John N. Mitchell

John Newton Mitchell ( born September 15, 1913 in Detroit, Michigan, † November 9, 1988 in Washington, DC) was the only U.S. Attorney who was demonstrably involved in illegal activities and was sentenced and imprisoned.

Life

John N. Mitchell was born in Detroit and grew up in Long Iceland, New York. He made in 1938 at Fordham University with a law degree. Except for his three-year army service, he practiced from 1938 to 1960 as a lawyer in New York.

Richard Nixon got to know Mitchell in 1967. Mitchell worked in Community law firm Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander and Mitchell. Both were friends and Mitchell was Nixon's campaign manager. After Nixon was elected U.S. president in 1968, he appointed Mitchell as Minister of Justice in his cabinet, where it remained until his retirement in 1972. In this capacity, he ordered, among others, in matters of national security to the interception of certain persons / organizations without a court order. At the same time he was also the head of the Committee to Re- elect the President (CRP ) and ordered the breaking into the Watergate Hotel by the " plumber" to.

For his role in the Watergate scandal, he was sentenced to several years in prison on February 21, 1975 for conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury, which he, however, was serving only 19 months before he was released on parole. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Famous and infamous were particularly his wife Martha, the public statements. When she stated that her husband had been involved in illegal machinations of the White House, she was regarded as mentally ill. After uncovering the Watergate scandal stood by their established claims as right out; the wrong diagnosis of mental illness ( paranoia, etc. ) due to perceived as unpleasant, supposedly or allegedly inaccurate statements was named after her as Martha Mitchell effect.

In the film Nixon ( starring Anthony Hopkins as Nixon ) 1995 Mitchell was represented by EG Marshall.