White House Plumbers, which airs on HBO and Sky Atlantic, centers on the actual burglary of the DNC headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in 1972, which resulted in President Nixon’s impeachment. This drama focuses on the criminal who committed the actual burglary, known as “The White House Plumbers.
White House Plumbers Storyline
The book Integrity by Egil ‘Bud’ and Matthew Krogh and some public papers served as the foundation for the movie White House Plumbers. The two political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds E. Howard Hunt (Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy are the television program’s subjects. It digs into their pasts and demonstrates how they came to be responsible for the theft of the DNC headquarters in 1972, ultimately linked to President Nixon’s administration. It shows how the two mistakenly overthrew the president they had been fighting to keep in office.
Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux) unwittingly overthrew the president they were vehemently defending, as told in the movie White House Plumbers.
When did White House Plumbers come out?
White House Plumbers premiere was on Tuesday, May 30, at 9 p.m. on Sky Atlantic in the UK. It is was five-episode television series that airs on Sky Box Sets and starts on Tuesdays at the same time each week in the UK.
White House Plumbers Cast
Woody Harrelson plays E. Howard Hunt. Woody Harrelson plays E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA agent who joined this in 1971. His covert tasks included breaking into Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office and searching for scandalous information on Ted Kennedy. Both attempts failed. Later, Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy planned the break-in at the Watergate offices of the Democratic National Committee. When they were detained, Nixon’s senior brass immediately began a complex network of cover-ups and payments to purchase their silence, which backfired. For conspiracy, wiretapping, and burglary, Hunt faced 33 months in prison. He passed away in 2007.
-
Dorothy Hunt, played by Lena Headey
The Game of Thrones actress portrays Dorothy Hunt, E. Howard Hunt’s first wife. She died when United Airlines Flight 553 crashed from Washington to Omaha in December 1972. Even though it was determined to be an accident, the fact that she was on board and had $10,000 in cash on her sparked several Watergate-related conspiracies, including the idea that the CIA planned the crash.
-
G. Gordon Liddy, played by Justin Theroux
Justin Theroux portrays G. Gordon Liddy in The Mosquito Coast. Before becoming a “plumber,” Liddy worked as the general counsel for the Committee to Re-elect the President, another organization formed to engage in political sabotage, as well as for the FBI, the Department of Treasury, and other positions in Nixon’s administration. While working for the CRP, Liddy had a reputation for his outlandish ideas, like enticing Democratic politicians into letting him secretly photograph them with prostitutes on a Miami houseboat. Liddy was found guilty of burglary, wiretapping, and conspiracy for the break-in at the DNC, much like Hunt was. He was imprisoned for more than four years. After his release, he worked as a radio host, college instructor, author, and actor. In 2021, he passed away.
-
Fran Liddy, played by Judy Greer.
Judy portrays Fran, Liddy’s faithful wife, who has lost faith in her husband’s qualities and intelligence. Judy played the lead role in Two and a Half Men, 13 Going on 30, Ant-Man, and Jurassic World. She will also appear in the upcoming movie The First Lady, which follows the presidents’ wives.
-
John Dean, played by Domhnall Gleeson.
Domhnall Gleeson, best known for his roles in Run and Ex Machina, plays John Dean, a key figure in the Watergate cover-up. After Hunt, Liddy, and the burglars were arrested, Dean, Nixon’s White House Counsel from 1970 to 1973, destroyed evidence and oversaw hush money payments to them. Additionally, he had a significant role in the top-secret White House tapes Nixon made of his discussions with essential officials. These tapes eventually indicated that the president had knowledge of the Watergate break-ins and had planned the cover-up. Dean began working with the prosecution after realizing he was being set up to be held responsible for the scandal. He served just four months of his sentence in a safe house and went on to work as an investment banker and novelist in Beverly Hills.
-
Jeb Magruder, played by Ke Barinholtz
Before taking on the role of director of the Committee to Re-Elect the President in 1971, Jeb Magruder worked for Nixon at the White House, where he was involved in the organization and planning of the Watergate scandal. He spent four more months at a safe house with Dean and other inmates (they were receiving threats from other inmates) because of his assistance with the prosecution during his three months in federal prison. In 1981, he received his ordination as a Presbyterian minister. Ike Barinholtz, whose acting credentials include The Afterparty and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, plays him in the program.
-
Bernard Barker, played by ul Vazquez.
Bernard Barker, a Cuban-born assassin who served for the FBI and CIA before being enlisted by Hunt in the White House Plumbers, is played by Severance actor Yul Vazquez. He served a year in prison for the crime; he was one of the five burglars hired by the CRP to break into the DNC offices. Also read about Killers Of The Flower Moon.
-
Egil Krogh, played by Rich Sommer
Egil Krogh, the author of the book that served as the basis for the HBO series Mad Men, is Rich Sommer. Ironically, he was regarded as a man of ethics, holding positions at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress as a fellow on Ethics and Leadership and as a director’s advisor at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership. He was selected to oversee the White House Plumbers team, and in that capacity, he gave the go-ahead for the invasion of Ellsberg’s psychiatric office. When the Watergate crisis broke, Krogh pled guilty to violating the psychiatrist’s civil rights and was sentenced to four months in prison, so his ethics training served him well. He passed away in 2020.
