More than 300 people
crowded into St. Mary's Hall, some standing in aisles and others peeking
in from the windows, to hear the second annual Bradlee Journalism
Lecture, sponsored by the college's Center for the Study of Democracy.
The talk -- titled "The Constitutional Implications of Watergate" --
focused less on the Constitution and more on the thrilling tension of
uncovering a web of deception in the face of harsh criticism by
officials in the Nixon administration.
"If there is a moment in Washington that I love more than anything
else, it's when a news story gets the town by the throat and just won't
let go . . . and Watergate was such a case," said Bradlee, former
executive editor of the newspaper and currently vice president at large
of the Washington Post Co. as well as a trustee of St. Mary's College.
Woodward and colleague Carl Bernstein were the young reporters
under Bradlee who traced the Watergate story from a late-night break-in
at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in June 1972 through
the indictment of some 40 government officials, the resignation of
President Richard M. Nixon and its aftermath.
"From the trenches, there was a certain I-am-packing-my-bags
quality," said Woodward, referring to the apprehension he felt pursuing
the story. "At each step there would be somebody who was terrified . . .
someone who would say, 'You can't know that, you're not supposed to know
that, how did you learn that?' In this environment, we printed all of
these stories."
Woodward, who was a 29-year-old
reporter with nine months' experience at the paper at the time of the
break-in, told the crowd about several memorable moments during the
Watergate investigation. He recalled being invited to lunch with
Katharine Graham, the late chairman of The Washington Post Co. and
publisher of the paper, about six months after the initial burglary. She
had asked him when the truth about Watergate would finally come out. He
said that because of the Nixon administration's skill at suppressing
information, the truth would likely never be known.
Woodward said Graham affixed him with a steely gaze and said
simply: "Don't tell me never."
"I tell you, I left that lunch a motivated employee," said
Woodward, who is currently an assistant managing editor and reporter at
The Post, as well as the author of several best-selling books.
Woodward also recounted the first serious reporting mistake he and
Bernstein made during Watergate. In October 1972 they reported that
Nixon's reelection campaign committee treasurer, Hugh Sloan, had
testified to a grand jury that White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman
had controlled a secret fund used to finance political sabotage. While
Haldeman indeed controlled the fund, Sloan had not testified to that
effect, and the denials rained down on the paper when the story
appeared.
"It was a big mistake, and they came down on us like a ton of
bricks. You were almost in despair that day," Woodward said to Bradlee
during Friday's discussion. "Carl and I talked about, are we going to
have to resign . . . were you going to hang us out to dry?"
Woodward said a major turning point in the Watergate investigation
came when U.S. District Judge John Sirica received a letter from one of
the burglars, James McCord, saying that the White House knew about the
burglary and tried to cover it up.
"I think if there was a first moment when you and I slept well, it
was the night of that letter," Woodward said. To which Bradlee quipped:
"I slept perfectly the whole time."
Audience members asked a wide range
of questions during the talk, probing Woodward and Bradlee for comments
on the coverage of the Iraq war and the recent leak of the identity of
CIA operative Valerie Plame. And it wasn't long before the inevitable
question popped up:
"Given how historically important Watergate is, why won't you
disclose the name of the informant known as 'Deep Throat'?" one woman
asked.
But the famous
source, who provided Woodward and Bernstein with valuable background
information during their Watergate reporting, was not to be revealed
this night.
"Deep Throat is a source who lied to his family, to his friends
and colleagues denying that he had helped us. In a sense his identity is
embedded in not being a source," Woodward said. "Once he dies, it will
be disclosed, and the full story will be told."
And in case there
was any doubt, Bradlee added: "It's a good story."
© 2003
The Washington Post Company
