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Under Bradlee's leadership, The Washington Post took on major challenges during the Nixon Administration.

In 1971 The New York Times and the Post successfully challenged the government over the right to publish the Pentagon Papers.

One year later, Bradlee backed reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they probed the break-in at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in the Watergate Hotel.

According to Bradlee: “ You had a lot of Cuban or Spanish-speaking guys in masks and rubber gloves, with walkie-talkies, arrested in the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at 2: 00 in the morning.

What the hell were they in there for?

What were they doing?

The follow-up story was based primarily on their arraignment in court, and it was based on information given our police reporter, Al Lewis, by the cops, showing them an address book that one of the burglars had in his pocket, and in the address book was the name ‘ Hunt ,’ H-u-n-t, and the phone number was the White House phone number, which Al Lewis and every reporter worth his salt knew.

And when, the next day, Woodward — this is probably Sunday or maybe Monday, because the burglary was Saturday morning early — called the number and asked to speak to Mr. Hunt, and the operator said, ‘ Well, he's not here now ; he's over at ,’ such-and-such a place, gave him another number, and Woodward called him up, and Hunt answered the phone, and Woodward said, ‘ We want to know why your name was in the address book of the Watergate burglars .’ And there is this long, deathly hush, and Hunt said, ‘ Oh my God !’ and hung up.

So you had the White House.

You have Hunt saying ‘ Oh my God !’ At a later arraignment, one of the guys whispered to a judge.

The judge said, ‘ What do you do ?’ and Woodward overheard the words ‘ CIA .’ So if your interest isn't whetted by this time, you're not a journalist .” Ensuing investigations of suspected cover-ups led inexorably to Congressional committees, conflicting testimonies, and ultimately, to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974.

For decades, Bradlee was one of only four publicly known people who knew the true identity of press informant Deep Throat, the other three being Woodward, Bernstein, and Deep Throat himself, who later revealed himself to be Nixon's FBI Associate Director Mark Felt.