Watergate: The Forgotten Cause and an Effect No One Would Have Predicted
I have heard much discussion of late comparing the Biden cash-for-influence scandal to Watergate—questioning which one is the greater scandal.
I have heard much discussion of late comparing the Biden cash-for-influence scandal to Watergate—questioning which one is the greater scandal. In the references to Watergate it is apparent there is a key piece of history no one mentions.
The reason the Nixon Administration engineered the Watergate break-in of the Democrat National Committee (DNC) office at the Watergate complex was to retaliate against the DNC for bugging Nixon’s campaign plane. I learned of this when Charles Colson, White House counsel for political affairs who pled guilty to obstruction for the Watergate cover-up, told me. Those around Nixon were convinced of the DNCs wrongdoing. He by no means excused the Nixon team’s actions. He was the first to point out what they did was wrong.
It seems to me the first political lesson here is not to operate in ways that are devious, and particularly, those that are illegal.
The second is in Mr. Colson himself.
Prior to taking a position on Nixon’s staff he joined the Marines, then earned a law degree from George Washington University. While he worked in the Nixon Administration others called him Nixon’s “hatchet man,” and a “tough guy.” Colson described himself as “ruthless.” But when I met him I observed him as gracious in the midst of handling obstacles and someone who put others before himself.
What changed? Prior to being charged for his role in Watergate, a friend introduced Colson to C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. The book’s discussion of pride pierced Colson and led him to repent and turn his life to follow Jesus.
One way to tell if faith is the real deal is when someone pays a personal price to live consistently with it. During Colson’s Watergate testimony, his attorney advised him to take the Fifth. But as a sincere follower of Jesus, Colson wanted to be truthful. For the initial charge against him, he didn’t believe himself to be guilty. Even though the judge was considering dismissing charges against him, he negotiated with the prosecutor and the judge to plead guilty to a different charge for which he believed himself guilty—obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to 1-3 years in prison.
The real deal didn’t stop there.
Colson began Prison Fellowship Ministries. Advocating for restorative justice, offering hope to prisoners, educating their thinking and behavior to Biblical principles, and giving the incarcerated paths to success, Prison Fellowship has taken its mission to the incarcerated in 112 countries.
Part of Prison Fellowship is the Angel Tree program that offers prisoners a way to give Christmas gifts to their children. It brightens Christmas for 250,000 kids every year.
God is in the business of redeeming people and situations—taking something ugly and turning it to make something beautiful. No one is beyond redemption.
I started writing this to bring to light dirty tricks of the DNC in the past and the present. But, in real time, the changed life of Charles Colson humbled me and reminded me that anyone has a chance to turn away from their wrongdoing, be redeemed, and live a changed life—even, and maybe especially, those who act in ways I detest.
More writing at https://rethink1.substack.com