John N. Mitchell
John Newton Mitchell (
September 15,
1913 –
November 9,
1988) was the first
United States Attorney General ever to be convicted of illegal activities and imprisoned. He also served as campaign director for the
Committee to Re-elect the President, which engineered the
Watergate first break-in and employed
Watergate burglar
James W. McCord, Jr. in a "security" capacity.
Mitchell was born in
Detroit, Michigan, and grew up on
Long Island in
New York. He earned his law degree from
Fordham University and was admitted to the New York bar in
1938. Except for three years' service as a naval officer during
World War II where he was a
PT Boat commander and received the
Silver Star, from 1938 until
1968 Mitchell practiced law in
New York City.
Richard Nixon met John Mitchell when Mitchell's municipal bond law firm merged with Nixon Mudge Rose Guthrie & Alexander in
1967. The two men became friends, and in
1968, with considerable trepidation, Mitchell agreed to become Nixon's presidential campaign manager.
During his successful 1968 campaign, Nixon turned over the details of the day-to-day operations to the superbly organized Mitchell. After he became president in January
1969, Nixon appointed Mitchell attorney general. Mitchell remained in office from 1969 until he resigned in
1972 to manage President Nixon's successful reelection campaign. As attorney general, Mitchell believed that the government's need for "
law and order" justified restrictions on civil liberties. He advocated the use of wiretaps
in national security cases without obtaining a court order and the right of police to employ the preventive detention of criminal suspects. He brought conspiracy charges against critics of the
Vietnam War, and demonstrated a reluctance to involve the
Justice Department in
civil rights issues. "The Department of Justice is a law enforcement agency," he told reporters. "It is not the place to carry on a program aimed at curing the ills of society."
On
February 21,
1975, Mitchell was found guilty of
conspiracy,
obstruction of justice, and
perjury and sentenced to two and a half to eight years in prison for his role in the Watergate break-in and cover-up, which he dubbed the
White House horrors. Tape recordings made by President Nixon and the testimony of others involved confirmed that Mitchell had participated in meetings to plan the break-in of the Democratic party's national headquarters in the
Watergate Hotel. In addition, he had met, on at least three occasions, with the president in an effort to cover up White House involvement after the burglars were discovered and arrested. In
1972, he warned reporter
Carl Bernstein about a forthcoming Watergate-related article: "
Katie Graham's gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer if that's published." This threat against the
Washington Post publisher is considered the most famous threat in the history of American journalism.
Around 5 P.M. on
November 9,
1988, he collapsed from a
heart attack on the sidewalk in front of 2812 N St., N.W.,
Georgetown, Washington, DC. That evening he would die at
George Washington University Hospital. He was buried with full honors at
Arlington National Cemetery.
His wife
Martha died in
1976. The
Martha Mitchell effect is named after John Mitchell's wife.
*
Richard Nixon*
Wire tapping*
United States v. U.S. District Court*Rupert, James. (November 11, 1988). "Mistake Didn't Affect Care Of Mitchell, Officials Say".
Washington Post, p. C12.
