Key Biscayne is a significant but sparsely described location in the Watergate narrative: it is named as the site of a meeting where John Mitchell reportedly vetoed a proposal to bug political opponents, and as the destination Richard Nixon flew to after meeting with his Cabinet. The account gives no broader description of the place; its importance comes from these sharply different moments of political crisis.

The Reported Meeting

After Mitchell left the grand-jury room, an associate whom Bob Woodward regarded as reliable described what Mitchell had testified. According to this account, Mitchell said he had approved paying the original seven Watergate conspirators with Committee for the Re-election of the President funds, while maintaining that the money was intended for legal fees rather than to buy their silence. The associate also said Mitchell testified that he had vetoed the bugging proposal for the third and final time during a meeting with Jeb Magruder at Key Biscayne.

A Disputed Account of Authority

The meeting’s reported significance lies in what Mitchell believed happened after his veto. He thought Magruder had gone over his head and secured approval for the Watergate operation from someone at the White House. Asked who, the associate said Mitchell thought it was Charles Colson, but had named no one to the grand jury and had no hard evidence. Key Biscayne thus enters the account not as proof of who authorized the operation, but as the setting for Mitchell’s claimed refusal and his suspicion that the decision was later overridden.

Nixon’s Departure

In a separate episode, a mid-level White House official described a staff divided by uncertainty over who might be indicted, who had ordered what, and who would resign or be protected. The official summarized the atmosphere as “Every man for himself—get a lawyer and blame everyone else.” Richard Nixon had met with his Cabinet; he then said, “We’ve had our Cambodias before,” and flew to Key Biscayne accompanied only by Ron Ziegler.

The Location’s Narrative Role

These references place Key Biscayne at two different points in the unfolding crisis. In the account of Mitchell’s testimony, it is tied to a contested decision about electronic surveillance and the question of whether authority in the campaign extended beyond the people who formally rejected the proposal. In the later scene, it is the destination of the President’s departure as White House loyalties fracture and staff members anticipate possible indictments. The narrative establishes those associations but does not specify the meeting’s precise venue or describe Nixon’s stay there.