WATERGATE BREAK IN INVESTIGATION FBI FILES
17,504 pages of FBI files, dating from 1972 to 1979, covering the breaking and entering of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters offices in the Watergate Hotel building in Washington, District of Columbia.
Very early in the morning on June 17, 1972, Frank Wills, a security guard at the Watergate Complex, noticed that a door leading into the building had its lock taped open. District of Columbia Metro police were summed and at 2:31 AM five men were arrested on the sixth floor of the Watergate building inside the offices of the Democratic National Committee.
In time investigations uncovered a variety of legal violations and evidence of misdeeds implicating members of the Nixon White House. This lead to a chain of events and public scandal that would eventually lead to the resignation of President Nixon as well as prison terms for White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, G. Gordon Liddy, Egil Krogh, White House Counsels Charles Colson and John Dean, and presidential adviser John Ehrlichman.
FBI Watergate Investigation Files
17,363 pages of FBI documents covering the Bureau’s investigation of Watergate matters starting with the arrest of the burglars, through the immense scope of events that came to be known as Watergate.
FBI Office of Planning and Evaluation Analysis Report
A 123-page report issued in July 1974, completed by the FBI's Office of Planning and Evaluation (OPE) by the order of the Director of FBI. The purpose of the report was to address criticism of the Bureau’s investigation of Watergate matters. The OPE reviewed materials which provided a comprehensive cross section of commentary regarding the FBI’s investigations. The materials reviewed included "White House Transcripts", proceedings of the Senate Watergate Committee; confirmation testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of L. Patrick Gray III to be FBI Director, Earl J. Silbert to be U. S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and William D. Ruckelshaus to be Deputy Attorney General. Numerous books and articles relating to the Watergate matters were also reviewed. In addition, inspection reports, summary memoranda, and selected FBI file materials were reviewed and analyzed by the OPE. The OPE identified 15 criticisms which it addressed.
The report includes a chronology of significant Watergate events, biographical sketches of significant individuals related to Watergate subjects, including the five burglars (Barker, Gonzales, McCord, Martinez, and Sturgis), Charles Colson, John Dean, John Ehrlichman, H.R. Haldeman, E. Howard Hunt, G. Gordon Liddy, Jeb Magruder, John Mitchell, and others.
Watergate Prosecution Summary
The FBI's copy of an 18-page Department of Justice summary of a report on the activities of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from May 1973 to September 15, 1975.
