest thrill in the world. 526 00:37:34,669 --> 00:37:36,671 And your way of doing it is to speak out. 527 00:37:36,754 --> 00:37:37,797 That's it.