Alfred Baldwin listened to wiretaps at Watergate for two weeks.
Posted by VINCE, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 65%
VINCESep 16, 2026
Multiple sources say Alfred Baldwin monitored the wiretapped DNC-area phone from the Howard Johnson motel across from Watergate for roughly two weeks (about 20 days, over 200 calls) before the June 17, 1972 arrests, so the claim is supported.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… But I do think it's a problem, and I think, look, it's a problem on the outside. As soon as I got out, one of the things I said to people is and, Vince, you'll love this i tell this all the time, people get sick of it: Alfred Baldwin is the name of a dude. He was the guy listening to the wiretaps at Watergate. He was listening for two weeks to the Democrat chairman of the state parties calling for hookers and dinner reservations and hotels. That's what he heard. But when he needed a lawyer, the the Republicans at the time in Watergate didn't help him, and he ended up with a Democrat lawyer, and we never heard from him until five years later. …
VINCE · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Spartacus-Educational states that over the next 20 days after the May 28, 1972 break-in, Baldwin listened to over 200 phone calls at the Howard Johnson listening post.[2]
Supports. Ep. 01a reports that the monitor 'for the prior two weeks' was listening to a DNC-related phone line, and that Baldwin later told the FBI he had been listening to intimate conversations.[3]
Supports. GW Today and Wikipedia place Baldwin at the Howard Johnson motel opposite the Watergate as the wiretap monitor, with recorded calls 'in the following weeks' after the May 28 break-in.[1][4]
Context. Sources say the tapped phone was Spencer Oliver's, not DNC chairman Larry O'Brien's, so the post's 'Democrat chairman' detail is inaccurate, though the extracted claim omits it.[3][6]
Context. Baldwin's testimony at the 1973 trial said none of the wiretapped conversations were recorded, only noted and typed up; this does not bear on how long he listened.[5]
Sources
6 sources: 1 primary, 4 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Watergate, 40 Years Later - GW Todaygwtoday.gwu.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Alfred C. Baldwin IIIspartacus-educational.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Ep. 01a: Big Questions from a Small Burglary - Buzzsproutbuzzsprout.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 4Watergate scandal - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5WATERGATE TRIAL IN CLOSED SESSIONnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 6www.postgatebook.com › articles › bill-murray-wapo-framed-nixonBill Murray was Right: The Washington Post Framed Richard Nixonpostgatebook.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post