American Spy Post #5

Throughout the Watergate trial and proceedings, E. Howard Hunt and his wife, Dorothy, risked their own lives in order to help the others who were involved in Watergate- whether they deserved it or not. Dorothy risked her safety and became involved in the proceedings by ferrying money from a "Mr. Rivers" in the government to the families of the men who were involved in Watergate. Hunt describes his wife's actions, "Withing a couple of days, Mr. Rivers instructed Dorothy to drive to National Airport and go to a particular wall pay phone, where she would find a locker key taped to the bottom. This she did, opening a nearby locker that contained a blue plastic airline bag, which she brought home" (255). This bag contained three months of expenses for the men involved. By following these directions and delivering the funds, Dorthy became involved with the criminal case. If she had been found out, she would have been subpoenaed and could have been imprisoned along with her husband for her participation in illegal activities. Instead of worrying about herself, she put the families of the Watergate Seven ahead of herself and brought them the money they needed to survive.

E. Howard Hunt also risked further imprisonment in order to protect his superiors in the government. He outright lied in court about the involvement of many people in the Watergate trial so that they too would not be indicted and imprisoned. Hunt could have been found guilty of lying on the stand, but he still followed through. He writes, ". . . I now believed that my only recourse was to lie and obfuscate, protecting the people in power for two reasons: First, as a good soldier, I was falling on my sword to protect them, as promised. . ." (295). Hunt was willing to risk himself in order to protect others, although his motives may not have been as pure as Dorothy's. He believed that if he protected these other men, he could receive a reduced sentence and, ultimately, a pardon from President Nixon. Eventually, Hunt changed his testimony and told of the involvement of everyone in the Watergate Scandal, all the way up to President Nixon. This change led to the impeachment trial of Nixon, and ultimately, his resignation as president of the United States.