the book
The compelling tell-all by the man who helped thwart the plans of the Watergate burglars – Bruce Givner.
The mystery man
Bruce Givner was an intern on the 6th floor of the Watergate building the night of the famous break-in. While others left the DNC offices at roughly 6 p.m., Givner stayed until 12:05 a.m. the following morning availing himself of the DNC’s free WATS line, where he called friends and family all evening. As such, Givner foiled the plans of the Watergate burglars whose goal was to break-in around 10 p.m. Instead, they had to wait until Givner turned off the lights at the midnight hour. Had there been no interruption of their plans there never would have been a Watergate! Givner tells his intimate story in a fascinating way and from his point of view. He was dubbed the “Mystery Man” and reporters and authors have interviewed him endlessly.
On November 10, 1974, The New York Times Sunday Magazine published an article by Sol Stern about the Watergate break-in, “A Watergate Footnote,” wherein Stern refers to Givner as “the mystery man” in the Watergate event. Givner wrote to the Times explaining who he was and downplaying any participation in the critical and historical event.
The Times published his letter. Givner also was interviewed by Bob Fink, a researcher for The Washington Post, who had been hired by Woodward and Bernstein to work on their book, All the President’s Men. Fink confronted Givner, at first, strongly suggesting that Givner may have been a part of the botched event, a plant, but shortly after that conversation, Fink was convinced Givner had not played a role in the crime.
Givner foiled the plans of the Watergate burglars whose goal was to break-in around 10 p.m. He tells his intimate story in a fascinating way and from his point of view. For years he has been dubbed the “Mystery Man”.
What’s inside
The choice to finally tell my Watergate story
No one can articulate my experience, but me.
June 16, 1972. McCord and the plumber's antics
A delayed late-night break-in.
UCLA, Vietnam, and skating on the edge of politics.
1968. All hell breaks loose...
The fate of Frank Wills and FBI suspicion
A double agent? A republican spy?
Introduction
After Nearly 50 Years: The Choice to Finally Tell My Watergate Story
There have been times when an incident, situation or event has drastically changed the course of American history. Some of these have been fortuitous: Washington crossing the Delaware and catching the Hessians off guard. Getting the powers to sign off on the Declaration of Independence. And, making the Louisiana purchase for practically a song (512 million acres for $15 million). Yet there have been other major events we have regarded as disastrous mistakes. For example, Robert E. Lee’s poor choice of whom to delegate leadership to on Day Three at Gettysburg; JFK’s choice to motorcade in Dallas in a convertible; and Bill Clinton’s cover-up over a “blue dress”. Before that latter faux pas, Richard Nixon and his cronies made an alleged judgment call to wiretap the goings on at The Democratic National Committee’s Watergate digs on it’s sixth floor and then lie about it. That didn’t go so well.
Chapters
Pages
Givner was credited as having provided critical information. Givner was not only questioned by the D.C. police and the FBI, but in October 1973 he also was interviewed by Senator Fred Thompson, who was the minority counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. Givner was credited with having stopped the McCord group from getting into the building to do their dirty work “on time”.