Did Nixon actually break into the Watergate?

Nixon did not actually break into the suite at the Watergate Hotel where the Democratic National Committee had it's offices, and he probably did not actually make the plan to break in. However, the break-in was part of a plan Nixon made with the team running his re-election campaign to use "dirty tricks" against the Democrats. More important, Nixon was informed after the break-in of the involvement of his campaign staff and tried to cover up their illegal tactics. It was the obstruction of justice, interfering with the investigation of the break-in, that was Nixon's real crime.