There is a sincere and legitimate argument that the Watergate burglars deliberately took a dive to throw Nixon under the bus. He'd already pissed off both the CIA and FBI at this point, and many within his own party were turning on him due to his unpopularity.

Trump's not the guy to make this argument, of course. But it does get into the Cold War politics of the era and Nixon's Third Way strategy of detente for the benefit of his millionaire allies.

The Cold Warriors would eventually hijack the federal government entirely through Reagan/Bush in '80. But back in the 60s/70s there was still a meaningful divide between business goons and military maniacs.