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Bill Murray Snipes That Watergate Reporter ‘Framed’ Nixon

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Bill Murray
Photo Credit: Adam Chitayat, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Actor Bill Murray recently took aim at renowned journalist Bob Woodward, sniping that the famed Watergate reporter may have “framed” former President Richard Nixon.

Murray’s comments stemmed from his frustration with Woodward’s portrayal of John Belushi in the 1986 book Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi, which Murray claims was wildly inaccurate.

Woodward, who won a Pulitzer Prize alongside Carl Bernstein for their groundbreaking reporting on the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post, has long been recognized for his investigative journalism.

However, his book about Belushi’s struggles with addiction and untimely death has drawn criticism from those close to the late comedian—including Murray.

During his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Murray’s critique of Woodward came amid a broader conversation about Nixon’s downfall.

Host Joe Rogan referenced a controversial theory promoted by Tucker Carlson, suggesting that Nixon was forced out of office by a covert government operation.

According to Carlson, the CIA orchestrated Nixon’s removal because the president was allegedly probing the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Carlson has even suggested that Woodward was not merely a journalist but a government insider working to undermine Nixon.

“Bob Woodward had no background whatsoever in the news business,” Carlson said at the beginning of 2023.

“Instead, Bob Woodward came directly from the classified areas of the federal government. Shortly before Watergate, Woodward was a naval officer at the Pentagon.”

Carlson argued that Nixon suspected elements within the federal government were actively trying to subvert his administration.

He even claimed that Nixon told the CIA director at the time that he knew “who shot John [Kennedy].”

This statement, according to Carlson, coincided with the publication of Woodward and Bernstein’s first reports on Watergate.

“Soon after leaving the Navy for reasons that have never been clear, Woodward was hired by the most powerful news outlet in Washington and assigned the biggest news story in the country,” Carlson continued.

“And just to make it crystal clear what was actually happening, Woodward’s main source for the Watergate series was Deputy Director of the FBI Mark Felt [believed to be the source known as ‘Deep Throat’].”

Nixon ultimately resigned on August 8, 1974, facing near-certain impeachment in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

His administration had attempted to cover up illegal activities tied to its surveillance of the Democratic Party’s headquarters at the Watergate Hotel during the 1972 presidential election.

Although Murray refrained from engaging with the JFK assassination theory, he did not hesitate to share his thoughts on Woodward’s work.

“When I read Wired, the book written by, what’s his name, Woodward, about Belushi, I read like five pages of Wired, and I went, ‘Oh my God. They framed Nixon,'” Murray said on Rogan’s podcast.

Murray was a close friend of Belushi, who died of a drug overdose in 1982.

The actor and comedian expressed deep skepticism about Woodward’s portrayal of his friend, arguing that the book relied on accounts from people who were not truly part of Belushi’s inner circle.

“If this is what he writes about my friend that I’ve known, you know, for half of my adult life, which is completely inaccurate, talking to like, the people of the outer, outer circle, getting the story – what the hell did that could they have done to Nixon?” Murray remarked.

“I just felt like if he did this to my friend like this, and I acknowledge I only read five pages, but the five pages I read made me want to set fire to the whole thing.”

Murray further explained that his mistrust of Woodward’s reporting extended beyond Wired.

“I went, ‘If he did this to Belushi, what he did in Nixon’s is probably soiled for me, too.’ I can’t, I can’t take it,” Murray continued.

“And I know you say, well, ‘You could have two sources and everything like that,’ but the two sources that he had, if he had them for the Wired book, were so far outside the inner circle that it was, it was criminal.”

Just a day after the podcast aired, Murray found himself at an event where Woodward was also in attendance.

The comedian attended a screening of Becoming Katharine Graham, a documentary on the influential former publisher of The Washington Post.

The event, held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, provided Murray an opportunity to speak directly with Woodward.

According to New York Magazine reporter Ben Terris, Murray and Woodward “had words” about Wired, with the exchange becoming “a little tense.”

The New York Times also reported that the two “got into a quarrel,” though no additional details were provided.

During the interview, Rogan shared his enthusiasm about having Murray on the show, calling it a major personal milestone.

However, the comedian admitted that he had no prior knowledge of the popular Spotify podcaster.

“This is a huge honor for me— A giant fan, forever and ever, like since I was a kid. There are certain people I meet where it’s like, ‘Whoa, okay,’ and you’re one of those,” Rogan told Murray.

Murray, however, did not reciprocate the excitement.

“Well I have a very different experience. I only know about, what I’ve heard, I’ve never heard your show. I had to ask you, ‘are you Joe?’ because I somehow knew you were like in the fitness and everyone out there seems to be a weight lifter,” he replied.

“Even Daniele seems like she did lower body today,” Murray quipped. “But it’s nice to meet you, and some people are very very excited that I’ve come down here to be on your show.”

At one point, Rogan remarked, “You’re an interesting guy,” to which Murray shot back, “Other people are concerned for me.”

Watch Murray’s appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” here:

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