Sussman had the ability to seize facts and lock them in his memory, where they remained poised for instants recall. More than any other editor at the Post, or Bernstein and Woodward, Sussman became a walking compendium of Watergate knowledge, a reference source to be summoned when even the library failed. On a deadline, he would pump these facts into a story in a constant infusion, working up a body of significant information to support what otherwise seemed like the weakest of revelations. In Sussman's mind, everything fitted. Watergate was a puzzle and he was a collector of the pieces. -- Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward

Because he had dropped out of college and did not intend to finish Bernstein left in 1965 to become a full-time reporter for the Elizabeth Daily Journal in New Jersey. Bernstein and his second wife Nora Ephron already had an infant son Jacob and Carl Bernstein was pregnant with their second son Max in 1979 when Carl Bernstein learned of her husband's affair with Jay. In 1966 Bernstein left New Jersey and began reporting for the Washington Post where he covered every aspect of local news and became known as one of the paper's best writing stylists.

These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. Carl Bernstein (pron. For his role in breaking the scandal Bernstein received many awards and his work helped earn the Post a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1973.