The Watergate Girl

January 15, 2020
A timely reminder of a notorious scandal that resulted in a president's impeachment. In 1973, Wine-Banks, now a legal analyst for MSNBC and formerly Illinois solicitor general and deputy attorney general, joined a government task force assigned to investigate the Nixon administration's burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building. In her absorbing debut memoir, the author recalls her experiences as a young lawyer participating in what was then "the biggest political scandal in US history": questioning witnesses, wresting tapes from the White House, dealing with blatant sexism from some of her male colleagues and superiors, and, at the same time, facing the deterioration of her marriage. Among the witnesses, Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods proved frustrating for Wine-Banks, who worried that her demeanor in confronting the stalwart Woods reflected her "youth and vulnerability." Repeatedly questioned about the erasure of 18 minutes from a crucial White House tape, Woods maintained that she had done it accidentally. Also frustrating was the wily Jeb Magruder, whom the author characterizes as a consummate liar, whose testimony was vital for the case. "Often, when I questioned Magruder," Wine-Banks writes, "I could feel my chest tightening and my voice turning harsh and scolding." Despite Nixon's refusal to hand over the key tapes, claiming that no court could "compel a president to any action," a grand jury, comprised of ordinary Americans, did just that, "unafraid to challenge the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world." The author's portrayal makes the impeachment process, which received bipartisan support, seem almost quaint. Today, she sees history repeating itself in a "more complicated political, social, and cultural landscape than existed in the 1970s." "Like Nixon," she writes, "Trump is corrupt, amoral, vindictive, paranoid, ruthless, and narcissistic." But he is more dangerous, she believes, "because he exceeds Nixon in hatefulness and venality" and "puts in peril the fundamental principles on which our nation was founded." A penetrating, firsthand view of history.

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February 1, 2020

This memoir by Wine-Banks, MSNBC legal analyst and former special prosecutor during the obstruction of justice trial against Richard Nixon and his top aides, delves deep into the inner workings of the Watergate scandal. Wine-Banks offers several anecdotes about her own experiences during the 1973 trial, including questioning Nixon's personal secretary about the missing minutes of White House tapes. There is also insight into the author's personal life, and occasional commentary on the sexism she experienced as a young lawyer. Details are generally presented in a straightforward manner; likely, readers with a casual interest in U.S. history will learn something new about how the scandal unfolded. The epilog is an excellent addition, touching on the parallels between the Watergate investigation and the actions of Donald Trump during his time in office. VERDICT Though the storytelling is not always engaging, the author's earnest desire to tell a story that matters is evident throughout. This insider's perspective on the Watergate investigation will be most relevant to those who study politics, law, gender, and U.S. history.--Sarah Schroeder, Univ. of Washington Bothell

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 2, 2020
MSNBC legal analyst Wine-Banks debuts with a brisk and empowering memoir focused on her experiences as a trial lawyer in the Watergate special prosecutor’s office. She describes facing off against members of Richard Nixon’s inner circle in depositions; being menaced by FBI agents after her boss was fired in the “Saturday Night Massacre,” cross-examining presidential secretary Rose Mary Woods about her “accidental” erasure of more than 18 minutes from a key White House recording, enduring sexist comments from the trial judge, and forming an unlikely post-Watergate friendship with former White House counsel John Dean. Wine-Banks also opens up about more personal matters, including her high school nose job, her struggles to leave her “miserable” marriage, and her affair with a justice department colleague. After Nixon’s resignation and the convictions of four conspirators on obstruction of justice charges, Wine-Banks went on to become the first woman general counsel of the U.S. Army and the first female deputy attorney general of Illinois. She packs the books with insider details and helpful legal analysis, and offers a revealing glimpse of a professional woman’s life in the post–Feminine Mystique era. This unique and intimate perspective on Watergate shines a well-deserved spotlight on the people who seek to hold the powerful to account.

February 1, 2020
As the lone female lawyer on the staff of Watergate special prosecutors Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski, Wine-Banks drew commentary as much for her wardrobe of fashionable mini-skirts as for her fierce legal acumen. Her deft cross-examination of President Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, revealed the implausibility behind the infamous 18-minute gap in a key Oval Office tape. As tenacious and astute as her male colleagues, however, Wine-Banks was nonetheless subjected to sexist commentary throughout the Watergate trial, remarks she shut down with quick and undeniable confidence. In this sprightly and engrossing memoir of her time in those fraught, gender-challenged trenches, Wine-Banks reveals tantalizing behind-the-scenes details that bring that pivotal time in the nation's history back to life and relevancy. Ever the trailblazer, Wine-Banks would go on, post-Watergate, to be nominated by President Jimmy Carter as the first General Counsel of the U.S. Army, serve as the first woman executive director of the American Bar Association, and provide expert commentary on legal affairs for MSNBC. A captivating and candid look back on a storied career.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)