Lock picked during Watergate break-in goes on auction

The four-pound brass lock picked by five burglars who broke into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate Complex in 1972 is now being auctioned off for $50,000

The lock burglars picked to break into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate Complex in 1972 will be auctioned off on December 14.

Bidding stars at a rather steep $50,000 for the lock, which holds unique importance in one of the most infamous political scandals in United States history.

Richard Nixon’s presidential administration’s attempt to cover up the break-in at the Washington D.C. complex is, of course, now known as the ‘Watergate Scandal’.

Nixon, who once famously tried to claim that a president’s actions cannot be illegal, resigned in 1974 due to the consequent fallout.

Since Watergate, -gate has been attached as a suffix to multiple political scandals around the world.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s reporting on the scandal would later be immortalized by their book, which was adapted into a film, called All the President’s Men. 

The Oscar-winning film starred Robert Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein.

The lock comes complete with original key and latch

The lock is mounted on a wood display

The lock will be available for bidding on December 14 from Los Angeles-based auction house Nate D Sanders

The lock was picked in Stairwell #2 at the complex in Washington D.C. Pictured is the door the locked used to be fitted to. The lock was replaced the day after the break-in, which occurred on June 17

The lock was picked in Stairwell #2 at the complex in Washington D.C. Pictured is the door the locked used to be fitted to. The lock was replaced the day after the break-in, which occurred on June 17

The break-in, the subsequent revelation of Richard Nixon's administration's culpability in it and said administration's attempts to cover the incident up have become known as the 'Watergate Scandal'. Pictured is the Watergate Complex in June 2016

The break-in, the subsequent revelation of Richard Nixon’s administration’s culpability in it and said administration’s attempts to cover the incident up have become known as the ‘Watergate Scandal’. Pictured is the Watergate Complex in June 2016

The lock available for auction is a four-pound brass lock from stairwell #2 at the Watergate Complex.

On June 17, 1972, five burglars tampered with the lock in an effort to break into and vandalize the DNC’s headquarters.

The following morning, security guard Frank Willis alerted the police to a possible break-in, which led to the two-year investigation into what exactly happened that night.

The five burglars – Virgilio Gonzalez, Bernard Barker, James McCord, Eugenio Martínez and Frank Sturgis – were all eventually tried and either convicted of a crime or pleaded guilty.

Implicated in recruiting them was G Gordon Liddy, who served as Financial Counsel for Nixon’s Committee for the Re-Election of the President (mockingly abbreviated as CREEP).

The Nixon administration sought to cover-up the incident. Meanwhile, investigators found evidence of other tactics of the 37th president’s administration such as bugging opponents and illegal investigations of activist groups.

The subsequent fall-out from the scandal - which also provided revelations of other dubious Nixon administration activities - resulted in Nixon's resignation from the presidency in 1974. He is the only president to have resigned from office

The subsequent fall-out from the scandal – which also provided revelations of other dubious Nixon administration activities – resulted in Nixon’s resignation from the presidency in 1974. He is the only president to have resigned from office

Bob Woodward (left) and Carl Bernstein (right) investigated the Watergate case while working at the Washington Post

Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman respectively portrayed Woodward and Bernstein in the 1976 film All the President's Men

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (pictured left; respectively at left and right) investigated the Watergate scandal while working at the Washington Post. Their investigative journey was later turned into a film based on the book they wrote called All the President’s Men. The 1976 film starred Robert Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein (pictured right; respectively at left and right)

Pictured is a Washington Post story published the day after the break-in showing the lock jimmied at the DNC that is now available via auction

Pictured is a Washington Post story published the day after the break-in showing the lock jimmied at the DNC that is now available via auction

Pictured is a New York Times report of Nixon's resignation. US Attorney General John Mitchell and White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman also resigned in the fallout of the Watergate Scandal

Pictured is a New York Times report of Nixon’s resignation. US Attorney General John Mitchell and White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman also resigned in the fallout of the Watergate Scandal

By the time the dust had settled, United States Attorney General John Mitchell, White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman and Nixon had resigned.

Nixon remains the only president to resign from the position.

Meanwhile, the Watergate Improvement Association requested a new lock, which was installed the day after the original one was broken.

The lock comes with notarized letters of provenance from Locksmith James Rednowers (pictured), who installed the new lock and kept the original, and Watergate superintendent Jim Herrald, who later requested the lock as a memento

The lock comes with notarized letters of provenance from Locksmith James Rednowers (pictured), who installed the new lock and kept the original, and Watergate superintendent Jim Herrald, who later requested the lock as a memento

Locksmith James Rednowers installed the new lock and kept the original, tampered lock for a few years, until Watergate superintendent Jim Herrald requested it as a memento.

Commenting on the lock, auction house owner Nate D. Sanders said: ‘Americans’ fascination with Watergate has continued for nearly five decades. 

‘Historians and collectors will be intrigued by this lock, which symbolizes the downfall of the Nixon administration.’

The auction winner will also receive two notarized letters of provenance from Rednowers and Herrald.

The lock, complete with original key and latch, is mounted on a wood display that is about a foot tall, 10 inches wide and seven inches deep. 



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