Formed the Plumbers
There’s been a lot of press lately around the HBO series White House Plumbers, about the clandestine group of intelligence officers (and political operatives) called the Plumbers that President Richard Nixon put together to plug any press leaks by whatever means necessary. It’s a tale of goody two shoes, bad boys and a paranoid president, and it stars Woody Harrelson and G. Gordon Liddy as the larger-than-life schemers at its center. It’s a story that began long before the Watergate break-in—and it demonstrates how a secret society with little oversight can lead to lawless conditions and unintended consequences.
But who formed the Plumbers, and what did they accomplish? In the new series, writer Matthew Krogh takes viewers back to 1971 and explains how the Plumbers—including agents like E. Howard Hunt and Eugenio ‘Little Muscle’ Martinez—were assembled to do their dirty work.
It’s easy to focus on the Plumbers as the group that brought down Nixon, and certainly that’s a compelling story. But it’s important to remember that the plumber started off with a different goal in mind.
When the Plumbers were originally established, they were tasked with investigating the source of national security leaks such as the Pentagon Papers, government documents leaked to The New York Times by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971. They were also responsible for a variety of other illegal activities including breaking into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters to gather information on McGovern campaign donors, according to James McCord, who worked with the Plumbers as a electronics expert and was sent along on one of the Watergate break-ins.
Who Formed the Plumbers?
Those goals set the stage for what would be a series of failed operations. The first of these was the bungled attempt to steal the files of Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist in Beverly Hills. In a major miscalculation, they trashed the office and came up with a hasty cover story—which they were allowed to pass by the police.
The second of the Plumbers’ blunders was their failure to capture any evidence of a call-girl ring in the DNC offices, which was reportedly a source of funding for the McGovern campaign. That blunder led directly to the Watergate break-in.
After the scandal, most of the Plumbers ended up cooperating with prosecutors in return for reduced sentences. Even Hunt, who refused to flip until his death in 2018, ultimately served 33 months in prison. But there are a few interesting aspects to the story that don’t get a lot of attention, including how the Plumbers stumbled into Watergate in the first place. This is what Krogh tells us about the origins of the story that became a five-part miniseries featuring Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux and more.
Plumbers are skilled professionals who play a crucial role in maintaining and repairing plumbing systems. These experts are trained to work with pipes, fixtures, and various plumbing components to ensure the proper functioning of water and drainage systems in homes, businesses, and other structures. The significance of their work becomes evident when plumbing issues arise, such as leaks, clogs, or malfunctioning water heaters.