History of the White House Plumbers and Their Attempts at Stopping Confidential Leaks

Even Though This Investigative Unit Existed During the Nixon Administration, it Arguably Still Exists

For those who thought "Joe" (or Sam) the Plumber was operating covertly under his own accord to discredit Barack Obama's tax plan this month, you should take a look back at a completely different type of political plumber in a different era. Right at the tail-end of Richard Nixon's first term in 1971, a covert investigations unit was assembled upon suggestion by Nixon's aides after Pentagon documents were leaked that gave away many of this country's secret operations in Vietnam. When these documents were published in The New York Times, President Nixon didn't hesitate to agree with his aides to get a secret investigative team in operation that would weed out the person or people leaking these documents to the media. What better metaphorical name to use for an anti-leak unit than the White House Plumbers?

Well, undoubtedly there was a real and official White House plumber on standby who would unclog the Presidential toilet or fix his leaky sink if need be. When it came to media leaks, though, the White House had never really experienced secret documents getting out into the open press prior to the early 70's. The White House Plumbers became an inside joke, of course, but were deadly serious. You can give direct credit to both Henry Kissinger and Henry Colson for getting the whole thing started when they realized what leaks of secret documents could do to Nixon's reputation down the road. However, it was Kissinger's assistant David Young who coined the term of "Plumber" based on his grandfather being a real and respected plumber.