Nation: Much Ado About Haldeman

New Watergate tales from Nixon's top aide provoke heated denials

Suddenly, all the old rancorous controversies of the Watergate era came back to life. High crimes and misdemeanors were charged and denied. Reporters scrambled for inside tips, and there were rumors of stolen documents, violated contracts and million-dollar damages.

At the center of the turmoil was H.R. ("Bob") Haldeman, once the crewcut, fiercely loyal chief of staff to President Nixon, now serving a minimum one-year term at California's Lompoc prison farm on a conviction of perjury in the Watergate coverup. Last May Haldeman had...