Bellingham son of Watergate prosecutor recalls his father with mix of sadness, pride

Four decades ago, while his father was a regular figure in the national media, Rick Merrill was living a news-free existence on a farm in Vermont.

His father, William Merrill, was the assistant Watergate special prosecutor who brought members of the White House "plumbers unit," also known as the "dirty tricks squad," to trial for violating the civil rights of Daniel Ellsberg.

Ellsberg was the man who leaked the secret "Pentagon Papers" about the Vietnam War. The so-called plumbers violated his rights by burglarizing the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist in search of disparaging information.