What is the significance of the FBI source saying 'John' Haldeman?

What is the significance of the FBI source saying 'John' Haldeman? - You Are Not Alone Quote Board on Brown Wooden Frame

In All the President's Men, as I understood it, Woodward and Bernstein had already established that "someone high up in the White House" was the fifth controller of the slush fund. They later concluded that "the fifth controller was 'Haldeman'".

When they talked to their FBI informant to get confirmation, which they got, Woodward notices that the FBI source specifically says John Haldeman, and acts like this is a big deal, or new information, or is in some way significant.

There's no indication in the film or in some brief wikipedia browsing that there were multiple Haldemans in the government, let alone in the White House, let alone "high-up in the White House" so why is this a big deal?



Best Answer

This issue is the reference to John Haldeman which is not how the complicit Haldeman was referred to...

As their editor said

                                BRADLEE
                     --well shit, we oughtta be tense--
                     we're about to accuse Mr. Haldeman 
                     who only happens to be the second 
                     most important man in America of 
                     conducting a criminal conspiracy 
                     from inside the White House--
                          (beat)
                     --it would be nice if we were right--

Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate Affair.

Haldeman was one of many key figures in the Watergate scandal. The unexplained 18½-minute gap in Nixon's Oval Office recordings occurred during a discussion that included the President and Haldeman. Nixon requested the resignations of Haldeman and Ehrlichman in what has been described as a long and emotional meeting at Camp David. Haldeman was fired and the resignations were announced on April 30, 1973. In a phone conversation shortly after the resignations, Nixon told Haldeman that he loved him like his brother.[7] On the eve of Nixon's resignation, Haldeman asked for a full pardon along with a full pardon of Vietnam War draft dodgers. He argued that pardoning the dodgers would take some of the heat off him. Nixon refused.

On January 1, 1975, Haldeman was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to serve 2½ to 8 years, subsequently commuted to 1 to 4 years. In Lompoc Federal Prison he worked in the sewage treatment facility testing sewage. On December 20, 1978, after serving 18 months, Haldeman was released on parole.

Wikipedia

The reporters can't take the reference to John Haldeman as evidence of against someone with a similar name.




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What role did Haldeman play in Watergate?

Haldeman was one of the various key figures in the Watergate scandal. The "Smoking Gun" tape revealed that Nixon instructed Haldeman to have the CIA pressure the FBI into dropping its Watergate investigation. Nixon instructed him to tell the CIA that the investigation would "open up the whole Bay of Pigs thing again".

What was the role of Woodward and Bernstein?

While a young reporter for The Washington Post in 1972, Woodward teamed up with Carl Bernstein; the two did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Who was Deep Throat during Watergate?

The character never identified himself as "Deep Throat" \u2013 the name was used by other characters when referring to him. It was never specifically mentioned whether he was initially intended to be the same Deep Throat from Watergate; eventually, the character was revealed to be a government official named Ronald Pakula.



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Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Brett Sayles, Brett Sayles, Pixabay, Thirdman