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What the President Doesn't Know - Part 3: Richard Nixon | EP 17
What happens when a president distrusts the intelligence community so deeply that he builds his own secret parallel capability?
In this gripping third episode of our mini-series, Chasing Power: What the President Doesn't Know, host Charles Denyer begins the presidential stories with Richard Nixon—a man who entered the Oval Office with a fully formed distrust of the CIA and spent five years trying to bend the system to his will.
This chapter traces how Nixon's worldview—that the intelligence community was part of an Eastern establishment that had never accepted him—shaped every decision he made.
If the system could not be trusted, it had to be bypassed.
But the system did not break.
It simply refused to protect him.
#ChasingPower #WhatThePresidentDoesntKnow #RichardNixon #Watergate #CIA #PresidentialHistory #IntelligenceCommunity #NixonResignation #PoliticalPodcast
What You Will Learn:
- The Pre-Formed Distrust
How Nixon's eight years as Eisenhower's vice president gave him a front-row seat to intelligence operations—and convinced him the CIA could not be trusted.
- The 1960 Election Grudge
Why Nixon believed elements within the intelligence community had leaked damaging information to help John F. Kennedy defeat him.
- Richard Helms and the Institutional Mind
How the Director of Central Intelligence embodied continuity and stability—and why Nixon understood exactly what that meant.
- Covert Action in Chile
How Nixon authorized high-risk CIA operations to prevent Salvador Allende from coming to power, using the system when it aligned with his objectives.
- "The Whole Bay of Pigs Thing"
The cryptic phrase from the smoking gun tape that forced Nixon's resignation—and the debate over whether it referenced JFK's assassination or Cuban operation veterans.
- The White House Plumbers
How Nixon built a parallel intelligence capability operating outside the CIA, outside oversight, and directly under presidential control.
- "I'm Not a Crook"
Nixon's desperate late-1973 defense—and why the system held its ground just enough to let his presidency collapse under its own weight.
Episode Highlights and Timestamps:
00:01 Introduction: Nixon's pre-formed distrust of the intelligence community
01:30 The vice presidency years and the 1960 election grudge
03:15 Richard Helms and the uneasy working relationship that held—for a time
05:00 The Huston Plan, Hoover's objection, and the limits that told Nixon "No"
06:45 Covert operations in Chile and Nixon's willingness to use the system
08:30 Watergate: The break-in, the call to Helms, and the system's refusal to protect him
10:15 "The whole Bay of Pigs thing" – the cryptic phrase that became the smoking gun
11:45 The White House Plumbers: A parallel intelligence capability outside all oversight
13:15 Conclusion: The system did not defeat Nixon. It simply refused to save him.
The Host:
Charles Denyer is a nationally recognized expert in cybersecurity, national security, and global risk. He has advised U.S. vice presidents, cabinet officials, senior military leaders, and Fortune-class organizations, bringing field-tested analysis and cinematic storytelling to today’s most urgent threats.
💥 The power plays. The pressure. The people pulling the strings. This is Chasing Power.
🔔 Subscribe on YouTube, new episodes break down how power is really won.
👉 Explore more politics: www.charlesdenyerproductions.com
🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gy/podcast/chasing-power-politics-campaigns-conflict/id1845424742
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1jzxjxpfclZRlYP25ET2Qw
This podcast is for news reporting, commentary, and criticism. We use excerpts, clips, and quotations from political events and other copyrighted works under the fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107). All rights in those works remain with their respective owners. The views expressed are our own and do not represent any other entity.
View all episodes
By Charles DenyerWhat happens when a president distrusts the intelligence community so deeply that he builds his own secret parallel capability?
In this gripping third episode of our mini-series, Chasing Power: What the President Doesn't Know, host Charles Denyer begins the presidential stories with Richard Nixon—a man who entered the Oval Office with a fully formed distrust of the CIA and spent five years trying to bend the system to his will.
This chapter traces how Nixon's worldview—that the intelligence community was part of an Eastern establishment that had never accepted him—shaped every decision he made.
If the system could not be trusted, it had to be bypassed.
But the system did not break.
It simply refused to protect him.
#ChasingPower #WhatThePresidentDoesntKnow #RichardNixon #Watergate #CIA #PresidentialHistory #IntelligenceCommunity #NixonResignation #PoliticalPodcast
What You Will Learn:
- The Pre-Formed Distrust
How Nixon's eight years as Eisenhower's vice president gave him a front-row seat to intelligence operations—and convinced him the CIA could not be trusted.
- The 1960 Election Grudge
Why Nixon believed elements within the intelligence community had leaked damaging information to help John F. Kennedy defeat him.
- Richard Helms and the Institutional Mind
How the Director of Central Intelligence embodied continuity and stability—and why Nixon understood exactly what that meant.
- Covert Action in Chile
How Nixon authorized high-risk CIA operations to prevent Salvador Allende from coming to power, using the system when it aligned with his objectives.
- "The Whole Bay of Pigs Thing"
The cryptic phrase from the smoking gun tape that forced Nixon's resignation—and the debate over whether it referenced JFK's assassination or Cuban operation veterans.
- The White House Plumbers
How Nixon built a parallel intelligence capability operating outside the CIA, outside oversight, and directly under presidential control.
- "I'm Not a Crook"
Nixon's desperate late-1973 defense—and why the system held its ground just enough to let his presidency collapse under its own weight.
Episode Highlights and Timestamps:
00:01 Introduction: Nixon's pre-formed distrust of the intelligence community
01:30 The vice presidency years and the 1960 election grudge
03:15 Richard Helms and the uneasy working relationship that held—for a time
05:00 The Huston Plan, Hoover's objection, and the limits that told Nixon "No"
06:45 Covert operations in Chile and Nixon's willingness to use the system
08:30 Watergate: The break-in, the call to Helms, and the system's refusal to protect him
10:15 "The whole Bay of Pigs thing" – the cryptic phrase that became the smoking gun
11:45 The White House Plumbers: A parallel intelligence capability outside all oversight
13:15 Conclusion: The system did not defeat Nixon. It simply refused to save him.
The Host:
Charles Denyer is a nationally recognized expert in cybersecurity, national security, and global risk. He has advised U.S. vice presidents, cabinet officials, senior military leaders, and Fortune-class organizations, bringing field-tested analysis and cinematic storytelling to today’s most urgent threats.
💥 The power plays. The pressure. The people pulling the strings. This is Chasing Power.
🔔 Subscribe on YouTube, new episodes break down how power is really won.
👉 Explore more politics: www.charlesdenyerproductions.com
🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gy/podcast/chasing-power-politics-campaigns-conflict/id1845424742
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1jzxjxpfclZRlYP25ET2Qw
This podcast is for news reporting, commentary, and criticism. We use excerpts, clips, and quotations from political events and other copyrighted works under the fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107). All rights in those works remain with their respective owners. The views expressed are our own and do not represent any other entity.