Dan Rather Recalls How a Scary Home Invasion He Believes Was Connected to Watergate 'Changed My Perspective' (Exclusive)
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
"I was naive to believe that somehow what was unfolding around the White House was not reaching down to reporters such as myself," the legendary newsman tells PEOPLE
Dan Rather stepped into perilous situations many times while broadcasting from international war zones, but he didn't necessarily expect his work would bring danger to his doorstep.
In the new documentary Rather, which premieres this weekend at the Tribeca Festival, the former CBS News correspondent recalls a harrowing night in the early 1970s when burglars invaded his home. Speaking with PEOPLE in more depth about the incident, Rather admits, "It certainly changed my perspective."
The burglary took place "on a night when we were supposed to be away from home, and because of the illness of one of my children, we stayed home," explains Rather, 91. "In the middle of the night, there were burglars in the house. There were two, and it was a two-story house — one was coming upstairs, one was going downstairs where my files were."
He continues, "My daughter came in and awakened me and said, 'Dad, there's somebody in the house.'"
Related: Last Living Watergate Burglar and Longtime Operative Eugenio Martinez Dies at 98
Everett
In the heat of the moment, Rather jumped into action. "I had my father's — which was his father's — 20 gauge shotgun in the house. I quickly got the gun out of the closet ... [and] ran several rounds, just pumped them through, didn't fire."
He recalls, "I shouted, 'I don't know who you are' — I'll clean up the language a little — 'but you get out of my house or I'll blow you away.' And they quickly escaped."
Only after the fact, did others around Rather tie the attempted crime to larger political undercurrents afoot in that nation's capital. "As things worked out, several people within Washington's power apparatus said to me, 'Dan, it was a political burglar.'"
He explains, "This was before we knew anywhere near the full extent of what that conspiracy of corruption called Watergate. Well, Watergate was unfolding, but we didn't know fully to what extent. ... Now, at the time I had no idea. It was such a shock."
CBS via Getty Images
With the benefit of hindsight — and decades of evidence exposing then-President Richard Nixon's coverup — Rather is now "convinced" the burglars were a few of Nixon's "so-called 'Plumbers,' the burglars who were famous — infamous — to do with the Watergate corruption affair. They were breaking into a lot of people's houses and listening to a lot of people's telephone calls. But it took a long time for that to unfold and unveil."
He notes, "It never got fully exposed because, among other things, the Washington Police Department was told, 'Don't investigate this burglary.'"
Rather adds, "But the effect on me was — well, looking back on it, 'naive' is not a word that's usually been associated with me, but I was naive to believe that somehow what was unfolding around the White House was not reaching down to reporters such as myself."
Related: A Secret Plot, Charts and an Easel: Remembering a Bizarre Snafu During Watergate Scandal
"Among the things I learned is you got to stay alert," Rather sums up. "You have to consider all possibilities, but you can't let them scare you. You have to go on and do what you think is the right thing to do, do your job, and hope that you get lucky and get blessed and come out of it all right."
Continues Rather, "Another lesson out of that Watergate period, which applies today, is that most people who are in politics, especially elected politics, are really good, decent people trying to do the right thing. But there are really mean nasty people in politics, as you would find in every other stream of life. As one who's covered politics since I was in my late teens, I have a great respect for people who run for elected office. But over the years, and certainly that Nixon time and the Watergate time, hardened my belief that you have to stay alert because there are people who are really mean, really nasty people who will go to almost unbelievable lengths to get what they want in the way of power."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Rather premieres Saturday at the Tribeca Festival in New York City.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
