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Unsealed Materials from U.S. v. Liddy

On May 1, 2009, Professor Luke Nichter of Texas A&M University-Central Texas petitioned Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of the District Court for the District of Columbia to release records sealed in the case of U.S. v. Liddy, the Watergate break-in case. The sealed proceedings include evidentiary discussions held outside the jury's hearing, pretrial discussions between defendants' lawyers and the Court, and post-trial sentencing information.

On November 2, 2012, the District Court for the District of Columbia ordered most of these records to be unsealed, given the passage of time, completion of the criminal proceedings, and non-invasive nature of the content. Consistent with the recommendation of the Department of Justice, the court ordered that the following categories of records remain sealed, pending further review by the court:

  • Personal documents regarding living individuals;
  • Documents regarding the content of illegally obtained wiretaps; and
  • Grand Jury information.

Accordingly, the court directed the National Archives to release the uncontested records within 30 days from the date of the Order. The National Archives therefore released the previously sealed records from U.S. v. Liddy, with the three categories of contested materials removed and marked "Court Sealed." The release included 36 folders of documents totaling approximately 950 pages.

Under the subsequent court order and accompanying memorandum opinion of May 13, 2013, (which was unsealed on June 11, 2013), additional materials were unsealed. Changes were made and additional information was released in the following folders:

  • Folder 1/6: On pages 22, 23, & 44 of the transcript, the names of those overheard are now released.
  • Folder 1/8: On pages 972, 975, 977, 982, 994 of the transcript, the names of those overheard are now released; pages 973, 974, 976, 981, 983, 995, & 995A remain the same.
  • Folder 1/9: On the portion of Alfred Baldwin’s FBI 302, the names of those overheard are now released.
  • Folder 1/13: the court ordered that specific redactions be made to pages 48, 49, 59, 61, and 62. These redactions were applied and these five pages are now released.
  • Folder 3/29: In addition to the Bureau of Prisons reports, 46 pages of pre-sentence reports are now released with redactions applied to protect the privacy of living individuals.
  • Folder 3/36: 24 pages of G. Gordon Liddy's insurance papers are now released with one redaction to protect his privacy.

The Court's May 13, 2013, Ex Parte Order and Memorandum Opinion are online at
https://nara-media-001.s3.amazonaws.com/arcmedia/research/watergate-sealed-court-records/Nichter.pdf.

Box 1

  1. Kevan Hunt affidavit; 8 pages, partially sealed.
  2. Grand Jury transcript; 15 pages, partially sealed.
  3. Letters from doctors re E.H. Hunt's health; 8 pages, partially sealed.
  4. Proceedings 12/15/1972 re Times Mirror subpoena; 12 pages, open in full. (7.5 MB)
  5. #241 Proceedings 1/2/1973 discussion of how Judge Sirica would listen to the Baldwin interview tapes; 9 pages, open in full.
  6. Proceedings 1/5/1973 discussion of Baldwin testimony; 49 pages, partially sealed. (21.96 MB)
  7. #190 Proceedings 1/5/1973 discussion of serving of Exhibit A on counsel (exhibits A-C are referred to in Item #6); 9 pages, open in full.
  8. #205A Proceedings 1/17/1973 discussion of Baldwin testimony; 53 pages, partially sealed. (30.21 MB)
  9. Exhibits B & C (exhibits A-C are referred to in Item #6); 12 pages, partially sealed.
  10. Exhibit A (exhibits A-C are referred to in Item #6); 6 pages, open in full.
  11. #207 Judge Sirica opinion filed 1/18/1973 on admissibility of overhears; 8 pages, open in full.
  12. Six cassette tapes of interview of Alfred Baldwin; Tape 1 - Side 1; Tape 1 - Side 2; Tape 2 - Side 3; Tape 3 - Side 4; Tape 3 - Side 5; Tape 4 - Side 5a; Tape 5 - Side 6; Tape 5 - Side 7; Tape 6 - Side 8; Tape 6- Side 9; Total hours: 336:96; partially restricted.
  13. #159 Transcript of interview of Alfred Baldwin; Seven newly redacted transcript pages with 23 pages of accompanying material. The entire 181 page transcript is available at the National Archives in College Park, MD
  14. Proceedings 12/4/1972 (2 copies) re concerns by burglar's counsel about possible new indictment; 5 pages, open in full.
  15. #135 Proceedings 12/4/1972 re various pre-trial tasks; 122 pages, open in full. (62.96 MB)
  16. Proceedings 12/15/1972 (2 copies) re E.H. Hunt physical and mental health after his wife's death (bench conference portion of Item #4); 4 pages, partially sealed.
  17. #189 Proceedings 1/8/1973, pp. 71-75 re E.H. Hunt physical and mental health after his wife's death; 7 pages, partially sealed.

Box 2

  1. #191 Proceedings 1/9/1973 re possible Hunt guilty plea; 12 pages, partially sealed.
  2. #197 Proceedings 1/12/1973 folder contains only the steno tape, the transcript was unsealed in 1981; 3 pages, open in full.
  3. #287 Proceedings 1/24/1973, pp. 1490-1500G Judge Sirica's suggestions as to further investigation; 21 pages, partially sealed. (10 MB)
  4. #288 Proceedings 1/26/1973 re electronic surveillance; 16 pages, open in full.
  5. #289 Proceedings 1/27/1973 re telephone message from Gary Sellers re evidence; 5 pages, open in full.
  6. #339 Proceedings 7/17/1973 new evidence re E.H. Hunt; 26 pages, open in full. (14.86 MB)
  7. #342 Proceedings 7/24/1973 re burglars and their representation; 24 pages, partially sealed.
  8. #344 Proceedings 8/7/1973 (3 copies) re sentencing of the burglars; 23 pages, open in full. (13.66 MB)
  9. #362 Proceedings 9/17/1973 (3 copies) re meeting with Bernard Barker; 16 pages, open in full. (11.64 MB)
  10. #361 Proceedings 9/17/1973 re sentencing; 14 pages, partially sealed.
  11. #385 Proceedings 10/16/1973 (2 copies) re sentencing issues; 9 pages, open in full. (7.3 MB)

Box 3

  1. Presentence reports and Bureau of Prisons evaluations on Barker, Sturgis, Martinez, and Gonzalez ; 104 pages, partially sealed. (22.93 MB)
  2. #360 Sealed addendum to Government's motion re McCord's writ of error coram nobis; 4 pages, open in full.
  3. #176 Letters and filings re McCord's writ of error coram nobis; 5 pages, open in full.
  4. #363 Proceedings 1/3/1973 re McCord's writ of error coram nobis; 9 pages, open in full.
  5. #380 Proceedings 10/11/1973 McCord's writ of error coram nobis; 7 pages, open in full.
  6. Court of Appeals receipts; 6 pages, open in full.
  7. Hunt passport, Jenkins statement, Martinez diary; 22 pages, open in full. (10.83 MB)
  8. Liddy insurance papers; 24 pages, partially sealed. (10 pages released and 14 pages withheld in full).
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