It was John Dean’s operation, to protect his wife.
Not everyone may remember that Dean’s wife was a professional.
Democrats wanted to impeach Richard Nixon long before Watergate. They wanted him impeached in his first term.
Judge John Sirica’s best friend, the boxer Jack Dempsey, not only was married to a prostitute, he actually owned brothels like Donna’s Ranch in Nevada. Jack Dempsey was a a regular patron at Polly Adler’s brothel in New York—a brothel that hosted a young Katherine Graham in the 1940s!
Jack Dempsey was a noted Democrat celebrity who campaigned and fund-raised doe LBJ and Humphrey. He was also known as a Mob courier who took cash from the casinos in Havana to Miami.
From Deborah Davis acknowledgements in her book Katherine the Great:
“For tales about the infamous Tony’s Speakeasy in New York, thanks go to boxing champion Jack Dempsey for his memories of the saloon. I also thank him for his tales about Polly Adler’s famous bordello on West 54th Street. America’s most infamous madam also provided information about Kate’s (Katherine Graham) sole visit to her house, accompanied by Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna%27s_Ranch
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDonnasRanch/
Around the time of Watergate, rumors in DC were rife about prostitution rings that were black-mailing judges and top attorneys in Washington DC.
The "now" esteemed felon John Dean served 4 months of a 2 year sentence and was disbarred as a lawyer.