Watergate’s 'lady lawyer' facing sexism and scandal
Lawyer Jill Wine-Banks was the only woman investigating the Watergate cover-up. As well as this historic role, she was also dealing with a failing marriage and an explosive secret
Lawyer Jill Wine-Banks was in her 20s when she got the case of a lifetime – to join a team of special prosecutors investigating the Watergate cover-up. In 1973, it was America’s biggest corruption scandal and it involved President Richard Nixon himself. As the only woman on the team, Jill stood out and was referred to disparagingly as the “Watergate girl” or the “mini-skirted lawyer.” Unfazed, Jill excelled at her job – facing top White House aides in court and taking them down, including the dramatic moment when she caught out Nixon’s own secretary in a lie. But as Jill was making history, she was also dealing with a failing marriage and an explosive secret. Her memoir is called The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
(Photo: Jill Wine-Banks outside the White House in November 1973, after her cross-examination of President Nixon’s secretary, Rose Mary Woods. Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
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