Watergate Documents May Be Revealed
The historic 1972 break-ins happened at the Watergate complex in Washington. Photo courtesy flickr.com/fine_alAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A history professor at Texas A&M University scored a legal victory today in his efforts to unseal court documents related to the Watergate scandal.
The documents date to the 1970s and the case of U.S. v. Liddy, a lawsuit against the people who broke into the Democratic National Committee offices and were arrested. A judge agreed today that some of those materials should be released, three years after Texas A&M history professor Luke Nichter first requested it.
Nichter says he hopes the documents can answer serious questions about the political scandal.
“Why did the break-in happen? Who ordered it? What were the burglars looking for?” Nichter said. “Why did so many of those who were involved in the Watergate break-in have ties to the CIA or FBI? One of the initial theories is that this must have been a CIA break-in.”
The judge has given the Department of Justice a month to provide an inventory of documents and list which ones the department doesn’t think should remain sealed. He will then decide which ones should be released.
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