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Notes -
The people who were working for Nixon in Watergate were freshly ex-FBI and ex-CIA. Hunt even worked for a CIA front company, apparently, which wasn't known to Nixon's chief of staff.
People at their former institutions - who were probably guilty of doing similar stuff in the past for other presidents, exposed Nixon for the kind of wrongdoing they themselves were likely guilty of.
The narrative people have of Watergate is something like 'intrepid reporter and brave FBI source' expose corrupt presidential administration, government somewhat improved and more democratic afterwards.
Meanwhile, the actual narrative is something like 'somewhat corrupt president exposed by intrigues of even more corrupt institutions', presidency afterwards even more influenced by the secret services. I mean, if you're long serving FBI, one of the old guard, and deputy director, it's not particularly brave to leak to the press. There's only like 2-3 people ranking higher than you.
I suggest that the institutional affiliation and ranks of people involved suggest the latter narrative is more closer to the truth than the former.
Ok, granting that the correct narrative of Watergate is one of relatively more corrupt executive branch employees exposing the corruption of a relatively less corrupt President it seems to me the correct conclusion is "more people should have been prosecuted for corruption" not "Nixon wasn't corrupt."
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