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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 CREEP, the Committee to Re-elect the President, which 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 in the navy, from 1938 until 1960 Mitchell practiced law in New York City.
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon ( January 9, 1913 April 22, 1994) was the thirty-sixth ( 1953 1961) Vice President, and the thirty-seventh ( 1969 1974) President of the United States. He is the only man to have been elected twice to the Vice Presidency and twice to met John Mitchell when his law firm merged with Mitchell's in 1967Events January January 4 British motorboat racer Donald Campbell dies while attempting a water speed record in Coniston Lake. January 4 Algerian revolutionary Mohammed Khider is shot in Madrid. January 6 Vietnam War: USMC and ARVN troops launch " Operatio. The two men became friends, and in 1968Events Undated Booker Prize for Fiction is established by Booker plc. 1968 is known as the year of the Prague Spring and also the year of the Paris riots. The ASCII character code is standardized as ANSI Standard X3. Nauru adopt his national anthem of the, 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 1969For other uses, see Number 1969. For the movie, see 1969 (movie). Events January January 1 Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch purchases the largest selling British Sunday newspaper The News Of The World January 5 The Derry Riots leave over 100 people i, Nixon appointed Mitchell attorney general. Mitchell remained in office from 1969 until he resigned in 19721972 is a leap year starting on Saturday (click link for calendar). Events January events January 2 the Pierre Hotel Heist Six men rob the safety deposit boxes of the Pierre Hotel in New York City. Loot is at least $4 million January 5 President of the Un 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 WarThe Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos See Secret War) and in bombing runs ( Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. See also the timeline of the Vietnam War. Fighting on, and demonstrated a reluctance to involve the Justice DepartmentThe United States Department of Justice DOJ is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice f 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. 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 complex . 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. He died after collapsing in front of his Washington, DC home in 1988. His wife Martha passed away in 1976.
The Martha Mitchell effect is named after John Mitchell's wife.
