Questions about whether this was a political favor dogged Richard Nixon during his campaign for president and later when he sought the governorship of California.

[4] Nixon never lived it down, and one of the many speculated motives for the 1972 Watergate burglary that ultimately led to Richard Nixon's resignation was a desire to find proof that the then-Democratic National Committee chairman Larry O'Brien was also secretly working for Hughes.

Meier told Donald that he was sure the Democrats would win the election, since they had a lot of information on Richard Nixon's illicit dealings with Howard Hughes which had never been released, and that Larry O'Brien had the information.

Political columnist Jack Anderson revealed the incident in his column of June 21, 1973, and wrote of Ulasewicz, "The burly former private eye persuaded Donald to trim his hair and to return home," and reported that White House aide John Ehrlichman admonished Donald Jr. in a two-hour lecture "to behave himself and do nothing to embarrass the President", his uncle Richard.

On June 27, 1987, Donald Nixon died while undergoing hospital treatment for Pneumonia.