who was nixons lawyer in watergate

What did Richard Nixon's personal attorney do in Watergate?

 · James St. Clair; Nixon’s Attorney During Watergate. Copy Link URL Copied! James D. St. Clair, a pillar of the Boston legal community who made notable appearances before Congress and the federal ...

Who was the Attorney General during Nixon's presidency?

John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is a former attorney who served as White House Counsel for United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal and his subsequent testimony to Congress as a witness. His guilty plea to a single felony in exchange for becoming a key witness for the …

Would Nixon have gotten away with Watergate if not for Dean?

 · Dean was Nixon’s White House counsel on June 17, 1972, the night burglars broke into Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. He had no prior ...

Who was Richard Nixon’s White House Counsel?

 · Robert Bork. HIS ROLE: Bork, a conservative judge, solicitor general and acting attorney general in the Nixon administration, carried out President Nixon’s orders to …

Who was the attorney general in the Nixon case?

United States v. Nixon. John Newton Mitchell (September 5, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was an American lawyer, the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon, chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns, and a convicted criminal. Prior to that, he had been a municipal bond lawyer and one ...

Who was the attorney general in Nixon v. United States?

For other people named John Mitchell, see John Mitchell (disambiguation). United States v. Nixon. John Newton Mitchell (September 5, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was an American lawyer, the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon, chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns, and a convicted criminal.

Why was Mitchell in prison?

Due to multiple crimes he committed in the Watergate affair, Mitchell was sentenced to prison in 1977 and served 19 months. As Attorney General, he was noted for personifying the "law-and-order" positions of the Nixon Administration, amid several high-profile anti-war demonstrations.

Why did Nixon order Mitchell to go slow on desegregation of schools in the South?

Near the beginning of his administration, Nixon had ordered Mitchell to go slow on desegregation of schools in the South as part of Nixon's " Southern Strategy ," which focused on gaining support from Southern voters. After being instructed by the federal courts that segregation was unconstitutional and that the executive branch was required to enforce the rulings of the courts, Mitchell began to comply, threatening to withhold federal funds from those school systems that were still segregated and threatening legal action against them.

What did Nixon tell the press about Martha Mitchell?

Nixon aides, in an effort to discredit her, told the press that she had a "drinking problem". Nixon was later to tell interviewer David Frost in 1977 that Martha was a distraction to John Mitchell, such that no one was minding the store, and "If it hadn't been for Martha Mitchell, there'd have been no Watergate.".

What did Mitchell do to suppress crime?

From the outset, Mitchell strove to suppress what many Americans saw as major threats to their safety : urban crime, black unrest, and war resistance. He called for the use of "no-knock" warrants for police to enter homes, frisking suspects without a warrant, wiretapping, preventive detention, the use of federal troops to repress crime in the capital, a restructured Supreme Court, and a slowdown in school desegregation. "This country is going so far to the right you won't recognize it," he told a reporter.

How long was Mitchell in jail?

The sentence was later reduced to one to four years by United States district court Judge John J. Sirica. Mitchell served only 19 months of his sentence at Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery (in Maxwell Air Force Base) in Montgomery, Alabama, a minimum-security prison, before being released on parole for medical reasons.

What did the Supreme Court rule in the case of United States vs. Nixon?

Nixon that the tapes would have to be surrendered and Nixon resigned.

Who was Joseph Welch's chief assistant?

St. Clair gained recognition in 1954 as chief assistant to Joseph Welch, counsel for the Army during Senate hearings led by Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wis.) on Communist infiltration in the armed services. St. Clair was a protege of Welch.

When did Nixon ask Dean to report on Watergate?

On March 22, 1973 , Nixon requested that Dean put together a report with everything he knew about the Watergate matter and even invited him to take a retreat to Camp David to do so. Dean went to Camp David and performed some work on a report, but since he was one of the cover-up's chief participants, the task placed him in the difficult position of relating his own involvement as well as that of others; he correctly concluded he was being fitted for the role of scapegoat by higher-ups. Dean did not complete the report.

Who was the FBI Director who was a cover up for the Watergate scandal?

On February 28, 1973, Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his nomination to replace J. Edgar Hoover as Director of the FBI. Armed with newspaper articles indicating the White House had possession of FBI Watergate files, the committee chairman, Sam Ervin, questioned Gray as to what he knew about the White House obtaining the files. Gray stated he had given FBI reports to Dean, and had discussed the FBI investigation with Dean on many occasions. It also came out that Gray had destroyed important evidence entrusted to him by Dean. Gray's nomination failed and Dean was directly linked to the Watergate cover-up.

Why did Nixon not give Dean immunity?

When Nixon learned that Dean had begun cooperating with federal prosecutors, Nixon pressed Attorney General Richard Kleindienst not to give Dean immunity from prosecution by telling Kleindienst that Dean was lying to the Justice Department regarding his conversations with the president. On April 17, 1973 Nixon informed Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen (who was overseeing the Watergate investigation) that he did not want any member of the White House being granted immunity from prosecution. Petersen informed Nixon that this could cause problems for the prosecution of the case, but Nixon announced publicly his position that evening. It was alleged that Nixon's motivation in preventing Dean from getting immunity was to prevent him from testifying against key Nixon aides and Nixon himself.

What happened to Dean at Watergate?

Howard Hunt, and revealed the existence of Nixon's enemies list. Archibald Cox, Watergate Special Prosecutor, was interested in meeting with Dean and planned to do so a few days later, but Cox was fired by Nixon the very next day; it was not until a month later that Cox was replaced by Leon Jaworski. On August 2, 1974, Sirica handed down a sentence to Dean of one-to-four years in a minimum-security prison. However, when Dean surrendered as scheduled on September 3, he was diverted to the custody of U.S. Marshals and kept instead at Fort Hola bird (near Baltimore, Maryland) in a special " safe house " primarily used for witnesses against the Mafia. He spent his days at the offices of Jaworski, the Watergate Special Prosecutor, and testifying in the trial of Watergate conspirators Mitchell, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Robert Mardian, and Kenneth Parkinson, which concluded in December. All except Parkinson were convicted, largely based upon Dean's evidence. Dean's lawyer moved to have his sentence reduced and on January 8, Judge Sirica granted the motion, adjusting Dean's sentence to time served, which wound up being four months. With his plea to felony offenses, Dean was disbarred as a lawyer in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

What did Dean do after the Watergate hearings?

Shortly after the Watergate hearings, Dean wrote about his experiences in a series of books and toured the United States to lecture. He later became a commentator on contemporary politics, a book author, and a columnist for FindLaw's Writ .

Why did Dean appear before the Watergate grand jury?

Dean also appeared before the Watergate grand jury, where he took the Fifth Amendment numerous times to avoid incriminating himself, and in order to save his testimony for the Senate Watergate hearings.

What is John Dean known for?

Colgate University. College of Wooster ( B.A.) Georgetown University ( J.D.) John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is a former attorney who served as White House Counsel for United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...

What was the law after Watergate?

After Watergate, schools began to make legal ethics a required class. Bar examinations added an extra section on ethics. And nearly all states started requiring lawyers to attend annual continuing legal education programs focused on ethics and professional conduct.

Who was the master manipulator of Watergate?

The FBI called Dean the “master manipulator of the Watergate cover-up.”. When it came to names and dates, meetings and roles, Dean was the man in the middle. He knew it all. Ehrlichman put Krogh in charge of the Plumbers in 1971.

What commission recommended that lawyers representing an organization be allowed to disclose confidential information concerning officers or employees who are violating the law

The Kutak commission recommended that lawyers representing an organization be allowed to disclose confidential information concerning officers or employees who are violating the law.

How did Watergate affect the public?

Watergate clearly—and perhaps permanently—undermined public trust and confidence in government and its leaders. But the scandal also spurred a significant decline in public opinion of lawyers from which the profession has never fully recovered.

Why did Dean try to persuade Ehrlichman and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst that they needed to hire

Dean tried to persuade Ehrlichman and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst that they needed to hire a criminal defense attorney to help them navigate their decision-making.

What was the first break in at Watergate?

THE EARLIEST BREAK-IN. Watergate actually was the culmination of a chain of events that began months before the failed break-in at the Democratic Party offices. In March 1971, presidential assistant Charles Colson helped create a $250,000 fund for “intelligence gathering” of Democratic Party leaders.

When was the public view of lawyers at an all time high?

In a 1998 law review article tracing attitudes toward lawyers, Marc Galanter, now a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that public regard for lawyers was at an all-time high in the 1960s, when lawyers were viewed as fighting for justice and civil rights in real life and in the movies.

Who was Nixon's counsel?

Dean was Nixon’s White House counsel on June 17, 1972, the night burglars broke into Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. He had no prior knowledge of the break-in or the White House’s involvement.

Who was the person who installed the Nixon tapes?

It was just a hunch, but it led to a bombshell discovery. A few weeks later Senate investigators asked presidential aide Alexander Butterfield if he knew about any such tapes, and they couldn’t have picked a better person to question. Not only was Butterfield one of only a few people who knew about the taping system, he was actually the person who helped the Secret Service to install it at Nixon’s request.

Why did Dean question Nixon?

Dean thought it was very weird that Nixon had moved to a different of the room and whispered that question, and he wondered if Nixon had done so because he was secretly taping the conversation and didn’t want that part to be audible. When he testified in June that Nixon had knowingly obstructed justice through the Watergate cover-up, he mentioned this suspicion.

Why did Nixon call Dean into his office?

Before Dean testified before Congress in the Watergate hearings, Nixon called Dean into his office in the Executive Office Building to try and make sure that Dean didn’t implicate him in his testimony. However, his bizarre behavior helped precipitate his downfall.

When did Nixon hand over tapes to Congress?

After the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to hand over the tapes to Congress in the summer of 1974, prosecutors found they corroborated Dean’s testimony and implicated the president in the cover-up. “ [Dean] was first and one of the only, actually, in the higher echelons to give honest testimony,” Robenalt says.

How long did John Mitchell serve in jail for Watergate?

Former Attorney General John Mitchell and former Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman each served a year and a half in jail for their involvement.

Who was the senator who testified before the Senate Watergate Committee?

John Dean testifying for the second day before the Senate Watergate Committee. He said he was sure that President Nixon not only knew about the Watergate cover-up but also helped try to keep the scandal quiet.

Who was the man who told the Watergate trial?

THE UPSHOT: Gonzalez , an anti-Fidel Castro activist, insisted during his trial that he had been told the Watergate operation would advance Cuban liberation. “I keep feeling about my country and the way people suffer over there,” Gonzalez told Judge John Sirica.

Who was the gatekeeper in the Watergate investigation?

H.R. Haldeman. HIS ROLE: The Nixon administration White House chief of staff— known as the gatekeeper” to the Oval Office who once called himself "the president's son-of-a-bitch"—became a key figure in the Watergate probe as investigators zeroed in on tape-recorded conversations of White House meetings.

What did Dean do to cover up the Nixon administration?

HIS ROLE: Serving as White House counsel from 1970 to 1973, Dean helped cover up the Nixon administration’s involvement in the Watergate break-in and illegal intelligence-gathering. But as the investigation was closing in, he had warned fellow staffers, “The jig is up. It’s over,” and reportedly said to Nixon, “We have a cancer within, close to, the presidency, that is growing.” Nixon fired him shortly thereafter.

What was the book that McCord published about Watergate?

In 1974, he published a book about his involvement in Watergate, titled A Piece of Tape—The Watergate Story: Fact and Fiction.

What was the role of Hunt in the Watergate?

HIS ROLE: A former CIA operative, Hunt was a member of the so-called “Plumbers,” an informal White House team tasked with preventing and repairing information “leaks” such as the 1971 release of the top-secret Pentagon Papers. After investigators found his phone number in address books belonging to the Watergate burglars, they connected the dots between the burglary, President Nixon and his re-election campaign.

Who was the special advisor to the President?

HIS ROLE: As special advisor to the president, Colson was the mastermind behind many of the “dirty tricks” and political maneuvers—including spying on political opponents—that brought down the Nixon administration. As Colson told E. Howard Hunt in a recorded telephone conversation, he would write in his memoirs that “Watergate was brilliantly conceived as an escapade that would divert the Democrats’ attention from the real issues, and therefore permit us to win a landslide that we probably wouldn’t have won otherwise.”

Who was the FBI agent who was arrested at Watergate?

James McCord. HIS ROLE: A former CIA officer and FBI agent, McCord was one of the five burglars arrested at the Watergate complex, and the “ chief wiretapper ” of the operation. During the burglary, McCord, then security director of the Committee to Reelect the President (or CREEP), left a piece of tape on the latch of a stairwell door, ...

Who objected to the Nixon administration decision to resign?

As general counsel, it was disclosed much later, Mr. Buihardt objected to the 1971 Nixon Administration decision to

Who was the political person who knew everything?

He was described by Cecil Emerson of Dallas, a departed St. Clair staff member, as “the political person — the only one who knows everything that is going on.” In March 1974, when secretaries typed up transcripts to be made public, Mr. Buzhardt marked up sections for deletion, although he said the President made the final decisions on what stayed in or went out.

Did Nixon tape the White House?

On July 16, 1973, Mr. Buzhardt confirmed in a letter to the Watergate committee that Mr. Nixon had tape‐recorded White House talks since the spring of 1971, and the lawyer became a central figure in disputes over investigative needs for tapes. .

Who were the Nixon advisors?

The seven advisors and aides later indicted in 1974 were: John N. Mitchell – former United States Attorney General and director of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 election campaigns; faced a maximum of 30 years in prison and $42,000 in fines.

Who were the five men caught in the Watergate scandal?

Firstly, it can refer to the five men caught on June 17, 1972, burglarizing the Democratic National Committee 's headquarters in the Watergate complex, along with their two handlers, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, who were Nixon campaign aides. All seven were tried before Judge John Sirica in January 1973.

What was Charles Colson's charge?

Charles Colson – former White House counsel specializing in political affairs; pled nolo contendere on June 3, 1974, to one charge of obstruction of justice, having persuaded the prosecution to change the charge from one of which he believed himself innocent to another of which he believed himself guilty, in order to testify freely. Colson was sentenced to 1 to 3 years of prison and fined $5,000; he served seven months.

What is the Watergate Seven?

Watergate Seven. United States v. Nixon. The Watergate Seven has come to refer to two different groups of people, both of them in the context of the Watergate scandal. Firstly, it can refer to the five men caught on June 17, 1972, burglarizing the Democratic National Committee 's headquarters in the Watergate complex, along with their two handlers, ...

Who was the first president to be named as a co-conspirator?

The grand jury also named Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator. The indictments marked the first time in U.S. history that a president was so named. The period leading up to the trial of the first Watergate Seven began on January 8, 1973.

Who was Frank Sturgis?

Frank Sturgis — CIA undercover operative and guerrilla trainer, military serviceman; convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping, and separately on a charge of transporting stolen cars to Mexico; sentenced to 1 to 4 years in prison for Watergate (the sentence for the transport charge was folded into the Watergate sentence, due to his cooperation); served 14 months in prison.

Who was the counsel for the Committee to Re-Elect the President?

Kenneth Parkinson – counsel for the Committee to Re-elect the President; faced 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. He was acquitted at trial. Although Parkinson was a lawyer, G. Gordon Liddy was in fact counsel for the Committee to Re-elect the President.

Overview

Early life

New York government

Political career

Committee to Re-elect the President scandal

Watergate scandal

Death

In popular culture

The Earliest Break-In

See more on abajournal.com

Epiphany and Confession

Impact on Ethics

Teaching by Example