Picture open windows, green grass and birds singing in the trees—suddenly a phone rings— “Woodward fumbled for the receiver and snapped awake. The city editor of the Washington Post was on the line. Five men had been arrested earlier that morning in a burglary attempt Democratic headquarters, carrying photographic equipment and electronic gear [can you hear the noise like a needle dragged quickly across a spinning record?]. Could he come in?”
The film, “All the President’s Men” opens to five men in Democratic headquarters slipping through a door whose latch had been taped to keep it from locking. Shortly after a break in is reported and several plain clothed cops enter and find these would be burglars hunkered down in a back office loaded down with special equipment.
The next time we see them we are in court ‘they’ have a shmancy, fancy lawyer representing them and ‘they’ haven’t even placed their first call yet. So how did he know where to find them? Why do they all have aliases? And why do their names trace back to the CIA? That is what Bob Woodward, journalist for the Washington Post, is left wondering. He was sent on this assignment with the assumption that this was just small fry, but he smells a lot more going on.
Woodward is reluctantly joined with fellow journalist Carl Bernstein who is opposite to Woodward in many ways. He wears his hair long, he smokes and is liberal. However, their journalism works out great. Secret messages and dangerous meetings in dark parking garages with anonymous informants, multiple interviews with dead ends follow as the two journalists work to figure out the maze of this story. They are not sure how far up the chain of command it leads, but some pretty important people in D.C. have been named. Even Richard Nixon.
“Follow the money,” Deep Throat the informant says. But who is Deep Throat? The intrigue continues with stories of stolen documents, planted information, spies and fake letters. Slowly the leads begin to work out the kinks. The money trail is hot and it leads to the top. Many people have a lot of explaining to do.
Front page in loud headlines the story runs, “Testimony Ties Top Nixon Aid To Secret Fund,” can you hear the heads rolling? Then, “Wood-Stein!” They have made a name for themselves and somehow the Washington Post Executive Editor, Ben Bradlee’s ethics and even patriotism is called into question. The storm deepens and charges are hurled of rumor mongering and outright lying. It is late in the game but Woodward and Bernstein are beginning to question themselves and wondering if their confidential informant is setting them up.
Finally Deep Throat really opens up, “Get out your notebook.” Then he tells Woodward that their lives are in danger. Important people, powerful people are not happy. There is surveillance and bugging in many of the places that they circulate.
Bob Bradlee cautions that First Amendment rights are at stake. If they can be silenced the position of the press is precarious and the information that the American people are ‘allowed’ access to hangs in the balance.
