Watergate Hearings Day 2: Carl M. Shoffler and James McCord (1973-05-18)

The dark side of history: https://thememoryhole.substack.com/

James Walter McCord Jr. (January 26, 1924 – June 15, 2017)[2] was an American CIA officer, later head of security for President Richard Nixon's 1972 reelection campaign. He was involved as an electronics expert in the burglaries which precipitated the Watergate scandal.[3]
Career

McCord was born in Waurika, Oklahoma.[4][5] He served as a bombardier with the rank of second lieutenant in the Army Air Forces during World War II.[6] He briefly attended Baylor University before receiving a B.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1949.[7] In 1965, he received an M.S. in international affairs from George Washington University.[7][8] After beginning his career at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), McCord worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), ultimately ascending to the GS-15 directorship of the Agency's Office of Security.[9]

For a period of time, he was in charge of physical security at the Agency's Langley headquarters.[10] L. Fletcher Prouty, a former colonel in the United States Air Force, claimed then-Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles introduced McCord to him as "my top man.".[11]

In 1961, under his direction, a counter-intelligence program was launched against the Fair Play for Cuba Committee.[12] He also held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve.[13]

John M. Newman says in his 2022 book, Uncovering Popov's Mole, that Bruce Solie and McCord were probably KGB "moles" in the CIA's Office of Security, and that McCord very likely protected Solie and another "mole," Pyotr Semyonovich Popov's honey-trapped and recruited-by-KGB dead drop arranger, Edward Ellis Smith, from being uncovered by U.S. Intelligence.[14]
Watergate scandal

Shortly after resigning from the CIA, McCord was interviewed and then hired by Jack Caulfield in January 1972 "for strict, solely defensive security work at the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP)."[15] Some of the money from this contract came from the RNC, which was led by Bob Dole who was called "Nixon's Doberman pinscher" and a Republican Party fixer, and was used during the Watergate scandal.[16] McCord and four other accomplices were arrested during the second break-in to the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The arrests led to the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation.

McCord asserted that the White House knew of and approved the break ins, and proceeded to cover up the incident. Because of McCord's statements, the Watergate investigators pursued many more leads.[15]

McCord was one of the first men convicted in the Watergate criminal trial; on eight counts of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. On March 21, 1973, three days before sentencing, McCord, after speaking to a probation officer and thus surmising that he might be facing a lengthy prison sentence, submitted a letter to the judge in the case, John Sirica, in which he claimed that he and the other defendants had committed perjury in their trial and that there was pressure from higher up for them to have done so.[17] On March 23, the day of the sentencing, Sirica sentenced the other defendants provisionally, citing a statute that allowed for maximum sentences of several decades as a means to "research" more information needed for the final sentencing. This was a means to pressure the defendants into revealing more information about the burglary.[18] McCord's sentencing was postponed until June and then postponed again. Finally, in November 1973, McCord was sentenced to one to five years [19] and began serving his sentence in March 1975, but was released after only four months because of his cooperation in the Watergate investigation.[20][21]
Post-Watergate

After serving four months in prison, McCord continued with McCord Associates, which was his own security firm located in Rockville, retiring later to Pennsylvania.[15][22][23]

McCord died at the age of 93 from pancreatic cancer on June 15, 2017, at his home in Douglassville, Pennsylvania. His death was not reported in local and national news outlets until 2019.[24][6]

McCord was portrayed in All the President's Men, the 1976 film retelling the events of the Watergate scandal, by Richard Herd.

McCord was portrayed in Gaslit, the 2022 television adaptation of the podcast Slow Burn by Chris Bauer,[25][26] and in the TV-series White House Plumbers he was portrayed by Toby Huss.[27]
See also

G. Gordon Liddy
E. Howard Hunt
All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Tennent H. Bagley

References

Dean, John (1976). Blind Ambition: The White House Years. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 90. ISBN 0671224387.
"US Department of Veterans Affairs, Nation Cemetery Administration". Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
Gerald Gold, ed. (1973). The Watergate hearings: break-in and cover-up; proceedings. New York: Viking Press. p. 147. ISBN 0-670-75152-9. OCLC 865966.
Dickinson, William B.; Mercer Cross; Barry Polsky (1973). Watergate: chronology of a crisis. Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. p. 40. ISBN 0871870592. OCLC 20974031. This book is volume 1 of a two volume set. Both volumes share the same ISBN and Library of Congress call number, E859 .C62 1973
Dash, Samuel, Mads (1976). Chief counsel: inside the Ervin Committee – the untold story of Watergate. New York: Random House. p. 59. ISBN 0394408535. OCLC 2388043.
Langer, Emily; Smith, Harrison; Morgan, Kate (April 18, 2019). "Watergate conspirator James McCord Jr. died two years ago. His death was never announced". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
Hearings Before and Special Reports Made by Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives on Subjects Affecting the Naval and Military Establishments. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1975.
The Michigan Journal. University of Michigan-Dearborn. 1974.
Edmund Callis Berkeley (1972). Computers and Automation. Edmund C. Berkeley and Associates.
Stafford T. Thomas (1983). The U.S. Intelligence Community. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0819130983.
"Key Watergate Figure". The New York Times. March 29, 1973. p. 28. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
Newman, John. Oswald and the CIA. p. 138.
United States. Congress. House. Government Operations (1972). U.S. Government Information Policies and Practices – problems of Congress in Obtaining Information from the Executive Branch: Hearings Before a Subcommittee. U.S. Government Printing Office.
Newman, John M. (2022). Uncovering Popov's Mole. United States: Self-published. pp. 280–281. ISBN 9798355050771.
Fox, Steve, ed. (2002). "Revisiting Watergate: James McCord". Washington Post (updated May 2005). Archived from the original on September 12, 2005. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
Fox, Steve, ed. (2002). "Revisiting Watergate: Bob Dole". Washington Post (updated May 2005). Archived from the original on September 12, 2005. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
Sirica, John (1979). To Set the Record Straight. New York: Norton Publishing. pp. 93–97. ISBN 0393012344.
Sirica, John (1979). To Set the Record Straight. Norton. p. 90. ISBN 0393012344.
Sirica, p. 120
Popovici, Alice (September 27, 2018). "Watergate: Where are they now?". History.com. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
"McCord surrenders at prison to begin Watergate sentence". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 22, 1975. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
Marble, Steve (April 19, 2019). "The mysterious life of James McCord, Watergate burglar whose death went unnoticed for 2 years". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
"BBC Radio 4 – Last Word, Professor Murray Gell-Mann, Nan Winton, James McCord, Gregory Gray". Last Word. BBC Radio 4. 31 May 2019.
McFadden, Robert D. (April 18, 2019). "James W. McCord Jr., Who Led the Watergate Break-In, Is Dead at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
Otterson, Joe (1 July 2021). "Allison Tolman, Chris Bauer Among Five Cast in Starz Watergate Series 'Gaslit'". Variety.
Petski, Denise (1 July 2021). "'Gaslit': Allison Tolman, J.C. MacKenzie, Chris Bauer, Hamish Linklater, Chris Messina Join Starz's Watergate Drama". Deadline Hollywood.

Kain, Erik (May 2, 2023). "'White House Plumbers' Review: Justin Theroux And Woody Harrelson Light Up HBO's New Watergate Comedy". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-29.

Bibliography

Perlstein, Rick (2008). Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. Simon and Schuster. pp. 655, 666–67, 676–80, 683–84, 722. ISBN 978-0-7432-4302-5.

Further reading

McCord wrote a book about his connection with the Watergate burglary:

McCord, James W. (1974). A Piece of Tape: The Watergate Story – Fact and Fiction. Rockville, Maryland: Washington Media Services. ISBN 0914286005. OCLC 1031449.

External links

James McCord testifying at the Watergate Hearings WETA-TV Public Television, 1973 Watergate Hearings
James W. McCord Jr. at Find a Grave
Appearances on C-SPAN

Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International

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National

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Other

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Categories:

1924 births2017 deathsAmerican perjurersAmerican spiesBaylor University alumniCIA agents convicted of crimesDeaths from cancer in PennsylvaniaDeaths from pancreatic cancerElliott School of International Affairs alumniMembers of the Committee for the Re-Election of the PresidentMilitary personnel from OklahomaPennsylvania RepublicansPeople convicted in the Watergate scandalPeople from Berks County, PennsylvaniaPeople from Waurika, OklahomaUnited States Air Force colonelsUnited States Air Force reservistsUnited States Army Air Forces officersUnited States Army Air Forces personnel of World War IIVirginia RepublicansWatergate SevenWriters from Oklahoma

White House Plumbers is an American satirical political drama television miniseries created and written by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck and directed by David Mandel, based on the 2007 book Integrity by Egil Krogh and Matthew Krogh.[1][2] The series stars Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Domhnall Gleeson, Kiernan Shipka, and Lena Headey and it premiered on HBO on May 1, 2023.[3]
Premise

Watergate masterminds and President Richard Nixon's political operatives E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy are part of the "White House Plumbers". Charged with plugging press leaks by any means necessary, they accidentally overturned the Presidency they were trying to protect.
Cast and characters
Main

Woody Harrelson as E. Howard Hunt:
A CIA officer who, as part of the White House Plumbers, was tasked with identifying the sources of national security leaks following the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Hunt was convicted of burglary, conspiracy, and wiretapping and served 33 months in prison for the charges.
Justin Theroux as G. Gordon Liddy:
A White House lawyer who worked alongside Hunt to direct the burglary of the DNC headquarters in the Watergate building. Liddy was convicted of burglary, conspiracy, and refusing to testify to the Senate committee investigating Watergate. He served nearly 52 months in federal prison for the charges.
Lena Headey as Dorothy Hunt: wife of E. Howard Hunt. Mrs. Hunt was one of 45 people killed in the crash of United Air Lines Flight 553 on December 8, 1972, in the Chicago neighborhood of West Lawn.
Domhnall Gleeson as John Dean:
An attorney who served as Nixon's White House Counsel from July 1970 until April 1973. Following his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal, he testified to Congress as a witness and pled guilty to a single felony in exchange for a reduced sentence if he would serve as a key witness for the Watergate prosecution. Dean was disbarred as a lawyer following his guilty plea.
Judy Greer as Fran Liddy: wife of G. Gordon Liddy
Kim Coates as Frank Sturgis
Gary Cole as Mark Felt
Toby Huss as James W. McCord Jr.
Liam James as Saint John Hunt
Tony Plana as Eugenio "Muscolito" Martínez
Yul Vazquez as Bernard "Macho" Barker
Zoe Levin as Lisa Hunt
Nelson Ascencio as Virgilio "Villo" Gonzalez
Rich Sommer as Egil "Bud" Krogh
Tre Ryder as David Hunt
Alexis Valdés as Felipe De Diego
Ike Barinholtz as Jeb Stuart Magruder
John Carroll Lynch as John N. Mitchell
Joel Murray as Don
Emily Pendergast as Edwina
Kathleen Turner as Dita Beard
Zak Orth as Alfred C. Baldwin III
Kiernan Shipka as Kevan Hunt
Marc Menchaca as Carl Shoffler
David Pasquesi as James Jesus Angleton
Eddie K. Robinson as Frank Wills
F. Murray Abraham as Judge John Sirica
Corbin Bernsen as Richard Kleindienst
David Krumholtz as William Bittman
Neil Casey as Douglas Caddy
Prema Cruz as Michele Clark
Peter Serafinowicz as William F. Buckley Jr.
Steven Bauer as Dr. Manuel Artime
Annie Fitzgerald
Peter Grosz as Earl Silbert
Robert Smigel as Inmate Friedman

Guest

Jim Downey as Spencer Oliver
Joel Van Liew as David Young
J. P. Manoux as Robert Mardian

Additionally, Robert Redford makes an uncredited voice-only cameo as Bob Woodward, the same role he played in All the President's Men.[4]
Episodes
No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date U.S. viewers
(millions)
1 "The Beverly Hills Burglary" David Mandel Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck May 1, 2023 0.216[5]
In 1971, former CIA agent E. Howard Hunt and former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy are assigned by United States Under Secretary of Transportation Egil Krogh to steal the papers of Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist. They go to Beverly Hills and scope out his office, and Hunt and his wife Dorothy have dinner with Liddy upon their return, though she is put off by his obsession with Adolf Hitler. Hunt and Liddy, now the "Plumbers", return to Beverly Hills and the former recruits his associates Bernard Barker, Felipe De Diego, and Eugenio Martínez to break into the office and photograph the papers, but they trash the office in the process and make up a hasty cover story which passes by the police. White House Counsel John Dean replaces Krogh and informs the Plumbers that Liddy has been made a member of the CRP, and approves the Plumbers' request for a million dollar budget.
2 "Please Destroy This, Huh?" David Mandel Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck May 8, 2023 0.163[6]
3 "Don't Drink the Whiskey at the Watergate" David Mandel Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck May 15, 2023 0.195[7]
4 "The Writer's Wife" David Mandel Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck May 22, 2023 0.172[8]
5 "True Believers" David Mandel Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck May 29, 2023 N/A
Production
Watergate scandal
The Watergate complex in 2006
Events
List
People
Watergate burglars
Groups
CRP
White House
Judiciary
Journalists
Intelligence community
Congress
Related

vte

Development

On December 4, 2019, it was announced that HBO had ordered the five-episode limited series created and executive produced by Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, David Mandel, Frank Rich, Ruben Fleischer, and David Bernad. Gregory and Huyck were attached to write the miniseries with Mandel directing all episodes.[9] The series premiered on May 1, 2023.[3]
Casting

Alongside the series order announcement, Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux were set to star in lead roles as well as executive produce.[9] In April 2021, Domhnall Gleeson and Lena Headey were cast in main roles.[10][11] In May 2021, Kiernan Shipka, Ike Barinholtz, Yul Vazquez, David Krumholtz, Rich Sommer, Kim Coates, and Liam James joined the cast in starring roles while Nelson Ascencio, Gary Cole, Toby Huss, Zoe Levin, John Carroll Lynch, Zak Orth, and Tony Plana were cast in undisclosed capacities.[12][13] In the same month, the following week, Kathleen Turner joined the main cast.[14] In June 2021, Judy Greer was cast in a main role.[15] In July 2021, Corbin Bernsen and Alexis Valdés were cast in undisclosed capacities.[16]
Filming

The series began principal photography on May 3, 2021, and ended on October 21, 2021. Filming took place in Poughkeepsie, New York on Zack's Way, New York City, Albany, New York, Washington, D.C., Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands,[17] Beverly Hills, California,[18] and Redondo Beach, California.[19] On August 5, 2021, production was suspended after an audio recording reportedly captured Mandel berating and threatening the head of props, and the props department walked off the set.[20] Filming resumed on August 12 with additional protocols following the incident.[21]
Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 68% approval rating, with an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 44 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "White House Plumbers gets clogged up by its overstuffed adherence to real history, but with actors this appealing and material that truly is stranger than fiction, it flushes down easy enough."[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, has assigned a score of 62 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23]
References

"HBO Releases Official Trailer For The Limited Series WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS, Debuting May 1". Warner Media (Press release). March 30, 2023. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
Krogh, Egil; Krogh, Matthew (2007). Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices, and Life Lessons from the White House (1st ed.). New York: Public Affairs – via Internet Archive (subscription required). ISBN 978-1-58648-467-5. OCLC 141852377.
Bergeson, Samantha (March 30, 2023). "'White House Plumbers' Trailer: Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux Protect Nixon's Presidency". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
Whiting, Amanda (May 22, 2023). "'White House Plumbers Recap: The Watergate Crash': Overnights". Vulture. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
Salem, Mitch (May 2, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Monday 5.1.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
Metcalf, Mitch (May 9, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Monday 5.8.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
Salem, Mitch (May 16, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Monday 5.15.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
Metcalf, Mitch (May 23, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Monday 5.22.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
Andreeva, Nellie (December 4, 2019). "Woody Harrelson & Justin Theroux To Star In 'The White House Plumbers' HBO Limited Series About Watergate". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
Andreeva, Nellie (April 27, 2021). "'The White House Plumbers': Domhnall Gleeson To Play John Dean In HBO's Watergate Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
Andreeva, Nellie (April 29, 2021). "Lena Headey Joins 'The White House Plumbers' HBO Watergate Limited Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
Petski, Denise (May 12, 2021). "Kiernan Shipka, Ike Barinholtz, Kim Coates, Liam James Among 7 Cast In 'The White House Plumbers' HBO Watergate Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
Turchiano, Danielle (May 14, 2021). "Gary Cole, Zoe Levin, John Carroll Lynch Among Eight Added to HBO's Watergate Series (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
Petski, Denise (May 20, 2021). "Kathleen Turner Joins 'The White House Plumbers' HBO Watergate Limited Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
Andreeva, Nellie (June 3, 2021). "Judy Greer Joins 'The White House Plumbers' HBO Watergate Limited Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
Andreeva, Nellie (July 19, 2021). "'The White House Plumbers': Corbin Bernsen & Alexis Valdés Join HBO's Watergate Limited Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
"The White House Plumbers". Production List. March 22, 2021. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
"Woody Harrelson is seen filming scenes for his HBO show "White House Plumbers"". Getty Images. October 14, 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
Meyer, Garth (October 20, 2021). "Nixon-era HBO series filming in town". Easy Reader & Peninsula Magazine. Hermosa Beach CA. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021.
Andreeva, Nellie (August 6, 2021). "'The White House Plumbers': HBO Pauses Production To Investigate "Alleged Unprofessional Behavior" On Set". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
Andreeva, Nellie (August 16, 2021). "'The White House Plumbers' Resumes Production With Additional Protocols After Investigation Into "Alleged Unprofessional Behavior" On Set Of HBO Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
"White House Plumbers: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
"White House Plumbers: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved May 6, 2023.