[Right_Wing_Madman]

So was it CIA or was it Dean? And if it was the CIA, what were they after?

According to John O'Connor, Mark Felt's (Deep Throat) attorney, the CIA bugged Spencer Oliver's phone during the first Watergate break-in. Oliver was in charge of DNC "hospitality" operations, which included linking clients with a locale madam's service in DC.

According to Felt, who conducted the Watergate investigation for the FBI, the purpose of the second Watergate break-in, when the burglars were caught, was to bug the phone of Oliver's secretary. The CIA did this to build a dossier of DC politicians and officials, in the event that this information could be used against them later (a CIA practice that remains today).

Three of the four Cubans arrested at Watergate were involved in the CIA's invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. During their trials, two of the four Cubans admitted to working for the CIA during the Watergate break-in. At his sentencing, Watergate burglar, John McCord told the judge he was working for the CIA during the break-in.

Also, CIA Director James Schlesinger gave McCord's CIA file to Senator Howard Baker in 1973, which confirmed he was working for the CIA during the break-in. Baker disagreed with the findings of the Watergate commission and published his own minority report, which concluded the CIA directed and was involved in the Watergate break-in.

[x]

Thanks for the information. It does raise the question of why Nixon’s people felt bound to defend the burgulars, but I guess they had used the “plumbers” on other occasions and were afraid of that getting out. I always felt it unlikely that Hunt and McCord would take orders from John Dean.